The University of Hawaii basketball team has launched a soft opening to this week’s start of training camp.

The past Wednesday’s practice was the first of the contact period, during which NCAA Division I teams are permitted up to 20 hours of practices or meetings each week. They were allowed 12-hour workweeks during the previous cycle. This period allows teams 30 practices over a 42-day period leading to the Nov. 25 start of the NCAA’s basketball season.

“I thought they did a good job,” head coach Eran Ganot said of the first workout of this period. “You could tell how excited they were for any kind of contact or competition. There’s a joy in being back on the court.”

Ganot acknowledged these are not ordinary times for the Rainbow Warriors. Because of the pandemic, the ’Bows have not had a practice involving five-on-five sessions since March 12. That was the day before the ’Bows were told their postseason was being canceled.

The offseason meetings were conducted through Zoom sessions, with players finding ways to train on their own while adhering to social-distancing measures and health guidelines. For the in-person training that began in August, the players wore masks while focusing on skill drills.

The ’Bows followed the same safety protocols during Wednesday’s practice. Everyone in Gym II wore masks. The coaches also wore gloves. The locker room remains closed.

“You’re phasing in contact,” Ganot said of the progression that begins with one-on-one drills and will eventually lead to full-court, five-on-five sessions. “We haven’t been able to teach defense to the extent we need to for obvious reasons. We’re very regimented in terms of having a process. … We’re cautious because this is almost a shock to their system when you haven’t been doing it for so long.”

While the calendar shows it is mid-October, the ’Bows are setting practices to the players’ body clocks. The ’Bows did not practice on Thursday as a way to monitor their physical response to Wednesday’s practice.

“UH has done a great job,” Ganot said. “The medical team has done a great job. We’re listening to that group, and we’re also listening to our guys the best we can. Now that we’re in this phase, we’re basically telling them: ‘hey, talk to us. Take us through how you’re feeling.’ It sounds crazy to some. But one-on-one hasn’t happened yet. Seven months off of it, just to go into it, how is that process going to look like? It’s better to increase cautiously with a goal to increase our phasing.”

The ’Bows have seven newcomers on their 15-player roster. All 15 attended Wednesday’s practice. Ganot said the newcomers — many of whom can play multiple positions — showed athleticism and versatility.

“We haven’t been able to put them through the things they normally need to be put through in terms of the competition piece,” Ganot said. “We have a way to go, and we have a lot to learn. We’re not going to rush it. First impressions? They get after it. The athleticism, at times, was pretty fun to watch. … We were being careful, but they wanted more. I get it. We were all ready to do more. Everybody wants to play more. But it was more playing that they had been allowed (previously this offseason).”

Ganot said the ’Bows, led by director of operations Jesse Nakanishi, are working feverishly to build a nonconference schedule. “I have a lot of confidence, in that regard, in terms of presenting options that might be possible for us,” Ganot said.