Warrior Insider

It’s been a week since the season ended for the Hawaii basketball team, so the mourning period is over.

It was a memorable season for the Warriors, who came up just one win short of becoming just the eighth team in modern UH basketball history to reach 20 wins.

Here are the first – hopefully annual – WarriorInsider.com Postseason Awards:

Most Valuable Player
Bill Amis. The 6-foot-9 senior forward was the emotional leader on and off the court for the Warriors. He averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and led the team with 49 blocked shots. He missed 10 games early in the season due to a foot injury, but came on strong at the end when it counted. Over the final nine games of the season – when the Warriors played their way into the postseason – Amis averaged 16.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game.

Offensive Player of the Year
Zane Johnson. The 6-6 junior shooting guard led the team in scoring with 15.8 points per game. Think about all the great shooters UH has had over the years – Alika Smith, Trevor Ruffin, Tes Whitlock, Predrag Savovic, Carl English and Michael Kuebler among them. Johnson topped them all, setting a new UH single-season record with 98 3-pointers. His size and shooting range made him a difficult cover for opponents.

Defensive Player of the Year
Trevor Wiseman. The 6-7 freshman forward was often assigned to defend the opposing team’s best player. That’s quite an accomplishment for a player who was in high school at this time last year. It should be noted that the Warriors set a school record for defensive field goal percentage this season, and several players played key roles. Amis and Johnson, in particular, were also often asked to defend top players on the opposing teams.

Freshman of the Year
Trevor Wiseman. Teammate Bo Barnes had the early lead on this award, but Wiseman’s defense was consistent from start to finish, and put him in the in the starting lineup by the end of the season. In any case, it was a good sign for the future that Hawaii had three true freshmen (Barnes, Bobby Miles and Wiseman) who started games this season.

Warrior Award
Hiram Thompson. The 6-3 senior point guard played with some type of injury in practically every game this season, and still finished with an average of 8.3 points and 2.5 assists per game. Even after suffering what turned out to be a season-ending elbow injury on Feb. 14, he continued to try and rehab in hopes of returning.

Most Inspirational Award
Miah Ostrowski. The 5-9 junior joined the team as an impromptu fill-in after two other players quit. The thing is, Ostrowski is a slotback on the Hawaii football team and had to wait until after the football season ended on Dec. 24. He played in the football team’s bowl game on Dec. 24, and played in the basketball game the next day. By season’s end, he was the starting point guard. Along they way, he played an unforgettable emotional game days after the death of his father.

Most Improved
Vander Joaquim. After the first three games of the season, the 6-10 sophomore was averaging 1.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. By the end of the season, he averaged 9.5 points per game, ranked third in the WAC in rebounding with 8.2 rebounds per game, and led the team with eight double-doubles.

Game of the Year
It’s rare when a loss should be considered the best game of the season, but Hawaii’s 89-84, double overtime loss to WAC champion Utah State was one for the ages. The Warriors matched the Aggies shot for shot until the end, led by Ostrowski. The game was played four days after the death of Ostrowski’s father, Kui, and Miah responded with 15 points, six assists and three steals.

Statistic of the Year
Hawaii held opponents to a .389 field goal percentage, which set a school record and ranked among the top 10 in the country.

Scout’s Honor
Davis Rozitis. Walk-ons and redshirt players usually make up the scout team for practices, and redshirt sophomore Rozits was the leader of this season’s scout team. The 7-foot transfer from USC has the skills to play small forward, power forward or center. Fellow redshirts Pi’i Minns and Jace Tavita also played key roles on the scout team this season.