Fun times at the Green & Black Scrimmage
After three weeks of grueling practices, the University of Hawai’i basketball team needed a night of fun competition, and the Green & Black Scrimmage provided just that.
The Warriors participated in two separate 20-minute scrimmages and an entertaining slam-dunk contest on Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center.
“It was a great night; it was fun for the guys, fun for us as coaches,” Hawai’i head coach Gib Arnold said. “I like the format – I like the idea of us playing a real game and getting after it a little bit. I thought it helped us. It will definitely help us.”
The first scrimmage featured a traditional Green vs. Black format, with the roster divided equally. Sophomore forward Isaac Fotu scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting to lead the Green to a 42-27 victory over the Black.
Senior guard Brandon Spearman added nine points, and sophomore point guard Quincy Smith contributed nine points on 3-of-3 shooting for the victorious Green.
“It was kind of shaky at first, but everybody got adjusted and we took off from there,” Spearman said.
Senior forward Christian Standhardinger led the Black squad with 16 points.
The roster was rearranged into a USA vs. The World format for the second scrimmage. The USA squad had eight players from the United States; The World squad had seven players with international roots.
The USA had a much smaller team, but took advantage of it with a pressing defense and a balanced attack to prevail, 52-43.
Every player on the USA squad scored: Aaron Valdes (9), Mike Thomas (9), Jack Hackman (8), Garrett Nevels (7), Spearman (6), Dyrbe Enos (6), Quincy Smith (6), and Keith Shamburger (1 plus six assists).
“We definitely brought the heat on them,” Spearman said. “They really didn’t have a point guard, so we pressed up against them, put a lot of pressure against their guards, and we came out with the W.”
Associate coach Benjy Taylor was the victorious coach for both scrimmages (Arnold was a courtside observer). “We actually executed pretty well for this time of the year, and it was a lot of fun,” Taylor said.
Standhardinger finished with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds for The World team in just 17 minutes of action. He finished with two scrimmages with 38 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four steals. He shot 12 of 24 from the field and 11 of 16 on free throws.
Fotu added 10 points for The World squad, and he finished the two scrimmages with 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting, and four rebounds.
“The guys who I thought would play well – Fotu and Christian, I thought played really well,” Arnold said. “But Aaron Valdes had a good night, did some real good things, and some guys got hot hit a couple shots. I think overall it was good.”
Valdes finished with nine points, eight rebounds and two assists in the two scrimmages. Freshman forward Mike Thomas had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Valdes also took home the slam-dunk championship after placing second last year. His winning dunk in the final featured a bit of teamwork. Teammate Shamburger tossed a ball off the side of the backboard and Valdes caught it in mid-air and did a 360-degree spin before slamming it in.
“My last dunk, I put in a lot of work … that’s the only one I really had planned,” Valdes said. “The other three were just trying to put off until the last one.”
Mike Thomas and Quincy Smith also made the finals. Rozitis delighted the fans with his entry in the dunk contest. First, he put on a pair of neon green shorts (worn by the late 1980s teams), and then had the coaches lie down near the basket. He offered them “insurance money,” then he jumped over them for a one-handed dunk.
“I watched him dunk before, I saw where he could take off and where he could land, and made sure it was within the realm of safety before I was going to have Davis jump over me,” Arnold said.
The Warriors will be together as one team for an exhibition game again Brigham Young-Hawaii on October 31 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com
Fellow fans, I was there, at least till last 5:30, then had to go home care for Ohana, However, once again, for those that could not go, Dayton does an AWESOME job of video hilites of the scrimmage!
Enjoy Fans, those that can go to SSC this year for home games, go, please, this team will be exciting, as long as ONE OHANA, stay together, play together, and win together, get better game to game , day by day, month to month, and hopefully GO DANCING!
Go Bows, Rainbow Warriors!!
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Very glad, ohana hoopsa could go! Mahalo Plenty Dayton for video of scrimmage! Look like guys will be ready. Team has some athletes. Fun , they can jump and go hard every play!
Mahalo again from , hundreds, and hopefully thousands of fans here and around the globe. WI, Rainbow Warrior Ohana!
Uhfanzonly1.
ROB T: referring back to your question , previous forum post about G/W scrimmage and Gib visit to Louisville…
: Louisville one day trip write up, SA by BM, was online premium CS article. Very neat stuff. Hope Gib will use it. Maybe Dayton will have interview about Gib’s trip to Louisville soon.
That USA vs World, was interestin, USA had all the guards, plus MT and AV and wing Jack Hackman, they created a lot of D pressure on the bigger, World squad.
