HONOLULU — The Hawaii men’s basketball team already showed it can successfully recruit talent from Japan. Next, the country will be a proving ground.
UH’s full roster is engaged in an early series of battles to determine roles for the upcoming 2023-24 season. On Tuesday, when they'll have 10 full practices in the books, the Rainbow Warriors embark for Tokyo for their second foreign tour under coach Eran Ganot.
Were it not for the NCAA-sanctioned tour, UH would not be allowed to get in full practices at this time of the year.
“That’s why it’s been huge. The practices have been like games because of the battles for some spots, and the competitive nature of the group,” Ganot told Spectrum News on Friday. “The sooner you know your team, the better.”
All 14 players on the roster are present and going through daily drills — even guard Juan Munoz, who is about 10 months removed from a devastating Achilles injury.
Ganot wants to see the team play with greater pace than its methodical showing in 2022-23. The 24-second international shot clock that UH will encounter in its four exhibition games on the trip will be an early test of that. UH has been practicing getting shots up with 8 to 15 seconds elapsed.
That, and an uptick in sharing and assisted baskets, are primary objectives during the trip. UH will play two B-League teams, plus Tokai University and a select team in gyms spanning Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima.
Besides battling foreign foes on their home soil, UH players will be competing for a leg up for playing time, particularly at the frontcourt positions.
Newcomers Justin McKoy (North Carolina), Matthue Cotton (Yale), Akira Jacobs (Japan), Tom Beattie (New Zealand) and Logan Robeson (Campolindo High in Moraga, Calif.) have been getting a head start on feeling out a new system.
“Some guys are ahead of others. This is a very competitive group,” Ganot said. “But they’re also very connected.” He said competition at center between senior Bernardo da Silva and sophomore Mor Seck has been particularly fierce.
Jacobs, a 6-foot-8 forward, is fresh off competing for Japan at the FIBA U-19 World Cup in Turkey.
In seven games, Jacobs led his country with 17.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game en route to an eighth-place finish in the event, Japan’s best to date in that age bracket.
Jacobs, the first UH men’s hoops player from Japan, figures he can show his teammates around in Tokyo, near his native Yokohama. He will be new to the other cities.
“It’s going to be a good opportunity for the team to go to another country together. It will be more time for bonding,” Jacobs said. “(It is) a great opportunity to showcase ourselves and what to expect going into the season.”
The team went through a Japanese etiquette lesson this week. It included some basic phrases and pointers for politeness.
“There’s a lot of stuff you would think would be obvious, but that’s because I lived there,” said Jacobs, who mentioned not sticking chopsticks in food as one. “So there’s a lot of culture differences. I think it’s important that they understood some things. But the guys are really good people, so they weren’t going to go in there and disrespect people. So it was just a refresher for a lot of them.”
Besides the 14 players, UH’s travel party will include eight staff members, 20 boosters and six family members.
UH returns Aug. 19. Full practices for the 2023-24 preseason begin in late September.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
