Court Sense

Hey hoops fans, apologies for the story about the UH men’s basketball team’s exhibition not being up online this morning. We’re working to get that corrected. In the meantime, here are some day-after thoughts about the 83-55 win over Chaminade. Overall, an impressive debut for Gib Arnold’s team. >> Joston Thomas (25 points, 11-for-21 shooting) made quite the first impression to the crowd with his variety of scoring. A couple 3-pointers, a power dunk, and some swooping layups. >> Bo […]

Hawaii coach Gib Arnold threw a major curveball to his players in a shortened practice today, the team’s last before UH’s exhibition against Chaminade tomorrow night. He had them run the “Man Drill,” a test of heart where two teams of five work to deny each other the ball in the halfcourt. Players can’t dribble, and there are no whistles as guys cut around the court and try to free themselves to catch a pass against their opponent at the […]

Hawaii coach Gib Arnold announced the Rainbow Warriors team captains after today’s closed practice. It’s a senior movement. As in, all three seniors on the team — Bill Amis, Hiram Thompson and Douglas Kurtz — receiving tri-captainship. The first two were probably expected. Amis was captain as a junior in 2008-09 and Thompson filled that role last year with Amis hurt. Kurtz is a bit of a surprise, but who would argue with a 7-foot, 265-pound center who looks like […]

Hey hoops fans, sorry for the late-night entry today. Working on some special stuff for the launch of the season. The ‘Bows continued to work behind closed doors today, this time in the Stan Sheriff Center. Coach Gib Arnold sounded like he’s liked the effort he’s getting from his guys in the closed setting, but let’s hope it’s only a temporary thing at the start of the season. Blog material might be on the lighter side without observations to jot down, […]

Another closed practice today left some guesswork as to the contents of the day’s work, but senior forward Bill Amis offered a clue as he ran out of the gym: “I’ve got a quote for you. Coach Gib puts the fun in fundamentals.” Well, then. Look for a story on the progress of the team’s defense in the Wednesday edition of the Star-Advertiser. ——— Today’s Q&A transcript is of senior point guard Hiram Thompson. Reminder: just four more days until […]

New strategy by Hawaii coach Gib Arnold today — no outsiders allowed. The doors of Gym 2 were locked shut as the team practiced at high intensity (the coaching staff was audible far outside the gym as they got after the players). With the season-opening exhibition vs. Chaminade approaching fast on Saturday, Arnold turned it up a notch. He said he intends to close practices to everyone (public and media) until the exhibition. “We’re going to close practice this whole week, […]

Hey guys, here’s the second Rainbow Warrior Q&A from the preseason. Reminder: just six days left until the Chaminade exhibition. And have a happy Halloween, everyone. Today’s player is sophomore forward Joston Thomas. Q: What was your journey like coming to Hawaii as a junior college player? A: I was kind of prepared for it. The College of Southern Idaho got me a lot better, though. It was a very humbling experience going to a junior college. Coming here with […]

Here’s the first of seven Rainbow Warrior Q&A sessions conducted during the preseason as we count down toward the Nov. 6 exhibition vs. Chaminade next Saturday: Junior shooting guard Zane Johnson is up first. Q: How did you prepare yourself in the offseason/coming back from a knee injury? A: Definitely put in the work in the offseason, as far as getting my leg stronger from surgery and lifting and working on the things that I really needed to work on, […]