Osaka, Japan » Hawaii center Davis Rozitis went to a quick post-up move and attempted to spin off his defender toward the basket.
But before he knew what happened, there was no one behind him to bounce off of and the Rainbow Warriors’ 7-footer stumbled out of bounds for a turnover.
Yup, Adrian "Ace" Custis and Charles O’Bannon can still teach the young-uns a thing or two.
The two veteran American forwards of the Panasonic Trians schooled UH on the court, then offered words of advice and encouragement after the 94-70 victory over the Rainbow Warriors.
Custis in particular was effective with a solid perimeter game to go along with his crafty know-how. He put up a game-high 25 points, while O’Bannon worked the referees, well, like a pro.
The two have a combined 21 years in the Japan Basketball League — the same league that UH Fabulous Fiver Jerome Freeman played in about three decades ago — after brief stints in the NBA and elsewhere overseas. They’ve seen just about everything there is to be seen on the hardwood, but were still glad for the opportunity to play this tuneup game before the regular season starts in October.
"It felt good just to hear a lot of English on the basketball court," said Custis, 37, a former Virginia Tech star in the ’90s. "It’s been a while. … It was fun today."
O’Bannon, too, was grateful for the game. The last JBL season was cut short in March due to the disastrous earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northern Japan.
"Of course we wanted to finish the season … but all the devastation, you just couldn’t keep going. You feel for the families and all the people who were lost," said O’Bannon, 36, who helped UCLA win the 1995 NCAA championship. "We being so far from where it actually happened, there’s a little bit of normalcy around here. It’s still on people’s minds, of course."
As the teams thanked each other in the postgame, coach Gib Arnold invited the two American players, the first UH encountered on the entire trip, over to the visitors’ huddle for some sage advice. They obliged.
"We basically told them it’s all about hard work," said Custis, who added that the coming JBL season might be his last before retirement. "You gotta take it upon yourself to get in the gym and put in the hours. Do the extra shooting, lifting, whatever it takes be a better basketball player and better unit."
The UH players paid rapt attention while the veterans spoke.
"I enjoy going against players who are older than me, ever since I was younger," UH forward Joston Thomas said. "I feel like going against them was an eye-opener, to see where we need to get to and what we need to work on. … It was great for everybody."
Donovan visits Osaka
Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan flew to Osaka for the Trians game and used the trip as an opportunity to update local media about the state of UH affairs.
Donovan, who was last here two and a half years ago with football coach Greg McMackin, told the group of about 25 he still hopes to bring the UH football team to Japan to play another American team in the coming years.
"We told them we were really going to try to develop the relationship with the university and different organizations and areas in Japan. We’ve been trying very hard to do that," Donovan said.
@Scoreline1:Blakes, Brumfield still question marks
Gerry Blakes and returning forward Dominick Brumfield were still unknown.
Blakes, a recent NCAA academic qualifier, was trying to squeeze into UH at the last moment. Brumfield, a supposed returnee, did not accompany the team on the trip and had some academics to clear in California before he could return. He is no longer listed on the team’s online roster.
Arnold said he couldn’t yet give a definitive comment on either player.
Tyler McDaniels, a 6-foot-9 forward out of Georgia Perimeter College and the son of UH assistant coach Benjy Taylor, is still expected to walk on with the team for the coming season.
