In this arcade of a basketball season, sometimes Hawaii is playing Pop-A-Shot, sometimes Whac-A-Mole.
When in sync, the Rainbow Warriors swish 3s, attack the boards, and frustrate opposing perimeter shooters. Then there are times when different problems pop up in different areas, such as missed free throws, slow starts and, lately, turnovers.
This season, the ’Bows’ turnover margin of minus-4.0 per game ranks 347th out of 350 NCAA Division I teams. During last week’s two-game road trip, the ’Bows turned the ball over a combined 28 times leading to 31 points.
“Over the years, when you’re exposed in areas, you address it, attack it,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Sometimes it’s cleaner. Boom. You attack it. You move forward. This year, unfortunately, it’s been a recurring theme. That part is disappointing, the consistency, especially in the turnover area. But we’re going to continue to attack it.”
Ganot indicated the key is to be possessive with possessions while not playing tentatively.
“We’ll try to find a balance with that,” Ganot said. “I don’t think anybody’s any good if we’re playing hesitant. We want to be aggressive and play freely and confident. It’s the same like we said when our free-throw shooting wasn’t there. … We broke through it. Unfortunately, the turnover issue stayed there.”
The turnover issues will be challenged when the ’Bows play host to UC San Diego tonight in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tip-off is at 7:05.
The Tritons’ active defense is a 40-minute stress test for opposing teams. The Tritons lead the nation in turnover margin at 7.4 per game. They are second nationally with an average of 10.7 steals. Point guard Hayden Gray is the NCAA leader with 71 steals. His steal-to-turnover ratio is 2.3-to-1.
“The defensive disruption is something we certainly value,” UCSD coach Eric Olen said. “We’re always going to look for guys who can help us with possessions. We’re looking for guys to contribute to us winning the possession battle.”
Olen noted the Tritons rely heavily on the trifecta of Gray (62 assists against 31 turnovers), wing Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (22.6 points per Big West game), and guard Tyler McGhie (74 made 3s). The five-out offense opens the lane for Tait-Jones (62.9% accuracy on 2-point shots) and eases the pressure when McGhie launches deep shots.
“This team is really smart,” Olen said. “We try to lean on that and play in a way that gives them a lot of decision-making and freedom. They can problem-solve in the moment on the court. When you have a team like this, part of our job, my job, is don’t over-coach it. Try to stay out of it. Give them the framework, and let their creativity and talent and instincts do a lot of the production. We trust all those guys a lot.”
Olen also praised 6-foot-6 guard Chris Howell as “one of the smartest basketball players I’ve been around. They all amplify each other, and their collective IQ makes the group almost exponentially better than the sum of our parts.”
The Tritons have found motivation after completing a four-year transition from Division II last summer. They now are eligible to compete for a berth in the 2025 Big West Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Not being eligible the previous few years dampened recruiting efforts.
“There was a huge percentage of recruits we talked to that we just didn’t get very far in the process because (not being eligible for the postseason) was a deal breaker,” Olen said.
With a shot at the postseason, Tait-Jones said, “every game there’s a little bit of extra meaning.”
RAINBOW WARRIORS BASKETBALL
At SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Hawaii (12-8, 4-5 Big west) vs. UC San Diego (17-4, 7-2)
>> When: Tonight at 7:05
>> TV: Spectrum Sports
>> Radio: 1420-AM, 92.7-FM
