There are numerous reasons why Brandon Jawato chooses to wear jersey number 3 for the University of Hawai’i basketball team. His birthday is June 3, he was born in 1993, and his favorite basketball player, Allen Iverson, wore number 3.
Jawato also happens to be a 3-point shooting specialist, and he is hoping his number gets called often this season.
“I just want to be a team player, play hard and win,” the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard said. “What ever the coaches want me to do, I’ll do it, but yeah, I know they want me to be a guy who can come in and knock down shots.”
Jawato led the team with 43 3-pointers and a .413 percentage from beyond the arc last season as a redshirt freshman. Most memorable among his performances was a 7-for-7 shooting display from 3-point range in a victory over UC Riverside.
A nagging ankle injury has been bothering him since the summer, but he has vowed to play through it this season.
Jawato came to Hawai’i in 2011 from El Segundo, California, although he does have international roots. His parents are from Indonesia, and he spent some of his youth in Bali.
“We lived there for about five or six years,” Jawato said. “Then my mom wanted me to get a good education, so we came back to America.”
Read about coach Adam Jacobsen.
Jawato said he grew up trying various sports, including football, hockey, soccer, surfing, golf and tennis.
“I just stuck with basketball because I fell in love with basketball,” he said. “I got tall, too, but basketball was my number 1 sport I loved to play.”
Although just a sophomore, Jawato is already in his third year with the program (senior Davis Rozitis is the only player with more tenure). As such, he is making sure to enjoy his time in Hawaii when not training for basketball season.
“I love going on hikes,” he said. “I like cliff jumping and stuff like that. I just love being around the water … I’m trying to see more of the island since I’ve been here for three years now.”