It will be games within the game when the Hawaii basketball team hosts Hawaii Pacific today in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
HPU coach Jesse Nakanishi returns to the Manoa campus, where he served as the Rainbow Warriors’ director of basketball operations for three seasons through 2021.
“I’m super grateful for Eran (Ganot, UH’s head coach) for those three years at Hawaii,” said Nakanishi, whose director of ops role allowed him to do all basketball-related jobs except on-court coaching.
Nakanishi said it was admittedly “tough not being on the floor coaching directly, per se.” But he said he was able to “have my hands in every part of running a complete program from the periphery, if you will: fundraising, community service, academics, boosters.”
Nakanishi said the UH experience and the extensive responsibilities he had the past two years as the top assistant to Darren Vorderbruegge, who retired in May after 17 seasons as HPU’s head coach, were “invaluable to my growth. And I apply a lot of those things to our program now.”
Ganot said: “He’s a smart coach. He’s a hard worker He’s worked at different stops. He studies the game. And he’s going to find what’s best for his current team to be successful. They’ve done a great job.”
From Ganot, Nakanishi has used some concepts from the four-out offense.
Nakanishi has built a defense that centers on the center. Matt Van Komen, who is 7 feet 4 and 260 pounds, transferred to HPU this summer after a year at Utah and three at Saint Mary’s. Similar to UC Riverside’s funnel scheme a few years ago, Van Komen sets up in the low past as a rim protector. Van Komen averages three blocks a game.
“They’re not trying to speed up (an opposing offense),” UH assistant coach Rob Jones said. “They’re not trying to make you make mistakes. They’re guarding you saying, ‘Hey, we’ve got some big guys in here, big front line, try to come in and shoot over us.’”
Tucker Pellicci is a 6-11 senior who also is part of the Sharks’ post rotation.
“They’ve got 6-11 and 7-4 guys,” said UH’s 7-foot-1 Mor Seck, who went up against Purdue’s 7-4 Zach Edey when both were high school freshmen. “It will be a big challenge for me (against HPU’s posts).”
UH’s 6-9 center Bernardo da Silva said: “We’re excited to play them. We’ll see what happens.”
A competitive matchup is expected between the backcourts. HPU point guard Diggy Winbush is accurate on passes and outside shots (56.3% on 3s). Melo Sanchez, who averages ł6.9 points, is the Sharks’ most creative scorer.
The ’Bows’ three-guard lineup received a boost with Juan Munoz’s return to energized leadership. Munoz, an eighth-year senior who missed the previous two seasons because of injuries, came off the bench to hit five 3s in last week’s rout of Central Arkansas.
Crush cancer
For a $150 donation to a pau-hana event, attendees can meet with eight Division I basketball coaches, enjoy food and refreshments, bid on unique auction items, and join a team determined to “crush cancer.”
The head coaches of the eight-team Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic will serve as co-costs of the Dec. 19 “Coaches vs. Cancer” even at Kani Ka Pila Grille in the Outrigger Reef Waikiki Beach.
All proceeds will go to the Clarence T.C. Ching Hope Lodge, which provides rooms for cancer patients and their caregivers.
This will be the seventh Coaches vs. Cancer event in Hawaii. Soon after Eran Ganot was named UH’s head coach in 2015, he asked to participate in organization leader Lon Kruger’s efforts. Ganot was included in a group that offered a tie-in with the eight-team Diamond Head Classic.
From the first event held at Murphy’s Bar and Grill, it has grown since the move to the Outrigger Reef.
Tickets may be purchased at hawaiibowlfoundation.org. Call 808-523-3688 for further details, as well as information on sponsorships.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
>> Who: Hawaii (6-1) vs. Hawaii Pacific (5-2)
>> Tip-off: 5 p.m. today
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
