The show went on for the University of Hawaii basketball team, even without a buffet dinner, dessert table or highlight video.
The Rainbow Warriors were scheduled to pay tribute to the 2019-20 season with the annual banquet on Monday night. But the event was canceled because of the pandemic. Instead, the ’Bows celebrated with the social-media announcement of the team awards.
Eddie Stansberry, who led the ’Bows in scoring (15.9 points per game), was named winner of the Art Woolaway Most Outstanding Player Award. Stansberry, who transferred from City College of San Francisco in August 2018, proved to be durable (37 minutes per game) and versatile, expanding his game from 3-point shooting to drives, passing and menacing defense.
“Eddie is a joy to coach,” assistant coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “You know what you’re going to get every day from an attitude standpoint, from a workman’s standpoint. He’s a marathon man. I don’t know too many players who can play the amount of minutes he played night in and night out, and still come to practice every day ready to go and compete and never miss a single thing. He’s a warrior. It was nice to see what he achieved from a personal standpoint because he put in so much work.”
Head coach Eran Ganot said Stansberry had used the offseason to improve his strength and stamina. Ganot said Stansberry was in good shape and then “he went up a notch. He decided to be as good a condition player as there was in our league. … People talk about the big shots and the confidence to shoot it. I look at it as a guy who sacrificed to put himself in the best position to have his best year, and to do it on both ends. I think he’s awesome.”
Point guard Drew Buggs said: “Eddie’s amazing, He’s the GOAT. He deserves everything he gets. It was an honor to play with Eddie.”
Buggs, a fourth-year junior, received two honors — The Riley Wallace Leadership Award and the Ah Chew Goo Most Inspirational Award.
It was an emotional season for Buggs, whose mother died in October. Buggs, who was a co-captain, led the Big West in assists (5.4 per game). He also set the program’s record with 437 career assists.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by the coaching staff as a leader,” Buggs said. “It was an honor to be a captain along with Ziggy this year. He’s a great leader as well.”
Raimo also was a dual winner, earning a share of the leadership award and receiving the Bob Nash Hustle Award. At 6-9, Raimo played center and power forward while contributing per-game averages of 9.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals.
Samuta Avea, a 2017 Kahuku High graduate, won the Most Improved Award after increasing his scoring from 4.7 points per game as a sophomore to 10.8 points in 25 starts this season.
Zoar Nedd, a second-year freshman, was recognized for his community service. Sophomore center Mate Colina received the Scholar-Athlete Award.
UH BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS
>> Art Woolaway Most Outstanding Player Award: Eddie Stansberry
>> Riley Wallace Leadership Award: Drew Buggs and Zigmars Raimo
>> Bob Nash Hustle Award: Zigmars Raimo
>> Ah Chew Goo Most Inspirational Award: Drew Buggs
>> Community Service Award: Zoar Nedd
>> Scholar-Athlete Award: Mate Colina
>> Most Improved Award: Samuta Avea
