Warrior Insider

The College Basketball Summer League opened its 2011 season on Thursday with two games at the Manoa Valley Recreation Gym.

The league offers a chance for current, past and future college basketball players to stay in shape with competitive games throughout the summer.

The Hawaii basketball team will be well-represented in the league this year, with several players from the projected 2011-12 roster expected to participate. However, many of the Warriors will not arrive in Hawaii until the first week of July, so they will not be available until then.

Zane Johnson, the leading scorer on last season’s Hawaii team, is here for the entire summer, and he helped lead the Electricians Hawaii team to a victory on Thursday.

Pi’i Minns, who redshirted with the Warriors last season, is also on the Electricians Hawaii team this summer. He scored 10 points in the final five minutes of Thursday’s game to help secure the win.

“It was alright, just working out the kinks – shot’s a little off, but just trying to play D,” said Minns, who started playing in the Summer League when he was still at Kamehameha Schools. “Just trying to get better in every aspect of the game.”

Former Iolani standout Kainoa Chu is also on the Electricians Hawaii roster. He is planning to join the Warriors as a walk-on for the 2011-12 season.

Some of the incoming new recruits for the Warriors are expected to join the Summer League in July, including Dillon Biggs, Gerry Blakes, Hauns Brereton and Ronnie Stevens.

Current and past players from Chaminade, Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii-Hilo are also participating.

There are also a few professional players in the league, including Derrick Low and Julian Sensley – who are both home in Hawaii while on summer break from playing overseas.

Games are held at Manoa Valley gym every Thursday and Saturday (and occasionally on Tuesdays) starting at 6 p.m. There are two games per night, and admission is free.