Here today, gone tomorrow
This could be one of those technical trivia questions some day: How did the Hawai’i basketball team practice in Honolulu in the middle of a road trip?
The Warriors did just that yesterday, practicing in Gym 2 on Monday evening while in the middle of four consecutive road games. Hawai’i went 1-1 on a Big West Conference road trip last week, and will play two more conference road games this week.
Although all four road games are in the Southern California area, Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold opted to have the team return to Honolulu for two days so that the players could attend classes.
“We have to sit on the flight, fly here, fly back there, the time difference and all that,” junior forward Christian Standhardinger said. “But you know what? That’s the life of a college basketball athlete. We just gotta adapt and figure it out and we have to figure out a way to win the next game.”
The Warriors are 11-9 overall and 5-4 in the Big West following a 78-73 win at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. It was Hawai’i’s first road win of the season.
“We know what it takes now,” senior Hauns Brereton said. “We needed to overcome that little hump that we had, and I think we did it.”
Brereton and Standhardinger played key roles in the road victory. Standhardinger registered career highs of 31 points and 16 rebounds. “I was just trying everything to help the team win,” he said. “Everybody talks about 31 points and 16 rebounds, but it’s more about rebounding in my case and playing defense – how the whole team played defense.”
Brereton made his first start in three weeks and responded with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“The announcer (Michael Cage) for that game actually came into the locker room after the game and told us that’s exactly what we need to do,” Brereton said. “Get easy buckets, get to the free throw line and own the boards, and that’s what we did.”
The Warriors returned to Honolulu on Sunday afternoon and will depart on Tuesday afternoon. Following the 48-hour stop at home, they are scheduled to play Big West games at UC Riverside on Thursday, then at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
This week marks the start of the “second round” of games during the Big West regular season.
“It’s good that we know, kind of, how they play, and we played already against them, so that will help us,” Standhardinger said. “But they have the same advantage, so it’s 0-0 and jump ball and see who comes out with the win.”
Hawai’i is currently in fourth place in the 10-team Big West. UC Riverside is in ninth at 2-6 (5-15 overall). The Warriors won the first meeting between the teams, 76-61, on Jan. 5 in Honolulu.
ONE THING UH MBB TEAM: PLAY HARD WHOLE GAME, Seniors lead, you guys can get 2 wins. Go for it!
Play D, rebound, shoot well, don’t panic, and play BIG and STRONG, PLAY LIKE WARRIORS!
Thanks for the update Dayton! Great to have the team home for a few days to get back into their usual routine before heading back. Travel safely Warriors, and play hard! We are cheering for you!
Keep the momentum going , It’s all on you upper classmen, Vander, Hauns ,Jace and Christian, you guys got to pull this out and dig deep each and every game, come on man, and Jace when you drive inside put the ball up for a lay in,draw the foul. Pound that ball inside big guys and get your rebounds!~
The toughest thing UH has to battle on every road trip is jet lag. Traditionally, in almost every sport, UH’s performance drops off more than other teams’ away games.
The trick to overcoming the time difference (jet lag) is being discipline enough to go to bed earlier a few days prior to leaving for the mainland.
The toughest thing about mainland road trips is to getting to sleep at normal mainland time. If the boys are used going to bed at midnight in Hawaii, then that’s 2 or 3am mainland time depending on daylight savings. Also, for example, if wake up and team breakfast is 9am, that’s 6am Hawaii time. For whatever reason, the change in routine affects performance and/or mental acuity.
The other thing that helps is if the team takes the red-eye to the mainland… don’t nap or sleep during your free time during the day. If you nap or take an extended rest during the day, you’ll be wide awake when you should be sleeping. Your body will be tired because nobody rests well on the flight. If you force yourself to stay up during the day, you’ll be exhausted and you’ll sleep like a rock at 9 or 10pm mainland time. You’ll be more fresh in the morning and adjust faster to the time difference.
That’s from my experience… I just wish I figured it out before my senior year.
It’s such a pivotal TEAM accomplishment win over UCSB on the road:
**** Field Goals, 25/53 (47%) vs 27/61 (44%).
**** 3-Pointers, 3/10 (30%) vs 9/28 (44%).
**** Free Throws, 25/39 (64%) vs 10/15 (67%).
**** Rebounds, 45 vs 30.
**** Turnovers, 13 vs 8.
These are the winning stats we hope to enjoy @ home every-time.
The counter is reset to 0-0 for the crunch-time 2nd1/2.
“We known what it takes now.. “, well said Hauns!
Volleyball Warriors swept Pepperdine, winning two-straight.
Can you do the same to UC Riverside on Thursday (Counter=1-0) then,
To Cal State Fullerton on Saturday (Counter=2-0) ??
It will be so exciting that on your next plane-ride home, you won’t be able to sleep all the way. That’s OK. It’s worth it !!!
It comes down to who wants it more, Warriors are you ready,, you better be .
Only one way to go. Play hard in the second round. Here on out, it’s all about the Ws.
Go Warriors!