Beijing » Hawaii freshmen Tyler Brown and Brandon Jawato might not have much in common, except for an unexpected twist of fate this summer.

The power forward from Honaker, Va., and the shooting guard of El Segundo, Calif., were last-minute pickups by the Rainbow Warriors in time to fill out the roster for next season, and more immediately, rounded out a 10-man roster on the Warriors to Asia tour. The two could still barely believe their good fortune after closing out the China portion of the trip with an expedition to the Great Wall of China on Thursday.

"There’s moments, like on a long bus ride, and I’ll look out at and I’ll see corn fields and it’s a totally different culture," Brown said. "I’ll be like, man, how did I end up here? It’s unbelievable."

Jawato saw few minutes in the games against Chinese Basketball Association teams, and Brown played fewer still, but the two have made a difference in practice preparation.

"It was unexpected. It’s a blessing," Jawato said. "Coach Gib (Arnold), I’m thankful to him, he brought me out here. It was a great experience. We played really good teams out here and it’s good exposure to see how overseas basketball is."

The sweet-shooting Jawato, who is still a scholarship candidate at UH this fall, was MVP of his league at El Segundo High. But he only got a serious look when some of UH’s 2011-12 signees became academically ineligible. A phone call from Arnold in late June convinced him to skip visits to St. Louis and Idaho State and arrive in the islands within a week.

Brown, however, knew he needed to take the initiative; he was a reserve on his team at Honaker High before a stop at the IMG Academy in Florida. The 6-foot-7 forward called UH about walking on the team. In early July, assistant coach Benjy Taylor was convinced Brown could help with some size and relayed that to Arnold.

Even then, Brown might not have made it to China. But center Vander Joaquim was picked up by the Angolan national team for the summer and UH needed a 10th man for the trip.

"Those two, a few weeks back they had no idea they were even going to be here," Arnold said with a laugh.

"I usually just tell people I’m very fortunate," Brown said. "I tend to be in the right place at the right time, and that’s usually how it is. I struck a lot of luck to get to Hawaii, and then just so happened they were going to China at the same time."

Arnold on Standhardinger

With paperwork clearance for former Nebraska forward Christian Standhardinger, Arnold was able to comment on the 6-foot-9 German’s addition to the team for the 2011-12 season.

The power forward averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in six games as a sophomore for the Cornhuskers in 2010, but reportedly left the team in December after clashing with coach Doc Sadler.

He was then turned away from La Salle after a police report surfaced that he was ticketed for public indecency in a park in Lincoln, Neb., in January.

Arnold had no questions about Standhardinger’s character, noting he doesn’t have a criminal record and associate coach Walter Roese — who coached Standhardinger his freshman season at UN — spoke up for him.

"He was with his girlfriend in a park after dark. I told him that part of the scholarship at the University of Hawaii does include dormitories," Arnold said. "He brought it up with me and he’s very embarrassed about it, and said he learned his lesson. … He’s a good kid."

Standhardinger will sit out games in the coming season as a transfer player.

‘Bows arrive in Japan

After a 4-hour layover in Tokyo, the Rainbow Warriors were to arrive in Osaka later today in preparation for their final exhibition of the tour against the Panasonic Trians on Saturday.

UH then departs for home just in time for the start of the fall semester on Monday.