Jawato earns first Big West honor for Warriors
Freshman guard Brandon Jawato became the first player from the Hawai’i men’s basketball program to earn the Big West Conference Player of the Week award.
Jawato was announced as the recipient on Monday morning, following his jaw-dropping shooting performance last week. Most notable, he went 7-for-7 from 3-point range in the Warriors’ 76-61 victory over UC Riverside on Saturday.
Hawai’i is in its first season as a member of the Big West Conference, and Jawato is the first Warrrior to be recognized as player of the week this season.
The Warriors departed Honolulu on Monday afternoon for their first Big West road trip of the season. They will play at UC Irvine on Wednesday, and at Long Beach State on Saturday.
Here is the official release from the UH Media Relations / Big West Conference:
IRVINE, Calif – Spurred by a record-breaking performance, freshman Brandon Jawato earned Big West Men’s Basketball Player of the Week honors on Monday. Jawato is the first Rainbow Warrior to earn the weekly honor since UH’s arrival in the conference this season.
The native of El Segundo, Calif., played a vital role in keeping Hawai`i undefeated in conference play. Jawato tied a Big West and UH record for three-pointers without a miss as he nailed all seven of his attempts in a 76-61 win against UC Riverside Saturday. He hit all seven treys in the first half alone, matching the entire output of the Highlander squad as UH built a 40-21 lead at the break. Jawato drained a trio of consecutive three-pointers to key a 14-0 run midway through the first half that broke the game open. The seven three-pointers also set at single-game UH freshman record.
The 6-4 guard delivered his record-setting performance in the game’s first 20 minutes as cramps forced him to sit out the majority of the second half. Only two other players in Big West history went 7-for-7 in a game on three-point tries – UC Riverside’s Rickey Porter (vs. Pacific on Ja.7, 2006) and UC Irvine’s Dylan Rigdon (vs. Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 24, 1990).
Jawato also played a key role in UH’s dramatic comeback win against Cal State Fullerton Thursday. He notched 11 points in 21 minutes, hitting a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch as the Rainbow Warriors fought back from an 11-point halftime deficit in the final five minutes. Jawato scored seven of his 11 points during the rally to help UH pull of a 90-88 win.
For the week, Jawato averaged 16.0 points while shooting 71.4 (10 of 14) percent from the field and 90.0 (9 of 10) percent from beyond the arc. He has now hit nine consecutive threes in the last two games and has hit a league-best 12-of-15 (.800) in three Big West contests.
Brandon B. Jawato, good job. Now bomb away threes in Cali.
Get one if not two win on road. You can do it. Ozren too.
I think he regained the starting job. He earned it. Good job Brandon. No hesitation. Just let it fly.
Well done, Jawato. I’ve never seen anyone shoot 7 for 7 3- pointers in the 1st half of a basketball game in my whole life. You were great.
What a wonderful picture of him, so much happiness on his face
In many posts, feel that we have no objection scorers
I believe from the start that the team has a shot
I’m sure Brereton will be back and the rest will be all the better
Have a nice trip
GO WARRIORS!!!!!! CHAMPIONS GO!!!!!!!
+1 Ozi mum! Lately, the whole team has that look on their faces and in their body language. Nice pick up for jawato! Now keep the confidence up and light it up in cali!
Hey Jaw,
Congrats for the recognition you’ve earned most deservedly!
Just a year ago, you were a-diamond-in-the-rough; a talent of huge potential in the mode of a high-scorer in points, who has the height advantage as an average college D1 guard. Coach was happy to include you into his TEAM-building foundation.
Red-shirting served you well;
~ provided the best development with the environmental opportunity liked nowhere else would!
1. Your physiology benefited: -Marine-style basic training. -“King of the Beach” competition. -Pre-Season conditionings to get bigger, stronger, faster. -Far East friendship Tour.
2. All-in mentality emphasized: -TEAM concept stressed. -inter-personal chemistry stimulated.
3. Academic excellence encouraged: -must meet standards. -no unexcused-absence tolerated.
Your early accomplishments are phenomenal.
Your future up-side will be determined by further effort and persistence.
Good luck and, Aloha!
Congrats to Jawato, very well deserved. To me, he and Standhardinger have the most hustle. I love how Jawato is very quick in getting into open space and spotting up his shots.
I like the outlook of this team and really think if they tighten up somethings could run away with the Big West Championship. Big concern is guard play, meaning the ball-handlers. Jace and Roop especially have to really take care of the rock. Yeah Roop is young but he gets ripped way too easily and dribbles too much when pressured. Jace as well just makes some really careless mistakes with the ball. If they don’t fix the carelessness then I guarantee you Hawaii will not win the Big West. Every team is guard oriented and we got lucky against Fullerton. Them three guards if we play them again will guarantee hound our PG’s all night long. I really think no one in the league can compete with our bigs and it seems Fotu is just waiting to beast out once Vander leaves. Jawato should start as he is a sure scorer not just because of 3’s but he can shoot off the dribble and create. Regardless, I think we can sweep the conference as long as the guys stay disciplined with the ball and stick to the game plan.
It’s been amazing to see how Jawato has improved over the past year. He really benefited from redshirting last year. You can even tell just by comparing the pictures of him last year to this year. Jawato should be Gib’s example of why a high school player should redshirt after HS. He’s improved himself physically getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Got to give props to the UH coaching staff for recognizing talent and long-term potential in players. He’s still got areas to improve on but he has 3.5 more years to do that.
Here’s an interesting dilemna for UH. With Hauns continuing to be in a shooting slump… does Gib start Jawato instead? IMHO, a Manroop and Jawato backcourt offers the highest ceiling in terms of backcourt combinations due to their quickness, ball handling, and outside shooting. However, Jawato has thrived in the gunner role off the bench. In the two games that Jawato has started (against ETSU an Ole Miss), he’s struggled mightily from the floor (2/14 overall, and 1/9 from 3). Hauns has been struggling in all aspects of the game… his shooting wasn’t bad the last few games, but he’s hesitating/thinking too much which is affecting all aspects of his game: shooting, passing, defense, etc. I feel bad for him, and Gib is trying to get him going and confidence up by inserting him into the starting lineup… but Hauns is going to have to step up.
It’s amazing where we’re at right now in terms of our W-L record. Especially when you take into account the less than anticipated production from our senior captains: Vander’s MCL injury which has slightly lessened his effectiveness (anticipated when he got injured), and the lack of production from Jace and Hauns (unanticipated… and Gib was counting on these guys to produce). It’s not too late for these guys to turn it around and i hope they do so.
@ the start of the season I wasn’t keen on playing Jawato, thinking he was a ball hog. But Jawato has proven me quite wrong. He is a team player
Way to go B – Jaw!!