Warrior Insider

The Hawaii basketball team held its first official practice of the 2011-12 season on Friday night.

There was no fanfare, no special introductions, not even bright lights. The Warriors held their first practice in the dim of Gym II, and it was all about business.

“That first day of practice, there’s always that extra excitement — guys are wanting to prove something and everybody’s on a clean slate,” Hawaii head coach Gib Arnold said. “It was a good practice. I thought it went well. I was pleased.”

An extended preseason program – highlighted by a summer trip to Asia – has allowed the Warriors to be ahead of the pace they were at this time last season. Most notably, all of the players are already familiar with the basics of the offensive and defensive schemes.

“We’re able to build on things we did before China, some of the plays and stuff – getting familiar with those,” senior guard Zane Johnson said. “And mainly getting familiar defensively and getting better there.”

At most opening practices, the newcomers are often unfamiliar with the terms of the playbook and their teammates. But the rookie Warriors were able to blend with the returnees during this year’s first practice.

“I feel like it helped a lot,” said Hauns Brereton, a junior college transfer. “Just the fact that I got chemistry with all the players and I know some of the systems that (Arnold) is putting in … but I know we got a lot more coming, a lot more going and we’re going full speed, so we’ll see how it goes tomorrow.”

By “tomorrow,” Brereton was referring to the two practices that are scheduled for Saturday – one in the morning and one in the evening.

“Two three-hour practices – it’s going to be tough, but we’re going to get better,” Johnson said. “And we have to do it if we want to win the WAC this year.”

The Warriors will endure a week of grueling practices before they get officially introduced to the public at the ‘Ohana Hoopfest on Friday night, Oct. 21.