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To guide others, Hawaii’s point guards must first learn to direct themselves.
On-the-job training in basketball’s most important position is far from ideal, but that’s the reality for the Rainbow Warriors heading into an uncertain season coming off the departure of all-conference floor general Roderick Bobbitt.
Sophomore Sheriff Drammeh, a wing player and reserve last season, has emerged as the lead guard of an inexperienced group that also includes true freshman Matt Owies and third-year sophomore Brocke Stepteau.
“Roderick Bobbitt was such an experienced, smart player, (and) on the court, had natural leadership to him,” said UH associate head coach Adam Jacobsen, who oversees the point guards and UH offense. “And now you’re taking a bunch of young guys … and getting those guys to not only understand our plays, understand how to play against other people, but then you’re also teaching them the leadership piece and how to run a team.”
Time’s almost up on the cram session. Six weeks of preseason come to an end Friday, when UH opens the 2016-17 season in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic against SIU-Edwardsville at 9 p.m., following the Armed Forces Classic doubleheader at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Bobbitt departed as the UH career leader in steals (168) in just two years and was fourth in assists (367). But he also played with an unshakable confidence that gave his teammates hope in difficult situations.
The 6-foot-3 Drammeh, despite weighing in at (maybe) 160 pounds, brings his own swagger to the table — he is the guy, after all, who double-dabbed in the NCAA Tournament after taking charges against Cal.
He’s a rare familiar face on a roster stocked with newcomers, but in an unfamiliar role. Besides Bobbitt, UH lost ball-handlers Quincy Smith, Niko Filipovich and Dyrbe Enos.
“It’s getting better each day,” Drammeh said of the chemistry with the first unit. “It’s a brand-new team, so it’s hard. But we’re progressing every day. That’s basically the most important part.”
The “Hawaii 5-O” bench alumnus had 15 assists in 32 games played as a freshman. Distributing wasn’t his job, and he knew it.
Drammeh got a dry run at the point with his native Sweden in the FIBA U-20 European championships in the offseason, helping his country to a 10th-place finish among 16 teams. When he returned to UH for the fall, he made it a point to appear in the coaches’ offices every practice day, imploring Jacobsen and head coach Eran Ganot for means to get better.
It’s been difficult at times; the point guard must know not only his own position in the four-out offense, but those of all his teammates as well. That the other players are rookies in the system just adds to the degree of difficulty.
“Sheriff’s great in the sense you can coach him, and he knows the things he’s doing well and the things he needs to work on,” Ganot said. “He’s being thrown in the fire at a tough position with a new group. The most important position.”
His natural inclination remains as a scorer, as he showed in last week’s exhibition win against BYU-Hawaii (team-high 19 points, three assists and three turnovers).
The 6-foot Owies, meanwhile, grew up as a pure point guard in Australia and is used to running a team. He played for the junior national team of his up-and-coming hoops country as recently as 2014. His drawbacks? He lacks Drammeh’s explosiveness, and his next Division I minute will be his first.
Owies grew increasingly vocal over the course of the preseason and positioned himself as one of the first men off the bench. He scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting vs. BYUH.
“He came in and established himself as a leader of our team. Leadership because of his energy, his voice, how smart he is,” Jacobsen said. “He shoots the ball really, really well, and that’s something he’s improved a lot. He’s worked hard.”
Drammeh and Owies could often share the backcourt, as Bobbitt and Quincy Smith did to great effect last year. The idea this time is two ball-handlers can relieve pressure — of sole expectations and of opponents — on the other.
Stepteau, a 5-9 walk-on from Dallas, could see his first real action this season after spending the past two years strictly as a scout-teamer.
“Brocke’s a guy who can go in, make shots, handle the ball and run a team,” Jacobsen said. “If (the others struggle) Brocke will be there ready to go to make shots and play well, and we have confidence in him to be able to do that.”
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Tomorrow: The Wings
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