UH’s Buggs shoots for making up lost time

When tracking the progress of Drew Buggs, the best number to keep an eye on, for now, is the one on the far right of the statistics sheet, the one that lists minutes played.

With Buggs recovering from injuries for two years now, University of Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot and his staff plan to stay the course and bring the second-year freshman point guard along as slowly as necessary.

In that department, Sunday’s Green and White scrimmage was a plus, as Buggs played 28 of the possible 30 minutes.

“I’m still working back to (full health), but that’s part of sports,” said Buggs, who suffered a broken leg and tore up a knee early in his high school senior season. “You’re not always going to be 100 percent so you have to find ways to help the team.”

So, getting out on the court — and staying there — was big.

He didn’t disappoint in other areas, too.

Buggs improved as the scrimmage — three periods of 12, 10, and eight minutes — went on, including hitting a 3-pointer from the left wing with two seconds left in the third and final session. The “game-winner” broke an 18-all tie.

It was a tasty — and free — appetizer for UH hoops fans who will have to hold them over until a Nov. 1 exhibition against Hawaii Pacific, also at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“Isn’t that a good thing? Don’t you want to leave wanting more rather than wanting to get out of here?”

Ganot asked that rhetorically, and in appreciation of the fans who showed up and mingled with players during a post-scrimmage autograph session. But it’s clear he and his team need all the work they can get after an overall 18-assist, 19-turnover performance.

Individually, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Buggs was five and three … not quite where you want your starting point guard on assists to turnovers, but not bad for October, either.

He made four of eight shots from the floor, and seven of his 11 points came in the final session. Ganot was pleased by his improvement as the scrimmage wore on. Of course, there are few better ways to end it than with a buzzer-beater.

“And he deserved it,” the coach said. “I think a lot of times it’s a by-product of an approach. And he could’ve gone the other way, because I don’t think he was pleased with his first 12 minutes. But you wouldn’t have known it. And that’s a great step in the (right) direction of his leadership, even though he’s a redshirt freshman. It set him and his team up to finish well.”

Even though this was just a glorified intrasquad practice, it was big for Buggs and the ’Bows. It’s been a long wait, and so far he looks like he could fill that point guard position where UH was so wanting last season.

“It was real fun to finally get out there and play in front of the crowd. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of, playing Division I basketball. It was a great time, to get out there and have fun with my teammates,” Buggs said. “I think we did a really good job. We played hard, we played as a team. We played unselfish. Of course there’s things we need to work on …We still have time before the season to tune up things offensively and defensively. But I think as a unit we did a good job.”

Ganot said the Rainbows looked good to the “naked eye,” but the tape will show plenty to work on. He liked how 3-point shooting improved each segment (from 0-for-9 to 5-for-15 to 7-for-14), but was displeased with a lack of passes — or at least consideration of such — inside from the perimeter.

“We want to be balanced, and that was not to the level we want,” he said. “At times I think we didn’t give it a look. You’ve got to look at all your options and threats. Inside and out.”

Ido Flaisher, who emerged as a fan-favorite last year as an energetic 6-foot-10 freshman post, has clearly worked toward becoming a more efficient player. But he and UH’s other big men didn’t get as many touches as Ganot wanted.

“A couple of times he went back (to old habits), Zigmars (Raimo) too, pump-faking air. But they’ve both improved,” the coach said. “We clearly needed to look inside more. It’s one of our strengths.”

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.