Good old Hauns

Hauns Brereton takes a grown-up approach to a youthful game.

No matter how much ribbing the Hawaii basketball senior swingman takes about it.

"It’s not that we make age jokes about him because he’s so old. We make age jokes about him because he’s so damn responsible," junior forward Christian Standhardinger said. "That’s how you know he’s old. He always does the right thing. That’s something you really have to like. You can always count on him; he’ll always help you. He’s a very responsible and good-hearted person."

Brereton, 24, is one of three UH seniors and team captains playing their final home games this week. The third-place Rainbow Warriors (16-11, 9-6 Big West) host UC Santa Barbara (8-18, 4-10) on Thursday and Cal Poly (13-12, 8-6) on Saturday.

"It’s the last stretch," Brereton said. "Nothing to lose. Gotta leave it all on the floor, so I’m going to ride or die on it. … Just playing, having fun and enjoying these last college moments."

That he is in position to enjoy himself late this season is testament to some impressive mental fortitude and leadership ability.

It’s been an up, then down, then up season for the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Brereton. But he’s rediscovered his shooting touch at the right time of the year, and is the team’s top perimeter scoring threat as the ‘Bows head into the Big West tournament next month. His ability to knock down shots is all the more important now that shooting guard Brandon Spearman is out with a sprained ankle.

Since returning to the starting lineup eight games ago, Brereton is averaging 13.9 points, bumping his scoring average up to 9.2 and 3-point shooting to 33.3 percent.

The Memphis, Tenn., native is well traveled, even adjusting for his age compared to the average college player. He’s taken to the islands in part thanks to his mother’s local roots — he is a quarter Samoan — and he speaks fluent Chinese from an LDS mission to Taiwan straight out of high school, which bumped his NCAA eligibility clock back two years.

So Brereton isn’t really that much older than everyone else. He just behaves that way.

"I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot, and a lot of different cultures," Brereton said. "It’s taught me to have an open mind. There’s so many different ways to look at life. It’s great to see the different parts, whether it’s from the South in America, or here in the islands, or in Taiwan."

UH coach Gib Arnold, who brought Brereton in from Western Nebraska Community College, hailed Brereton as an example of an ideal player to build a team around, taking in all aspects and demands of the college athlete — character, academic standing, maturity and playing ability.

And in this case, age.

"Yeah, the guys definitely joke with him all the time. We have a lot of fun with it," Arnold said. "I think he was a senior in high school when Manroop (freshman Clair) was a fifth- or sixth-grader. There’s definitely an age difference there. He’s the old man on the block and has some battle wounds through the years."

He’s always been one to lead by example, but that proved difficult during a lengthy stretch this season when his confidence seemed rattled like a rim assaulted by a series of missed jumpers.

Brereton initially built off a strong finish to his junior season at UH — in which he twice made the Top 10 plays on "SportsCenter" — by going for a career-high 24 points in the season opener vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore. He followed that up with double-figure scoring in the next three games.

Then he cracked 10 points in just one of the next 12 games. His playing time dwindled as Arnold sought the hot hand.

The whole while, Brereton put up extra shots after practices — he has one of the purest strokes on the team — and waited for his chance.

"The experience helps out," Brereton said. "You’ve been in a lot of situations, how to react and how to work through them."

Things turned around about the same time Arnold empowered the tri-captains (Brereton, Vander Joaquim and Jace Tavita) to take control of the team during a stretch of four straight road games a month ago. The Rainbow Warriors won the last three, with Brereton scoring a combined 35.

Brereton returned to taking pull-up jump shots in transition, a sign of when he’s playing with confidence.

"It’s a big difference … playing minutes as compared to aggressive minutes," associate head coach Benjy Taylor said. "When he plays aggressive minutes, he’s a pretty good basketball player. And that’s what he’s doing now. He’s taking advantage of his opportunity. He’s being aggressive. Hopefully we can send him out of here in style."

Brereton will have a special guest in the audience this week. His younger brother Landon has religiously followed Hauns’ hoops career from afar, and flew to Hawaii with their father. Landon successfully fought off brain and spinal cancer as a child, and now is on his high school bowling team as a freshman.

"He’s my biggest fan and he’s my biggest hero," Brereton said. "It’s neat for him to be here. It gives me an extra boost of energy when I see him.

"The goal is to finish strong and have fun playing for everybody here."

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