There’s no room for hesitation at "King of the Beach." Christian Standhardinger learned that the hard way.
The Hawaii men’s basketball junior forward won the signature event of coach Gib Arnold’s now-annual preseason conditioning competition, but he couldn’t prevent teammate Hauns Brereton from finishing right behind him and claiming the overall title of "King" for the 2011-12 season.
After 20 grueling events at Waikiki Beach, Standhardinger finished a single point (34-33) behind Brereton, his partner for much of the way. The final event was dubbed the "Warrior Water Run," a sand sprint to the water and back. The first three players to dunk themselves in the water, get back, claim a weighted ball in the sand and toss it over an 8-foot goal earned points.
Standhardinger earned the maximum five points, but his subsequent hesitation was his undoing; Brereton got four points for second place on the pivotal play.
"I wanted to block him at the end. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to do that," the Nebraska transfer from Germany said. "I was the first one over and I was thinking about blocking him and giving the ball to Joston (Thomas) or something like that."
Arnold, ever the fiery competitor, would have appreciated the savvy play.
"Totally legal. Totally legal, in fact probably applauded, because of creating your own advantages," the coach said with a grin.
Brereton, a 6-foot-6 transfer from Western Nebraska Community College, was presented with a haku crown and the koa bowl winner’s hardware, then was hoisted up on center Vander Joaquim’s shoulders.
His name will join inaugural winner Bill Amis’ on the perpetual trophy, which will sit above the junior’s locker all season. Senior guard Zane Johnson finished third among the 14 contestants.
Curious Waikiki passersby stopped to watch as the Rainbow Warriors ran, crawled, and carried each other through drill after drill in the sand. Brereton, of Bartlett, Tenn., said he was used to the beach from family trips to Hawaii and South Carolina.
"My strategy was being consistent, making sure getting points in each round. Whether it was first or third, you just had to place in each one," Brereton said. "Now I’m looking forward to the season, getting on the court and working with the team to get better."
The team opens official practices next weekend, though there won’t be any fan kick-off activities until the "Ohana Homecoming Hoopfest" on Oct. 21, following the UH-Utah State volleyball match at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Gamesmanship was the subplot to Saturday’s dawn competition, which capped off weeks of weekend beach workouts at Waikiki. The idea behind the sand training is to improve court speed and agility once the body is used to unstable footing.
Arnold said he stayed up until 1:30 a.m. designing and finalizing the various events, which he had to cut down from 30. Half were individual events, but many encouraged team play — and timely shifting of allegiances, like in the "Lion-Antelope" event, in which half the team, the lions, waylaid the antelopes with tackles on their way to the finish line. Brereton smartly hung in the second row of antelopes and snuck through once the front line got taken out.
"Gib lost sleep over it. He loves stuff like this," strength coach Chris McMillian said. "He was like a kid on Christmas morning when he was picking all the things we were gonna do."
During a weighted-ball-carrying exercise, partners Trevor Wiseman and Bobby Miles dropped their ball and stalled out after a rival team hip-checked them en route to the finish line, prompting an appeal by the sophomore buddies.
An appeal was quickly denied by Arnold.
"Veteran move," the coach said approvingly.
"Who’s my King of the Beach?" Arnold bellowed soon afterward at his players during a crunches event — with the added twist of an 18-pound ball passed back and forth with a partner. The first team to 100, Brereton and Standhardinger, took the maximum points for that event, one of several they won together. But the partnering with his chief rival bit the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger in the end.
"I will get it next year, I told him already," Standhardinger said. "Next time I just block that thing."
