Christian Standhardinger brought the boom to another "King of the Beach" competition.

The energetic Hawaii basketball senior forward edged out his teammates and defended his title in coach Gib Arnold’s annual preseason conditioning championship at Queen’s Beach on Saturday morning.

He became the first repeat winner in the event’s four years and gets his name attached to the koa wood bowl perpetual trophy a second time alongside past champs Bill Amis and Hauns Brereton.

The German didn’t actually yell out his signature big-play exclamation of "Boom!" on Saturday, but his actions signaled he’s shaped up for another season of them — booms and big plays both.

"I won it again for my mom," said Standhardinger, who finished with 17 points among more than a dozen events in the Waikiki sand — such as the long jump and sprints — designed to test teamwork and overall fitness. Up to three points per event were awarded for the top three individual finishers.

"I felt like it was a lot tougher, but I’m happy it worked out that way," he said. "I had a little advantage because some drills we already did (in past years), so I had the experience and that helped a lot. So, good that I won it. Yay."

King of the Beach has signaled the start of full Rainbow Warriors practices in past years, and this preseason is no different — besides the fact that everything is bumped up by about two weeks, and dawn beach conditioning sessions on Saturdays were curtailed at five weeks.

Full practices begin on Monday as part of the NCAA’s new timetable for coaches to work with their entire roster. Practices used to begin on Oct. 15 or shortly thereafter.

"I just think we’re all really looking forward to it," Arnold said. "I think this group, more than any group I’ve had, is really close. I think this group really enjoys playing with each other. I’m looking forward to getting after them."

UH went 17-15 (10-8 Big West) and lost in the first round of both the conference tournament and the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament last year.

Standhardinger averaged 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season en route to Big West first-team honors. Along the way he garnered a reputation as someone who could get under opponents’ skin with his tireless hustle and expressive features. Once again, his grit and wit extended to the sand.

"Christian was the guy to beat and he proved it again," Arnold said.

Standhardinger said he worked on finishing plays with his left hand with the German national team over the summer and bulked up about 20 pounds.

Senior center Davis Rozitis was the King runner-up with 16 points, though he won the day’s signature final challenge, in which players run down to the shore, dunk themselves underwater, run back up and must be the first to throw a weighted ball over a goal while other players try to stop their comrades in a chaotic free-for-all.

"Our team rule is compete, and I just went in there and competed," Rozitis said. "Other guys did the same thing."

Among the team’s seven newcomers, point guard Quincy Smith was the highest scorer.

All 17 UH players were present except Missouri transfer Negus Webster-Chan, who was back in his native Toronto for a relative’s funeral.

Redshirt freshman Dyrbe Enos, a Kamehameha product, finished a point behind Rozitis in third.