As Gib says, they have less than 3 weeks now before first game of season, lot of things to work on, however, team, has good athletes, and the upperclassmen and the freshmen are working extremely hard, they want to win that BWC tournament crown, and GO DANCE, big one, NCAA!
Go Rainbow Warriors!
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thank you again, great coverage Dayton, and families outside of Hawaii who have online feed can view, Aussie Mum, TribeV, Valdes Ohana, Aaron’s dad, you should be proud of Aaron, he was playing 2/3/4 and 5 spots for USA team, great hustle!
When Aaron and Mike just play, don’t think too much, use their gifts athletically, on D and O, will compliment the seniors, and upperclassmen, Team has great potential.
Different , and fun team!
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Go Rainbow Warriors!
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Our post players have good anticipation for jumping the pass and have the dexterity to take it coast-to-coast. I also like that Fotu is going for the block on defense. A couple of those were beast-like.
Also enjoyed the dunk contest. Most of those guys were underclassmen and were dunking after playing hard for 20 minutes. Imagine how amazing they’ll be once their game catches up to them.
Actually, All the guys played well, whenever on the court, no one slacked off, or took a play off, pretty much 100% effort. Began, as Spearman noted, kind of rusty, shaky, maybe nerves, however by 2nd half the just , played Ball! Fun stuff, and I missed the awesome power dunks of Fotu! Glad Dayton caught on video!
Referring back to your comment, about the D, and(referring to B and the S article )Eagle, agree, I think, AV and MT, if get their confidence up, can weakside, and protect rim block shots, just have to get assertive, Both of those guys , a RS fr and a true Fr are going to get better, and better, by Feb and March, look for AV and MT, to help that 3/4 spot, along with pressure D up front with the guards, AV and MT, and hopefully Caleb, Davis and Stefan, there jobs are not sky walking, just position backline D, protect the rim, no DUNK zone, or easy layins, if the opponents, get past the perimeter guys.
That is why UHF and I , as well as others, believe, Gib still recruiting for those athletic, 4/5 guys who can sky and erase the mistakes of the pressure full court stuff in the backcourt, that is the next, I believe, step for Gib, sort of like Back to the Future, he starts with guards, then wings, now, get some shot blocking, mistake erasing Bigs!
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Go Rainbow Warriors!
What a difference a year makes. Actually it’s only about 8 months or so since they last played. But I can see players improving their game. Isaac Fotu is the one that sticks out most in my mind. He appears to be more mobile, confident, stronger, and has developed a good 3 point shot. When he gets the ball down low it’s hard to stop him one on one. When he gets double teamed however, he will need to spot the open man. Cause if he don’t he will inherit the Vander stigma. And everyone knows what I’m talking about. If Fotu can pass out, Christian should have a field day slicing to the rim and scoring on a Fotu assist. Or either of the wings in Spearman, Valdes, or Nevels should have a clear look from the 3 point line. Yes you sometimes need that wide angle vision to see the entire court. It’s usually the weak side where the open man will be and if Fotu can spot him deep in the opposite corner and get him the ball, you got 3. All of the shooters did well. It’s great to see the big’s all able to pop from deep. Jack Hackman could be one of those hot spot up shooters that we need when defenses are collapsing. That quick release of his can be a dagger. I think Aaron Valdes plays better when the lights go on. The new Standhardinger looks stronger and tougher along with his 3 point shooting. Spearman too. Gib is probably right about Michael Thomas. He will be a future force to be reckoned with. He’s already got NBA length and great athleticism. This year’s team’s new-found strength is the depth at point. Shambarger particularly will play a big role. He can make or break the team. Hopefully it’s make.
I was camera side so never saw myself but had a great time. Not much to say that hasn’t already been said but what I did notice was that after made or missed free throw, there was dap given. Not to dis somebody not here any longer, but Vander almost never gave dap. I think this years team really believes in One Ohana.
Really excited about what AV and MT will bring this year. Both will be scary good as they grow and mature with their time here in Hawaii.
Time for BB ya’ll.
Its still early but I think last night we saw a preview of what’s going to become the best show in town.
Well fans let’s keep this thing active, a lot of talk about UH MBB, in a positive light. Good for us fans and the program!
Things coming up I think!
1)UH MBB has a closed scrimmage with BYU-Hawaii. That should help UH a lot. Having officials and going against athletes other than themselves. Interesting , check out online BYUH’s MBB roster. Have some size , and always have guys that can shoot 3’s
2)Oct. 31 Halloween night. Official Exhibition against BYU-Hawaii Seasiders at SSC at 7:00pm , admission free, encouraged to bring a can good for worthy cause , Hawaii Food Bank
3)Right around the corner from that Exhibition: Here we go, I think , I better check online Tenn. State’s roster and record. Usually those teams have athletes , quick perimeter and shooters. Good test for the Rainbow Warriors!
