They say it in Los Angeles’ popular Drew League in the summer and it holds true for the Hawaii basketball wings this winter: No excuse, just produce.

The Rainbow Warriors’ 2016-17 team theme of new beginnings is as prevalent at shooting guard and small forward as anywhere else on the floor. UH will count on a combination of freshmen and older players looking for a chance to make up for heavy losses from its NCAA Tournament team of March.

“It’s been a good group to work with and they’ve obviously improved since they’ve gotten here,” said assistant coach John Montgomery, who oversees the wings.

True frosh Leland Green and UCLA graduate transfer Noah Allen earned the starting spots at the 2 and 3 over a six-week preseason. They’ll get the first shot to provide a scoring lift both from behind the arc and on the drive to make UH’s four-out offense hum. At the other end, they’ll usually be matched up against opponents’ most athletic threats.

Larry Lewis Jr., Zach Buscher, Brian Garrett and Drew Buggs will begin the season on the bench, but are all candidates for rotation time by season’s end.

UH coach Eran Ganot spent much of the preseason exhorting his players, particularly on the wings, to play with fire.

“No team is good playing on their heels,” he said. “And I don’t want any of our guys playing on their heels. I’ll put it out there: Go for it.”

New-look UH opens the season Friday in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic against SIU-Edwardsville at 9 p.m., following the Armed Forces Classic doubleheader at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Gone is Big West second-teamer Aaron Valdes (14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds per game) to the pros a season early. The brash but talented Isaac Fleming (9.5 ppg) had a mutual parting of ways with the program and now resides at East Carolina. Sheriff Drammeh, last season’s precocious wing sub, is the team’s new starting point guard.

The 6-foot-7 Allen, who has one year to play, is the quintessential Band-Aid. He arrived having played for two NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams with the Bruins, but as a role player — his career high is six points — prized mostly for defense in his three-year career in Westwood.

In Manoa, he ran virtually unopposed for the starting job at the 3. He scored 15 points on nine shots in last week’s exhibition against BYU-Hawaii, flashing some aggressiveness.

“That was kind of the expectation — we need you to be the guy,” Montgomery said. “We need you to take some of the scoring load, and be … the oldest guy (at the position), be the senior, be one of those guys. And it’s not always been natural for him. And we’ve pushed him.”

Allen, who is 2 inches taller than Valdes, also must try to replicate his predecessor’s effective perimeter D.

Green, a 6-foot-2 guard from Los Angeles, was brought in with defense in mind but flashed a more nuanced offensive game than expected; he has a strong frame, plays stoically and has a knack for knocking down shots in live situations.

“I feel like if nothing’s going for me, if anything I play hard,” Green said of his ethos.

He surpassed Lewis, a junior out of Odessa (Texas) College with previous D-I experience, for a starting nod.

“I think anytime you give a responsibility to a freshman to start, you don’t expect that coming in,” Montgomery said. “It’s been really good to see him break through and take that spot. So I think we’re very pleased with where he’s at, and he can only get better.”

Both Allen and Green have hit the 3-ball at a better rate than advertised, which allows them increased blow-by opportunities.

“I think if we didn’t have that, we’d be trying to figure out how we were going to score,” Montgomery said. “Now we … realize that these two, we can rely on to make shots, and that goes a long way for us.”

Lewis, who started his career at Texas-San Antonio, is good in transition and as a finisher, but is still learning when to pick his spots in UH’s system. Buscher, a walk-on out of ‘Iolani, begins the season as the backup to Allen at the 3. “Bush” was known for his “Hawaii 5-O” bench antics last year but is now called the team’s “ultimate blender” for his knowledge of the system.

“I think time will tell, but right now I think he’s going to be our first sub at that (3) position,” Montgomery said. “And then hopefully we’d like Larry to come along a little more later for that role. But yeah, Bush is going to get his chances early on.”

Buggs is a redshirt candidate, sitting out of contact drills in practices while he rehabs from offseason knee surgery. The 6-2 combo guard suffered a torn right ACL and meniscus to start his senior year at Long Beach Poly (Calif.) High, then toughed it out to return for the playoffs. If he is fully cleared by December, UH might ready him for Big West play.

Garrett, a Bay Area junior college shot-maker with an unorthodox release, walked on and has settled onto the scout team.

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Thursday: The Bigs