When it comes to ball control, Hawaii has turned over a new leaf.
A Rainbow Warriors team goal heading into the 2013-14 season was to keep turnovers out of the teens — no small feat considering the last UH team to do that was Riley Wallace’s 2004-05 edition.
Well, so far, so good. The ‘Bows are giving the ball away only 12.6 times per game through seven contests.
UH (5-2) looks to win its fourth straight matchup, and first of the season on the road, at Northern Arizona (2-6) at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The team departed on a direct flight for Phoenix on Thursday afternoon and was to arrive in Flagstaff, Ariz., by bus early this morning.
The ‘Bows have shown gradual improvement in turnovers since Gib Arnold took over as head coach in 2010. This year’s current rate is down from 14.4 per game last year, 15.2 the year before that, and 15.9 in Arnold’s first season of 2010-11.
Perhaps most impressively, UH is doing it this year while playing at an up-tempo pace, meaning more possessions per game — and more chances to cough up the rock.
It’s also worth mentioning that new rules introduced by the NCAA this season have made it tougher for defenses to earn turnovers through drawing charges or by playing physical with opponents. UH is only in the middle of the pack in turnovers among Big West Conference teams so far.
But throw out the 22 giveaways in a bench-emptying blowout against New Orleans, and the season figure drops to 11.0 turnovers in the six other games. The last UH team to post a better rate over a whole season was the ‘Bows’ last NCAA Tournament team of 2001-02, at 12.3 per game.
UH has had problems in recent years with consistent point-guard play. However, new ballhandlers Keith Shamburger and Quincy Smith have combined for 50 assists against 23 turnovers — better than a 2-to-1 ratio.
"It starts with Keith," Arnold said. "He does a great job of controlling the tempo and controlling the ball. Then you’ve got Quincy who comes in and does the same thing. You look at our wings, you look at (Brandon) Spearman, you look at Garrett Nevels, they have amazing turnover stats or lack thereof. We just don’t do it a lot. Occasionally we might make a silly play. Maybe we play a little too fast.
"But again, if we keep it down, with how fast we play — there are going to be a few — but if we can just keep it to a minimum, and I think anytime you’re out of the teens with how fast we play, I’ll be real pleased."
It’s helped overall production. UH entered Thursday 17th in the country in scoring at 86.9 points per game. For a season, that would rank as the team’s best output since the Fabulous Five years of 1970-71 (91.4 ppg) and 1971-72 (91.7 ppg).
Shamburger’s assist-to-turnover ratio was an efficient 2.2-to-1 in two seasons at San Jose State before he transferred to Hawaii.
"With me, I’ve always valued the ball," Shamburger said. "When I was at San Jose, the coach (George Nessman) always told me to value the ball and you’ll be able to make the kind of pass you want. I learned that there. Cherish every moment you’ve got with the ball. Don’t just turn it over, don’t just pass the silly passes. You really gotta make sure the pass count and make sure it’s sent to the right person."
Even forward Christian Standhardinger, UH’s top scorer (18.4 ppg), has more assists (15) than turnovers (14). He finished with 43 assists to 60 turnovers last season.
"I think that Quincy and Keith, they both do just an amazing job as point guards," Standhardinger said. "They share the ball and make sure nobody turns it over. Our team goal, our turnover problem like we had last year (was to go) to a team that doesn’t have a turnover problem at all. That’s because the point guard position is different. We stay together."
