Arnold has faith Warriors can leap from good to great

Gib Arnold wants more in Year 4.

There have been glimpses of greatness in Hawaii basketball over the past three seasons. Flourishing flashes, but always fleeting as the calendar flips toward March.

UH has not had a losing season with Arnold as its head coach, going 19-13, 16-16 and 17-15 (52-44) in his first three seasons. It’s the most wins for a UH coach through the first three years of a career since the transition to an all-college schedule in the late 1960s.

But the program has not reached the 20-win mark — a barometer of success in most college hoops corners — since Riley Wallace’s 2003-04 team went 21-12 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

"We’ve been a good team. I want to be a great team," Arnold said. "I want these guys to experience climbing up that ladder and cutting down nets, and winning championships. I think that is why I came here and why these guys came here. I think the next step is to make that (leap from) good to great, and that’s probably the hardest step. And to be consistent, to be consistently fighting. We’re not there yet, but that’s gotta be the next step. That’s the goal."

The 2013-14 season opens today against Tennessee State in the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic.

Arnold enters it in the final year of his contract but is expected to receive a multi-year extension, possibly by the start of the fall signing period on Nov. 17.

The Rainbow Warriors have participated in the pay-to-play CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament twice in the past three years, but Arnold’s broader goal of taking UH back to the NCAA Tournament remains an open checkbox. The ‘Bows last went to the Big Dance more than a decade ago in 2002, when they repeated as Western Athletic Conference tournament champs behind Predrag Savovic and Carl English.

Any throwback to twine-shearing will require the ‘Bows to win their first Big West tournament championship at Anaheim, Calif., in March; the Big West is again considered a one-bid league. A first-place finish in the conference regular season also guarantees a team a spot in the NIT, should it be knocked out in the BWC tourney.

Coming off a disappointing conclusion to last season, in which UH lost six of its last eight and was one-and-done in the league tournament and CIT, the ‘Bows were picked in the BWC preseason media poll to finish sixth in the now nine-team (down from 10) BWC. UH was fifth in its inaugural Big West tour of duty last year at 10-8.

But the ‘Bows have swapped in a swagger as they move past the Vander Joaquim era, with several new guards, led by San Jose State transfer Keith Shamburger at the point.

"As coaches that really makes us feel comfortable that we can have that depth … at the point guard position," said assistant coach Brandyn Akana, who works with the guards. "It’s our leader, it’s at the top of our defense, at the top of our offense. And is supposed to be an extension of the coach on the floor."

First-team All-Big West forward Christian Standhardinger and BWC co-freshman of the year Isaac Fotu anchor the frontcourt, but there could be some drop-off behind them.

"I think we’re a little deeper in the guard line than we’ve ever been," Arnold said. "And we’re thinner than we’ve ever been in the frontcourt. (But) I think we’re solid in the frontcourt. You’ve got Isaac and Christian. … Real comfortable with Davis (center Rozitis)."

UH looked to push the tempo in the preseason; a scoring average higher than last year’s 73 per game is a possibility.

"We’ll be able to play a quicker game of basketball," Arnold said. "Both offensively, as far as our fast-break action, and then defensively where we can maybe speed up some teams (with pressure). I’m hoping we can be able to do it for 40 minutes. The hard part will be back-to-back nights, and the second night of a road trip."

Whether UH can do so without coughing up the ball excessively will also be a make-or-break factor in how much it runs; UH was turnover-prone last year at 14.4 per game. Arnold would like to see that number drop to 12 or fewer.

Depth is also a determining factor in an up-tempo style. UH began the preseason fully stocked at 17 healthy players, but attrition took hold in the preseason; as many as three players could be out injured for the season opener, including tri-captain Brandon Spearman.

"I’m hoping that’s our identity (the up-tempo style), but it’s still too early to tell if we can sustain that through the whole season," Arnold said.

THE RAINBOWS SHOULD SEE AN UPGRADE IN THEIR GUARD PLAY, AND ESPECIALLY IN THEIR SHOT-MAKING ABILITY

It’s less "rags to riches" and more "sags to swishes" for the Hawaii ballhandlers.

A rebuilt guard rotation has the Rainbow Warriors optimistic they can serve up an improved performance in 2013-14.

While one-year starting point guard Jace Tavita put up effective assist numbers (5.6 per game, ninth-best in UH single-season records) in 2012-13, UH was hurt — often — by its lack of shooting, athleticism and depth at the position. Opponents often sagged off against Tavita and converted backups Manroop Clair, Garrett Jefferson and Ozren Pavlovic, and collapsed on UH’s big men. Those four, all departed, combined to shoot less than 34 percent from the field and 60 percent at the free-throw line.

In the two years before that, ex-football slotback Miah Ostrowski was a midseason savior.

"This is the first year we can go deep at this position," said Brandyn Akana, UH’s assistant who works with the guards. "In previous years we haven’t been able to say that. We have two to three legit point guards who can come in, and experienced enough to do it."

The new starter is junior Keith Shamburger, a transfer from San Jose State. The one-time Hawaii recruit out of high school can hit shots and has a sense of when to dish in his drive-and-kick game. He played UH five times in two years in the WAC (winning once), then spent a season as a redshirt player, practicing against the ‘Bows and learning Gib Arnold’s system.

