Court Sense

Every team needs them, and the 2011-12 Rainbow Warriors have several. Two of them won’t be seen on the court by UH fans this season, however. Senior point guard Jace Tavita and junior forward Christian Standhardinger will both redshirt 2011-12 to help the ‘Bows down the line. But they’ll also be of help this year, too, as staples of the scout team. In Tavita’s case, the Utah transfer could have been eligible for the second half of the season but, […]

Happy Halloween all. About to head out to cover UH basketball practice, where Kerry Rupp will be helping out for the first time. It might take a little while to get used to the sight of him in Hawaii for anything other than a road trip with Louisiana Tech. Rupp, formerly the LaTech head coach for four years through last season, was officially announced today as the new director of basketball operations by UH and coach Gib Arnold. “We are very […]

If you haven’t seen the breaking news section on the Star-Advertiser website today, here’s what I posted about Evergreen (Wash.) senior center Caleb Dressler, who on Friday night verbally committed to play for UH starting in the 2012-13 season. The 6-foot-10 Dressler’s addition is big considering the lack of depth on the Rainbow Warriors’ front line. More on him in Sunday’s newspaper. Dressler was clearly enjoying watching his future teammates in practice on Friday. The Ohana Hoopfest, with its plethora […]

The Hawaii men’s basketball director of operations job has to remain posted online for another week or so, but it’s already attracted a surprisingly big name. Former Louisiana Tech coach Kerry Rupp is said to be interested in the job previously occupied by the since-promoted Scott Fisher. Rupp was fired at the end of last season after a last-place (2-14) finish in the WAC which caused the Bulldogs to miss the WAC tournament. Overall, he was 57-69 in four seasons at […]

UH coach Gib Arnold has elected his co-captains for the 2011-12 season. Senior guard Zane Johnson and junior center Vander Joaquim were the picks. Expect Zane to do most of the talking; he spoke up on behalf of the team several times last year even without official captain’s duties. Vander looks sharp coming off his summer with the Angolan national team and has impressed the coaches with his progress. ——— Speaking of Vander, the big man stepped on a teammate’s foot early […]

Ladies and gentlemen, the first day of men’s basketball official practices is upon us. While teams on the East Coast must wait until after the stroke of midnight to practice (or conduct Midnight Madness) early Saturday morning, Hawaii benefits from the time difference to get in a full practice at a reasonable hour tonight, starting at 6:30 p.m. It will be open to the public at lower campus, should anyone want to check out Gib Arnold’s second-year team. In the […]

Everyone remember the Hawaii men’s basketball coaches and players performing a Polynesian dance on the Stan Sheriff Center court last year for the Ohana Hoopfest? Yeah, I thought so. No one could forget that if they tried. Well, UH coach Gib Arnold pledged the hoops kick-off event will be back, this time in conjunction with homecoming weekend for UH football. The “Ohana Homecoming Hoopfest” will be on Oct. 21 at the Sheriff, following the Wahine volleyball game against Utah State, […]

So, what to do when one of your assistant coaches decides to pick up stakes and move out with less than a couple months before the start of the season, as former UH coach Walter Roese did ? You could hire from the outside, sure, and force yourself into a quick arrangement with somebody who’d have to get accustomed to everything from the players to the facilities to the trainers. Or you could promote someone from within, someone with familiarity […]