The University of Hawaii basketball team’s next act is a hana hou.
While the Rainbow Warriors have rebounded from tough losses in the past, tonight it will be the opposite approach as they attempt to maintain the momentum following their comeback victory over SMU on Christmas Day. Point guard JoVon McClanahan’s 27-foot shot with nine-10th of a second to play delivered the ’Bows their first Diamond Head Classic title.
“We always say you’ve got to enjoy the journey and balance it with continuing to get better,” said UH coach Eran Ganot, whose ’Bows play host to UC Davis in the Big West opener in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. “You can’t have one without the other. If you’re not enjoying it, you’ll never be happy. And if you’re not happy, you’ll never be good. And if you’re not locked in to continuing to get better, you won’t make the next jump.”
McClanahan’s shot illustrated the versatility and depth of the ’Bows’ offense. The play’s first option was for McClanahan to feed guard Noel Coleman.
“We have a clutch team,” Ganot said. “Everybody has made big plays at different times. It could be anybody (taking the winning shot). We have so many guys we can go to, and there’s a belief they can all make the big play. Sometimes we put it in a guy’s hands to make the right read, and sometimes he has the shot, and sometimes he’ll give it to another guy, and we feel that guy will make the shot. That’s how this team is built.”
McClanahan’s improved shooting and 7-foot-1 freshman Mor Seck’s rapid development into the rotation have eased the offensive burden on Coleman, 6-10 Kamaka Hepa and co-captain Samuta Avea.
Opponents “are keying on Noel and Kamaka, and then Samuta has a big day,” Ganot said. “Then they key on Samuta, and JoVon has a big day. And eventually things come back to Noel and Kamaka. We have to continue to evolve there. I think our push has helped us. We’ve got to be a good transition team. We’ve got to find easy baskets whether it’s out of bounds or offensive rebounds.”
The ’Bows have rebounded 28.8% of their misses and average 11.2 second-chance points per game. They also have a per-game average of 11.8 points off turnovers. In the Diamond Head opener, the ’Bows managed a single point from the reserves. But the next night, Seck emerged as a rebounder and rim protector. Freshman guard Kody Williams played 12 minutes when the UH guards were in early foul trouble.
Williams is expected to earn more playing time because of the ’Bows’ thin backcourt. Last Friday, Amoro Lado underwent surgery for a stress fracture in his right shin. Washington State transfer Ryan Rapp recently was cleared for contact practices.
During team testing, Williams recorded a vertical jump of 44 1/2 inches. He also ran three-quarters of the court (70 feet, 6 inches) in 3.05 seconds. His father was a sprinter who competed in the 1996 Olympic Trials in Atlanta. “Kody is a fearless freshman,” Ganot said. “He’s right up there with JoVon in terms of what kind of pressure he can put on the ball.”
UC Davis presents several challenges. Six-foot-4 Elijah Pepper (19.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game), 6-3 Loyola-Chicago transfer Ty Johnson (16.3 and 5.3), and 6-5 Ade Adebayo can shoot from the outside, post up, or drive and pitch.
“We try to use the versatility of our guys,” UCD coach Jim Les said. “We don’t pigeon-hole any of them into, ‘hey, so-and-so is a point guard,’ and ‘so-and-so is a shooting guard.’ Multiple guys will bring the ball up the floor. They’ll push it on the break.”
The Aggies average 16.3 fastbreak per game.
Christian Anigwe, a 6-foot-9 post, averages 5.3 rebounds and has blocked 20 shots.
“We’ve been stressing with this group to have a physical nature to us,” Les said. “Part of that is a physical defensive group. And good defense has to finish their defense with, hopefully, first rebounds.”
UCD’s opponents have grabbed 24.5% of their own misses. “As good as Hawaii is offensively, we don’t want to give them multiple opportunities,” Les said.
The Aggies arrived in Honolulu on Thursday, and practiced in the afternoon.
“We always enjoy coming over to the island,” Les said. “It’s a great basketball atmosphere and great basketball fans. We’re excited for the challenge, and we know how good Hawaii is at home, and how well they play when they’re energized by their crowd. Looking forward to that challenge. And we’re hoping some of the tests we’ve had in the nonconference season has put us in a position to be successful in an environment like that.”
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Big West basketball
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Hawaii (9-3, 0-0 Big West) vs. UC Davis (7-5, 0-0)
>> When: 7 p.m. today
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM
