Christian Standhardinger sympathizes with the enemy.

The Hawaii basketball senior forward is on pace to take and make more free throws in a single season than any other player in Rainbow Warriors history.

He’s also on a career clip for aggravated opponents; after all, for him to get to the line so much, someone must be called for fouls. Repeatedly.

In UH’s last home game against UC Riverside, forward Taylor Johns was one such victim. The Highlanders’ best player fouled out with four points in 19 minutes while guarding Standhardinger.

"Last time, I told (him), ‘You have three fouls, right?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s messed up, bro. Watch out you don’t get another one. I want to keep playing with you,’ " Standhardinger said. "And then I go right into him to get another foul, and I got one (on him). And then he was really mad. But I was a nice guy to him, so I didn’t understand."

The irrepressible native of Germany does understand (and readily admits) that this season’s NCAA rules changes limiting hand-checking and arm bars by defenders have made it exceedingly difficult to stop him 1-on-1 on drives to the basket without getting whistled.

That’s even with just about everyone in the building knowing where Standhardinger wants to go — to his right for a right-handed layup.

Standhardinger has taken full advantage of it, leading the Big West in trips to the line as well as converting once he gets there, contributing mightily to the 18.2 points per game average of UH’s No. 1 scoring option.

The 6-foot-8 tri-captain has been exceedingly productive lately, with four double-doubles in the past six games for UH (14-5, 3-2 Big West). The Rainbow Warriors came up with a huge road sweep of UC Davis and UC Irvine last week and head into a four-game homestand with serious momentum, starting with Thursday’s 7 p.m. date with Long Beach State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I love how Christian’s playing," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "He’s playing like a senior, he’s playing like his last year of college basketball, and he’s giving it everything he’s got every single night. … He’s become a true leader and a go-to guy, and other defenses now are starting to key on him, which is the greatest compliment you can have as a player."

Standhardinger and his head coach both possess headstrong, competitive personalities, which occasionally has led to high-decibel practices, especially during his All-Big West junior campaign. The clashes are less frequent this season, though.

"I’ll be honest with you, the beginning of last year was a little bit tough," Standhardinger said. "Of course we head-butted a lot, and he won because he’s the head coach." he laughed. "(This year) it’s more like, I know what he wants out of me, and he knows my (playing time) wishes. He respects them, and I appreciate that. So far he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever played with and maybe the one coach who wanted to win the most of all."

Among players, Standhardinger’s relentless drive to win and to come up big while doing it borders on frightening. Witness his multiple "King of the Beach" preseason team fitness titles.

Assistant coach Scott Fisher, who works with the team’s big men, does not envy the task opposing staffs have in drawing up schemes to stop him. Few have succeeded; Standhardinger has had eight 20-point games and one 30-point game this season.

Standhardinger shot 17 free throws against Saint Mary’s in the Diamond Head Classic and 22 against Chaminade on Kauai. The free-throw parade hasn’t let up against conference opponents; he’s gone to the line at least 10 times in UH’s last four games.

"It’s a hard thing for another big," Fisher said. "You gotta have mobile feet to keep him from getting the ball. You almost want to put a guard on him to limit his touches, or at least make him catch it a bit further out. I just don’t think, in our conference, there really is another big that has the defensive mobility to stay with him."

Standhardinger has always been one to get to the rim, but now more than ever in UH’s up-tempo offense. He’s attempting 8.6 free throws per game and making 6.4, at a 74.4 percent conversion rate. In total, that’s good for 15th in the country in attempts (164) and 18th in makes (122). With at least 12 games remaining, he has plenty of time to make a run at John Penebacker’s UH-record 224 attempts in 1969-70 and Chris Gaines’ 184 makes in 1989-90. He’s also on pace to become the program’s 16th 1,000-point career scorer (he needs 151 more).

"I can put my hand on my heart and say he’s the only guy I know in NCAA who gets those kind of foul calls he gets," center Davis Rozitis said. "I see the other people who are guarding him, they’re just so frustrated and when Christian pumps it up with his "Boom!" it’s just, defenders go haywire. It’s just funny to watch."

Fisher said Standhardinger, primarily a face-up player, has benefited from the departure of Vander Joaquim, a traditional, slower-moving center who would sometimes clog his pathways to the hoop. He’s profited from playing alongside the more mobile Isaac Fotu. Defensively, he’s become more of a threat to block shots (17) while still leading the team in steals (30).

By his energetic nature, Standhardinger is forever on the move. Stagnation at Nebraska, where he began his college career in 2009 and lasted a season and a half, was a large part of why he made a mid-career change. But he thinks he might have found a place he could call home beyond his playing days.

He’ll soon graduate from UH in business, and is undecided whether he will pursue a pro basketball career overseas or go into the business field. If it’s the latter, he would prefer to remain on the West Coast or in the islands.

"I’m very happy and blessed I was able to live in a beautiful place like this, and happy to celebrate some victories," Standhardinger said. "At this place I hope there will be coming many more."

When it comes to his free throws, you can count on it. The victories tend to follow.