‘Bows aim to bounce back from loss to Missouri

By default and by choice, new Hawaii Hilo basketball coach GE Coleman hit the ground running.

Coleman had little time to restock a depleted program upon taking the Vulcans’ reins in July, necessitating an accelerated recruitment process to bring in athletes that fit his style.

A style, it turns out, that mirrors the recent up-and-down persona of the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

The sister schools square off at the Stan Sheriff Center tonight in a relatively rare regular-season meeting. It’s only the sixth time (not including exhibitions) UH and Hilo have met, with all five previous meetings going to the ‘Bows.

Coleman replaced 15-year coach Jeff Law, who took the head coaching job at Western New Mexico in March. Law, a former Rainbow Warriors assistant under Riley Wallace, was the longest-tenured coach in Vulcans hoops history. Coleman’s first order of business was to find athletic and interchangeable wing players.

"It’s been a good transition (and) the community and the university’s been very supportive," said Coleman, a former associate coach at Central Washington. "When we got here, there (were) only five returning players on roster, so we really had to go out and get nine guys from July 1 until we started school on Aug. 26.

"It was a hectic transition, but it’s been a positive transition."

There’s still change going on in Hilo, actually. Vulcans athletic director Dexter Irvin will leave his position at the end of the calendar year to take that position at the College of Southern Nevada, it was reported around the state this week.

For UH, it is the first of two non-Division I opponents on the schedule.

"They’re a type of team, much like us, they want to get it up and down," said UH assistant coach Brandyn Akana, who scouted the Vulcans and knows Coleman well. "They’re not a very big team. But for them this is a big game. This is like their Super Bowl. They’re going to come in and be at their best. And we here need to expect that and we need to be ready."

Through their first two games, Hilo had four players averaging double-figure scoring. UH answers with a starting five — Keith Shamburger, Garrett Nevels, Brandon Spearman, Isaac Fotu and Christian Standhardinger — that has averaged 10 or better for a team putting up a brisk 82.8 points per game.

The Vulcans top out at 6 feet 7, pretty close to UH’s starting lineup. The difference is UH has size it can call off the bench.

"Obviously Hawaii’s a very good team," Coleman said. "They have plenty of size, they have great guards. You know, for us, the one thing I want to do is compete for 40 minutes. Not so much the score, but are we able to go out and compete and play to the best of our ability."

Hilo defeated Western State 88-62 on Wednesday and was to fly over to Oahu this morning.

The ‘Bows spent this week regrouping after a 92-80 loss to Missouri on Saturday, a game in which they led by a point at the half.

Coach Gib Arnold emphasized defense all week after his team gave up 90-plus points in consecutive losses and is up to 49 percent shooting allowed on the season.

Spearman, a tri-captain, was asked if there was any concern among the team about a letdown going from a game against a power-conference team in Mizzou to a local Division II opponent of the PacWest Conference.

"Most definitely (the focus will) be there," Spearman said. "We want to go out and prove to people we can play defense the best in the country, team-wise. We’re going to go out there, D-II, D-III, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to go out there and perform."

Or as Standhardinger said: "We can’t wait to play those Hilo guys and we don’t care if they’re Division II, Division III, Division IV. I mean, they’re an opponent and we have to beat them — that’s all we know."