LAS VEGAS » A season of ups and downs ended on a high note for the Hawaii men’s basketball team. Even with no postseason tournament appearance to show for it.
Following a dismal stretch in late February and early March, the Rainbow Warriors and second-year coach Gib Arnold could have easily packed it in for the season, having lost their last five regular-season games and guard Zane Johnson for the Western Athletic Conference tournament due to an ill-timed illness.
But by redeeming themselves with two days of inspired basketball in the desert — a 72-70 quarterfinal upset of Idaho, and a thrilling 92-81 defeat to New Mexico State in the semifinals — UH salvaged a measure of pride as it leaves the WAC for the Big West Conference.
A season that effectively started in July with preparation for the August "Warriors to Asia" tour finally came to an end at 16-16 (6-8 WAC, tied for fifth).
2011-12 ‘BOWS IN THE UH RECORD BOOK
Zane Johnson, an All-WAC honorable mention, became the all-time UH 3-point leader late in the season with 180, eclipsing Predrag Savovic’s 178. Johnson did it in slightly fewer attempts than Savo — 468 to 471. The Arizona transfer’s career 3-point percentage of .385 ranked him fifth. As a junior, Johnson set the single-season record of 98. His career free-throw percentage (151-for-183, .825) placed him fourth. His .841 this season was the seventh best. He also established the consecutive-free-throw record as a senior with 29 straight makes, passing Reggie Carter’s 28.
His two-year scoring average of 14.9 put him at 14th on the career average list, though he did not make the top 20 in scoring total, finishing just shy at 895 points.
Miah Ostrowski’s 175 assists put him seventh in single-season total, and his 7.0 average was third in school history, behind Reggie Carter (7.4) and Anthony Carter (7.3). Because of his delayed arrivals on the team coming from football season, Ostrowski did not play enough career games (five short) to qualify for career assist average. But if he’d played the necessary 50, he would have been third at 5.6, behind Anthony Carter (6.9) and Tom Henderson (6.4).
Vander Joaquim finished his junior year with 304 rebounds for a 9.5 per-game average. That put him at sixth on the UH single-season list and 10th in single-season rebounding average. His 58 blocks was good for seventh in a single year. Going into his senior season, he is sixth in career blocks (98), ninth in rebounds (567) and fifth in rebounding average (8.9).
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Arnold hit the recruiting trail immediately after his team’s season-ending loss to the Aggies. He chose to remember the positives, despite UH falling one win short of an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
"We kind of came in here on a down (note)," Arnold said. "We had two bad weeks on the whole season. Feb. 18 we found ourselves up in Missoula, Mont., against an outstanding team, got smashed. Went down there (to NMSU), got smashed. Got beat by a hot Louisiana Tech team, then got beat at home by two teams. Outside of that, we played some pretty good basketball, some pretty inspiring basketball. Played with heart, we were tough. Physical. We did a lot of really good things."
Arnold is encouraged because he has five of his six top scorers and the team’s top four rebounders expected to return for 2012-13: Vander Joaquim (14.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg), Joston Thomas (13.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Shaquille Stokes (8.4 ppg), Hauns Brereton (7.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and Trevor Wiseman (6.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg).
The downside is UH is losing its starting backcourt of Miah Ostrowski (7.0 apg) and Johnson (14.0 ppg). Stokes, a freshman, displayed some ability this week, but questions will remain about where and how UH will replace its gifted playmaker and top shooter.
The biggest thing UH has going for it is Joaquim. The 6-foot-10 Angolan and All-WAC first-team center established himself as the best big man in the WAC, shooting 56 percent and blocking 1.8 shots per game. If he stays for his senior season as expected, Joaquim will be tabbed as one of the best players in the Big West.
"We got a pretty good team," Joaquim said. "We just gotta work hard over the summer … and fix the things that we did wrong this year. Stay together as a team, and the coaching staff and everybody."
A big reason UH couldn’t replicate its 19 wins of Arnold’s first season was a step back in team defense.
In 2010-11, UH set a program record for opponent field-goal percentage of .389. This season, that mark slipped to .429, still one of the better marks in the WAC but no longer a calling card. As a result, opponents averaged 74.6 points, up from 67.2.
UH’s depth was challenged at times this season, when four of six signees for the 2011-12 campaign didn’t qualify academically. Currently, the ‘Bows have two signees expected to arrive before next season — forward Isaac Fotu of New Zealand and center Caleb Dressler of Vancouver, Wash.
UH’s redshirts — guards Jace Tavita, Brandon Jawato and Orel Lev, and forward Christian Standhardinger — will also be expected to contribute next season. UH will have to move scholarships around to bring in any further signees.
"I think the future’s very bright at the University of Hawaii. We’re going in the right direction," Arnold said.
