Warrior Insider

Hauns Brereton knows how to make a good impression.

The 6-foot-7 forward has been doing all the right things so far this offseason in preparation for his first season with the Hawaii basketball team. Brereton said he has maintained a strict workout program in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn., in recent weeks.

But he’s been busy with other things as well. Among them:

• He earned his associate’s degree from Western Nebraska Community College in May, which makes him eligible to play right away for the Warriors. Even more impressive, he was ranked as the top student-athlete at Western Nebraska.

• Hawaii assistant coach Brandyn Akana made a stop in Memphis with his family while on a recent break, and Brereton showed them around the city. “We got to show them Memphis barbecue, the city of music with Elvis at Graceland, and Beale Street – home of the blues,” Brereton said.

• He has been brushing up on his Mandarin Chinese in anticipation of the team’s trip to Asia in August. Brereton served a two-year mission in Taiwan after high school. Hawaii head coach Gib Arnold said he is counting on Brereton to serve as a guide and translator for the team during the trip.

• He is doing volunteer work with St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, serving as a counselor at Camp Horizon. “It is a camp where cancer patients get out of the hospital and just have a good time,” he said. “I believe giving service is the most important thing we can do, so I do every service opportunity I can.”

Brereton also provided the video below of his workout program in Memphis. Perhaps the best word to describe it is unique, as it includes weightlifting sessions in his backyard, jumping rope in a public park, and pushing an SUV up and down the street.

But he is also participating in more traditional methods of training, such as open pick-up games in various gyms around Tennessee. He said he often joins players from the University of Memphis and Valparaiso. “There is good ball all over this city,” he said. “Almost every gym has at least two players who can do any dunk Derrick Rose can.”