4)We shall see soon, who will be possible early committs and either preferred walkons or LOI early November 2013. Isaac Fleming, Abel?, another SF or PF?
Lot of good vibes. And , I have to be realistic too, UH MBB has core of very good PF’s , Isaac and Christian, as well as Spearman, very solid 2/3, Shamburger, steady PG, G. Nevels, athletic guard scorer, Rozitis, role guy shot blocker, hopefully and rebounder, as well as Harper and Jawato, whom I think are both very important. However, we shall see how the new young guys do. I hope they get on a streak of winning games, get confidence up. Would be nice to go into BWC play at possibly 11-3, that would be awesome!
Well get ready fans, very, very soon, Tip Off and Rock that SSC!
Where is Jamie Smith?
Go Rainbow Warriors!
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Yes. Tenn. St. , I believe went 18-15 last year. Ended up losing first round of C.I.T.(, remember that tournament(!)..to Evansville.. Lot of those athletes, guards , wings, 6’6″ to 6’9″ guys. should be fun game. Good test for Rainbow Warriors! Shoots, can’t wait for start of season, Guys on team and coaches seemed hyped up too, the guys have been working very hard, and as the comment on dap after FT made/missed, this team IS DIFFERENT, defined roles, and no superstars, they are trying the ONE OHANA mantra, pretty sure all the new guys know the deal , what happened to UH MBB first 3 years of Gib era, so there should be no surpises. Really, I appreciate the preferred walkons, the families, Ohana helping them out. Those guys work as hard as anyone on team, and much kudos and props to their families, and the young student athletes themselves! Great job freshmen on GPA, what over 3.8 or something summer ,early fall semester, very good!
Go Rainbow Warriors!
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Good Comments…Nice Buzz…
Hope no one’s thinking it’s gonna be easy …
As playhoopsa started to allude to and Coach Jackson pointed out, Tennessee State is pretty good …
The whole Rainbow Classic really…
Glad the Tennessee-to-Hawai’i flight is on their dime, and the Game is on Our Court…
Last TWO Years, OUR RPI 203 & 224;
Tennessee State 112, 108…
Western Michigan 113 and
New Mexico State 64 & 56 …
ALL WAY Better than Most of Big West…
Step Up, ‘Bows!
Finally it’s WarriorTime !!
Congrats for the excellent GPA.
Good idea to holding-back..
Let’s giv’em form here on.
Dayton — Mahalo for the Great Highlights…
Kinda Looks like Open Gym…
We’ll see How Well that Continues when half the guys on the court wear different colors…
WHEW! THAT was The Best Team Intro in Years…
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CREDIT FOR A REALLY GOOD QUESTION…
The Key to Understanding What’s Really Going On is Asking The Right Questions…
[The Highest Paid Experts Ask the Right Questions…
EXAMPLE: If you like what you see, Will you Sign with Hawai’i?]
Bobby Curran:
IF you have really good shooters, the better shooting team, wouldn’t you want to have the game generate as many shots as possible? [Think Oregon Run and Shoot…]
That’s why Hawai’i used to play jalf-court, slow-down basketball…run a hypnotic offense that lulls the defense into attention/decision lapses and gives you ‘better percentage’ shots — lay-ups and five-footers. The flip-side is that if you’re required to “make seven passes”, that’s seven transitions, baton-exchanges where track teams drop the relay, seven ‘forward-passes’ where two out of three things can go wrong (interception, incompletion, completion), and often generates high-turnover rates (RE: last year?)…
So…Play Great Pressure Defense, Control the Boards, Push the Ball, Beat the other Team Downcourt, Take quick, good shots, hit offensive boards, take more (good) shots than the opposition…make more than the opposition…Win…
Does this sound like Gib’s approach for 2013-2014 and Beyond?
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Of Course, “Old-Time UH Coaches” Rick Pitino (BB Of National Champion Louisville) and Larry Price (FB, of #1 Radio Show on KSSK), might agree,
Physical Superiority Cancels All Theory…
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Other UHBB…
AM 1420 Tonight 6-7 pm AM 1420 ESPN: Call the Coach with UHWBB Coach Laura Beeman
Our other great USC Assistant ‘Steal’….
FYI: Raasean Divis a 3-star 6’8 PF cmtd > Kent State. cold-shouldered Cincinnati, Hawaii..
After watching live and having to endure the futile Nash years and investing all my basketball hopes with Coach Gib, we finally have a potentially fast, fun and “high-chemistry” team, … I can’t go to watch them live this year. Keep me updated with what you guys see “live” at the SSC. We know not everything is “seen” on TV.
