The unveiling of Eran Ganot’s remixed Rainbow Warriors basketball team commences Saturday.
That’s when Hawaii will conduct a Green and White intrasquad scrimmage at the Stan Sheriff Center, showcasing most of last year’s 22-13 squad but with a new style, new coaching staff and a handful of player additions.
“We’ll put a couple of halves together, mix teams up and change defenses up, things like that,” Ganot said. “But we’re inviting the public to get a look.”
The time is to be determined (possibly around 2 or 3 p.m.). Admission will be free, the coach said.
UH has held full practices for a little more than two weeks. Ganot, a former assistant at Saint Mary’s, elected to go without an “Ohana Hoopfest”-type of season kick-off event, so Saturday is the first time to see this year’s group in action.
“Our team is improved a lot from this summer,” said center Stefan Jovanovic, one of nine returning players who saw action last season under interim coach Benjy Taylor. “I think we have a better team than last year. We’ll definitely have something to show the fans.”
They might do two 20-minute halves, or a 20-minute period followed by two 10-minute sessions with players shuffled. Officials will call the action.
“It’s very much a controlled scrimmage,” Ganot said. “You’re trying to work your way up to playing a little bit more, playing with the new rules and getting used to a game day.”
UH still has a little more than two weeks until the Nov. 5 exhibition vs. Chaminade, followed by the Nov. 13 regular-season opener vs. Montana State.
Forward Sai Tummala, one of four newcomers, said he’s embraced the challenge of melding with a largely established group.
“Everyone’s been really welcoming and I feel like I’m at home here,” said Tummala, a graduate student who arrived from Arizona State. “We’re working really hard trying to get our offense in.”
Jovanovic said fans should expect to see something “a lot different” than the style they might have been accustomed to last year. UH has mostly operated in a four-out, one-in scheme under Ganot.
“To be honest, I love it,” Jovanovic said. “It’s a lot of ball screens. … This year’s a lot of the style I used to watch on TV in Euroleague and all those big-time teams that play in Europe, and right now … it reminds me of the ball movement the Spurs do.”
The UH women’s basketball team previously announced its own Green and White Scrimmage for 7 p.m. Friday.
