Beijing » So just how good were those guys?

It’s been a common question since the Hawaii men’s basketball team took three of four contests from Chinese Basketball Association professional squads in goodwill exhibitions over the last week.

Many among the Qingdao Eagles and Shenyang (Liaoning) Dinosaurs were solid players, but the teams admittedly weren’t at full strength. During the CBA regular season, each team is allowed to pick up two foreign players — often a former NBA journeyman — who often rank as the team’s best. None are in the country this time of year.

And it’s true that UH’s two CBA opponents, Qingdao and Shenyang, weren’t the cream of the 17-team league. That distinction belongs to the Guangdong Tigers and perhaps one or two other teams.

But playing and beating pro players, period, gave some of the UH players confidence as they look toward home and the 2011-12 season.

"It gets our confidence going, but we should play like that against anybody," sophomore point guard Bobby Miles said. "It doesn’t matter how good they are, how big they are, how old they are."

And some of the Chinese players were plenty big. No one quite matched Yao Ming’s widely recognized 7-foot-6 frame, but several other players easily topped 7 feet and were nearly just as broad.

UH’s lone center, Davis Rozitis, often had his hands full trying to stop the beefy Chinese front-line players. But UH’s lean 7-foot sophomore acquitted himself well despite food poisoning midway through the trip.

"I think it made us better coming here, playing against these guys," Rozitis said. "Once in a lifetime opportunity."

One that the Rainbow Warriors made the most of. UH came within a missed buzzer-beating shot of sweeping the CBA games 4-0, against franchises with national team-caliber players Li Geng of Qingdao and Guo Ai Lun of Shenyang.

After the sting of losing 81-80 to Qingdao, the Rainbows came back to beat the Eagles emphatically, 86-71, then stuffed Shenyang 89-70 in a hostile gym and eked out a 72-71 comeback win in the rematch with the Dinosaurs.

The UH players and coaches were pleased with the 3-1 mark. Coach Gib Arnold has now seen enough basketball here — not only the players, but the crowds and arenas — to believe the trip worth his goal of expanding ties with the emerging global superpower.

"I’ve been very impressed with the level," he said of Chinese basketball. "They’re well-coached, they’re disciplined, and they’re strong. I think the future of basketball in China is amazing and it’s not going to be long at all until they’re one of THE dominating forces in basketball."

He’s not the only one who thinks so, either. Georgetown and Duke are also here on tours, perhaps signaling the start of an annual summer hoops exodus to the communist nation.

It’s been a learning experience on both sides. Some of UH’s opponents came away impressed with the quality of the team that traveled thousands of miles to play in unfamiliar territory.

"The thing I learned from those two games, the Hawaii team is really fast in transition," said Shenyang point guard Guo, a member of the Chinese national team who put on a show with 23 points and seven assists in a one-point loss to UH on Tuesday.

"I used to play a lot of American guys. … and I think that’s a pretty good team," he added. "Fast in transition, those point guards (Miles and Shaquille Stokes) really impressed me."

Stokes in particular made an impression, and he hasn’t even played in an official college game yet. He put up 50 points in two games against Shenyang on a variety of pull-up jumpers and takes to the basket.

The coach of Shenyang and former national team coach, Guo Shiqiang, thought Stokes could play in the CBA right now.

"He’s an excellent player," the coach said. "Speed, and can go inside. Outside shooting. In general, he’s a great player."

The crowds agreed. At each of the four different venues UH saw in four different cities, the locals came out in droves for what amounted to offseason exhibitions, and usually cheered the 5-foot-10 Stokes loudest among the UH players for his flash and fearlessness.

A final exhibition against the Panasonic Trians of the Japan Basketball League will be played Saturday in Osaka.