Warrior Insider

The Hawai’i basketball team was actually in Hawai’i for a few days this week, although it was hard to tell.

The Warriors had a two-game road trip last week, and returned on Sunday afternoon. They rested on Sunday and Monday, used Tuesday for conditioning and weightlifting, and then returned to practice on Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, they were gone again.

The Warriors departed Honolulu on Thursday afternoon for San Jose, Calif., where they will play a Western Athletic Conference road game at San Jose State on Saturday, February 4.

“We got to enjoy the two days off and get our legs back,” senior point guard Miah Ostrowski said of Sunday and Monday. “It was much needed going into the second round.”

The Warriors also used the time to catch up on class work, and as junior forward Joston Thomas said “clear your head.”

“It’s cool that we came back (to Hawai’i),” he added. “We can relax and be around the people that we’re comfortable around on the island, and now we’re back at it.”

With the back-to-back road trips so close together, WarriorInsider.com asked some of the Warriors … did you even unpack from the last trip?

“My bag is still packed in my room,” sophomore guard Garrett Jefferson admitted. “I just gotta wash some of it.”

Ostrowski said: “I unpacked it, but they’re in a pile ready to get packed right back in.”

Hawai’i is 12-9 overall and tied for third place in the WAC at 4-3. San Jose State is 7-15 overall and 0-7 in the conference.

The Warriors defeated the Spartans, 82-69, on January 7 in Honolulu. This week marks the start of the second round of WAC games.

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And here’s a quick video clip of a special guest visitor at the Warriors’ practice on Thursday morning. UH athletic director Jim Donovan led Gov. Neil Abercrombie on a tour of the lower campus facilities and the tour stopped by the Stan Sheriff Center shortly after the Warriors completed their workout. The governor told Gib Arnold that part of the plan would include an upgrade of the Stan Sheriff Center.