With that being said, the guys look pretty good. Fotu looks ready to be the focus of the half court offense. Everybody is willing to pass to the open man. Hopefully there won’t be too much over passing, as new and unselfish teams often do. As a lot of us have been commenting the past months and even years, that the team has bee trending up with athleticism and solid “locker room guys”. Guys like Davis, Christian and Fotu are perfect examples. A lot of credit goes to Coach Gib and his staff for identifying these gentlemen and getting them to buy in. We have to give him a pass on his first year as the majority of his recruits were leftovers.
A lot of these guys are also living up to their descriptions. Nevels can light it up, Negus looks smooth, Thomas is very versatile, etc… By the way, who is number #11? I couldn’t make out the audio. Best of luck to the team!! Let Harper Play!!! Keep up the good work Warrior Insider.
Hey “Q”,
Liked your quick decisiveness. Hope your paper works are under control as well as you “control” the rock! Am pleasantly surprised that you instantly felt @home with us; The feeling is mutual.
(Good get. No missed-opportunity. Make it your best the next 3yrs!)
We be very happy to see a 28-win regular season!
Let’s do “3-guard O”, “Run & Gun”, “4/5 Shooters”..
Warrior fans just got hungrier for good, exciting, Mansu Mansu UHMBB (#11 is one of 2 lucky numbers)!
GLofSector808: Number 11, he will be a key PG backup or in addition to Shamburger , Nevels, or even Spearman in the backcourt , possibly 3 guards on court at one time.
His Name: Quincy Smith. 3 yrs to play sophomore, out of City College of San Francisco, Cali JC.
Watching the game in person, Quincy, he likes to be called “Q”, is a pretty good Point Guard, goes to the rim, working on his 3 point shot, seems like a good FT shooter, and always, head up, looking for open guys to pass to!
Number 11, Quincy Smith out of California, a good PG, he will play a lot this year, and next 2!
Go Q and the Rainbow Warriors!
GL 808, I think Michael Harper is a very important part of team. He is the “thunder from down under!” Lot of hustle, and he gets it. What Gib wants done. Very valuable guy on this year’s roster, seems very much older and very mature for incoming sophomore. Great young student Athlete for UH MBB!
Shout out to Aussie Mum and Dad, proud to have Michael with the team, he is an inspiration, great student, hard worker, on and off the court! A fan favorite!
Go make “thunder” by your hard effort Michael Harper!
Rock that SSC !
Go Rainbow Warriors!
GIB Would know Best, but i would NOT give up on Raasean Davis OR even Evan Fitzner — They would NOT be the First Recruits to change their minds Especially IF They SEE & Experience Something Better — iʻm pretty sure Evanʻs been to Hawaiʻi before so at least his decision is probably based on a Full Deck — but i would think Raasean would be Wiser to Find Out for Himself How Much of what Gib & Coaches have been saying Is TRUE — IT IS Probably Beyond and BETTER than he can Imagine without Seeing and Experiencing it for himself — on the other hand Gib might just hold them to their word as Prospective Adults (and Recruits)…
i think they may Both be Good Enough to Deserve a (Second) Chance to Make a Smarter WORLD-CLASS Decision…;-}
you can never give up on recruits….anything can go wrong with a program in a matter of a day….then they want out and look at the second best school that treated them good even after they committed somewhere else
way to fight with total commitment hf09!
it ainʻt over even after itʻs ʻoverʻ …
See Years 3, 4 & 5 of The Shamburger College Chronicles…
ADD Standhardinger AND Webster-Chan…
BIG Second-Chance WINS…
I guess why they call it “verbal” committ, not LOI’ed, they can change mind, or as hfan points out, UH as well as many other NCAA D1 programs benefit, from guys who transferred, after not finding right fit at original school of choice. UH has some good ones as a result.
No question, Gib and staff, he said he “would be constantly recruiting”, establishing contact, relationships, and keeping the lines open.
Eagle, hfan and other die hard UH MBB fans, maybe, there might be that Big Get, Nov 2013 or April, May 2014, we shall see.
I always loved the recruiting aspect of MBB…a few dynamic recruits/transfers can turn a program headed to next level. I think UH MBB and Gib, they are working hard on it.
We shall see…maybe a “November” surprise or two! Or Spring time “great get” time!
Awesome, never give up Gib and UH MBB team, keep getting better and better, you are developing a core of loyal followers!!
JF, maybe not headed to Hawaii…don’t know yet…? Gib, next…..! SF/;PF or………….
Recruiting, ahhh, I love it!
Looks like MT really improving!