His backup is Quincy Smith, a transfer from the City College of San Francisco. Smith’s game isn’t as refined, but he possesses better length and athleticism, and he often looks to finish at the rim.

Shamburger and Smith may play together at times.

Redshirt freshman Dyrbe Enos, a Kamehameha product, has earned the confidence of the UH coaches and is the third option at the point — though he’s still more of a shooter.

True freshman Niko Filipovich may redshirt or see light action. Sophomore Michael Harper, a valued practice player, may occasionally be tossed into games.

WITH STANDHARDINGER AND FOTU BACK, THE ‘BOWS WILL QUICKEN THEIR ATTACK

A crowded Hawaii frontcourt just got a little more streamlined.

With three-year center Vander Joaquim gone, the Rainbow Warriors’ interior identity has shifted. A pound-it-inside mentality has evolved; UH naturally selected the swifter games of 6-foot-8 forwards Christian Standhardinger and Isaac Fotu as a focal point of attack.

"When you’ve got two of the best frontcourt players in the conference coming back, as well as Davis (Rozitis) for his fifth year of college, they’re probably going to make me look good," said UH assistant coach Scott Fisher, who works with the bigs.

At times last season, Joaquim, Standhardinger and Fotu struggled to play off each other and make good on their size advantage because of spacing issues and zone defenses. Standhardinger went on to get All-Big West Conference first-team honors, while Joaquim was relegated to honorable mention. Fotu was a BWC co-freshman of the year.

Joaquim memorably walked out on his teammates in the 2012-13 season-ending loss to Air Force, but he still left as the 10th-leading scorer (1,205) and third-leading rebounder (828) in school history. The Angolan was a big reason why UH outrebounded its opponents by an average margin of 5.7 per game.

"He did take up some room down there. We will miss his defensive rebounding," Fisher said. "He didn’t block as many shots (31) as we would have liked or he did the previous year (58). But I think he altered shots just with his height and length. Christian’s not going to do that very often. Fotu’s shown so far in the preseason a better aptitude at blocking shots than he did last year. So we’re going to do it with speed."

Standhardinger, a senior, and Fotu, a sophomore, worked on their outside shots in the offseason and will look to stretch the floor.

The 7-foot Rozitis has spent his career at UH as a backup to Joaquim, but this year will be his chance to shine as one of the first players off the bench. UH will still operate its "point zone" with Rozitis at the top of the key to throw off opposing guards.

The overall strength of the frontcourt may depend on the progress of true freshmen Mike Thomas and Stefan Jovanovic. The 6-8 Thomas is still growing into his frame but possesses athleticism and a strong desire to learn. Jovanovic, at 6-10, could see action against larger lineups, especially if UH’s first options get into quick foul trouble.

Redshirt freshman Caleb Dressler had back surgery in the preseason for a bulging disc and will miss the entire season.

THE ATHLETIC WINGS SHOULD ALLOW UH TO FLY AROUND AND COVER MORE GROUND

It shouldn’t be quite as easy to take a bite out of these wings.

A decided lack of speed at the shooting guard and small forward positions last season hurt the Rainbow Warriors, particularly in Big West games, when foes burned UH repeatedly from beyond the 3-point line at a 39.4 percent clip.

Graduated two-year part-time starter Hauns Brereton was the biggest loss on the wings. He contributed 10 points per game and hit 42 3s in 2012-13.

"This is a great group of wings. I think we’re pretty athletic, pretty deep," said associate head coach Benjy Taylor, who oversees those players. "They’re all skilled, they can shoot it. We have a multitude of options to put into the game. Nobody’s really young anymore in our core group that’s going to play. In the past we’ve had a lot of young guys we’ve tried to groom."

UH believes it matches better with opposing 3-point shooters. Garrett Nevels, an above-average shooter and leaper, has been plugged in at the two-spot coming off an unbeaten state championship season at Mt. San Antonio College. Senior captain Brandon Spearman, last year’s best all-around perimeter player, slid over to small forward before his preseason right ankle sprain knocked him out of the first games of the season. (He should be back before conference play in January.)

They aren’t the tallest on the outside at a respective 6-2 and 6-3.

"I think we give up size height-wise, but we don’t give up size girth-wise, athletic ability, being able to chase down long rebounds," Taylor said. "Get to the ball. Our close-out speed is better. We’re losing a little bit maybe in height, but we’re not losing anything that will produce on the stat line."

The ‘Bows can call upon a few options behind Nevels and Spearman.

Redshirt freshman Aaron Valdes could be the biggest recipient of playing time with Spearman out. An aggressive dunker and rebounder at 6-5, Valdes is a highlight waiting to happen.

Sophomore Brandon Jawato led the team in 3-pointers last season with 43 at a 41.3 percent conversion rate. He was limited in the offseason due to an ankle injury and struggled to shoot the ball in the preseason, bumping him down the depth chart. Taylor was quick to point out: "He’s a shooter and last year was not a fluke."

True freshman Jack Hackman, a walk-on, is a fine shooter but will likely wait his turn this season to make a future impact.

That last part is a given for Missouri transfer Negus Webster-Chan, a talented player with NBA dreams. He must redshirt per NCAA rules, but big things are expected next year.

Stories by Brian McInnis • Photography by Jamm Aquino • Graphics by Bryant Fukutomi

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