Rainbow Warriors on hold as college basketball season tips off

The Hawaii basketball team is on the mark and set, but still awaiting the “go” part.

The NCAA season officially tipped off this past Wednesday, but the Rainbow Warriors, for now, are not scheduled to play until their Big West opener against Cal Poly on Dec. 27.

Because of the pandemic, three nonconference games were voided when the NCAA delayed the start of the season. This year’s Diamond Head Classic, of which the ’Bows were supposed to be one of the eight participants, was relocated to Florida. It does not appear a road game against Santa Clara will be played. Two nonconference opponents on the initial schedule — Alcorn State and Hawaii Pacific — remain as possibilities. Head coach Eran Ganot expressed hopefulness that nonleague games can be scheduled ahead of the Big West opener.

“We’re very much going into this with a positive outlook,” Ganot said, “and not a ‘woe is me’ and ‘we don’t have this and that.’ We’re going to worry about what we can control. Easy to say, hard to do. But that’s the reality of our situation. We’re going to gravitate to what we have and not what we don’t have, and kind of go from there.”

The ’Bows have moved into the in-season training phase, in which they are allowed up to six days of basketball activities each week, although they are capped at 20 hours.

The ’Bows have seven newcomers, not including last year’s redshirt, guard Junior Madut. Post player Zigmars Raimo and sharp-shooting guard Eddie Stansberry completed their UH eligibility in March; point guard Drew Buggs went to Missouri as a graduate transfer.

Freshman Biwali Bayles, San Diego transfer Noel Coleman, Kameron Ng and JoVon McClanahan have rotated at the point in practices. Ganot said McClanahan is a scoring guard (23.5 points per game at Sheridan College the past season) who can play off the ball.

McClanahan represents this team’s versatility. Justin Webster can play both guard spots. Last season, Webster and Buggs often were used in a double-point lineup. “When you have a multiple point-guard look, it’s harder to defend in ball screens,” Ganot said. “With two (point) guards running your team, it’s harder to press.”

Madut, at 6 feet 5, can play both guard spots and also slide to the three position when the ’Bows want to go to a three-guard lineup. Samuta Avea, a senior, can play the two, three and four. Freshman Beon Riley, at 6-6 and 230 pounds, also can play everywhere but center.

“He’s been tough for us to keep off the offensive boards in practice,” Ganot said of Riley. “He has guard skills. He’s built like a traditional wing, but he’s more like a big guard. … He can play on ball screens and bring up the ball off of rebounds.”

By the middle of last season, Stansberry had expanded his scoring from mostly 3s to adding drives. “We lost our best shooter,” Ganot said of Stansberry, “but we may have added more shooters. JoVon is a good shooter. Casdon (Jardine) has been a double-digit scorer at our level (39% on 3s at Utah Valley). Webster is a good shooter who’s made a jump. Junior and Samuta can shoot.”

Ganot said 7-foot junior Mate Colina and 6-8 James Jean-Marie, a transfer from San Diego, are posts who are accurate on outside shots.

In their base four-out offense, the ’Bows utilize only one post. Ganot said Bernardo da Silva, Jean-Marie and Colina bring different skill sets. Da Silva, at 6-9, has a 7-foot-2 wing span. Jean-Marie can slide to the corners. And Colina, an active defender, is quick on turnout plays. “He continues to finish with both hands,” Ganot said of Colina. “He runs the floor as well as anybody. It’s important to have a five man who runs the floor. We think we have one of the best. He can really run.”