Games of the past and present

You could sense the thought processes emanating from the Stan Sheriff Center stands. It might’ve been something to the effect of, “We’re not in Spokansas anymore.”

It took only a glance by any of the few hundred fans who attended Saturday’s free Green & White scrimmage that the Rainbow Warriors who took the court for the Green & White intrasquad scrimmage were not, in large part, the same ones who won a game in Spokane, Wash., in the NCAA Tournament back in March.

Then the ball went up, and that was crystallized even further. Both squads of the next-gen ‘Bows struggled to put the ball in the hoop for several trips up and back in the first 10-minute period. No Jankovic, Bobbitt, or Valdes to be glimpsed.

“We missed some shots, we had some good looks, we just missed them,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “That’s what I was more pleased about. I wasn’t that worried, because we were playing right. What happened after that, though, we didn’t handle the misses well and we started throwing the ball away. We were sloppy.”

Things picked up by the second period, though. The Green squad that game (Brocke Stepteau, Matt Owies, Brian Garrett, Gibson Johnson, Noah Allen, Larry Lewis Jr.) won 26-16 by shooting 10-for-14 from the field and posting eight assists against one turnover.

“It was probably jitters at the beginning,” Stepteau said. “Neither team could buy a shot for a while. But after you see the first couple go through, you get up and down, you get the butterflies out there. I think we started playing more like what we’re capable of. Hitting shots, playing inside-out.”

The coaches mixed and matched players between periods. The point guard Owies and shooting guard Lewis were the only two players to be on the winning team all three rounds.

The combinations were somewhat reduced because Drew Buggs (knee), Darryl Matthews (ankle) and Mike Thomas (wrist) were out injured.

“Individually … I thought each of them had ups and downs,” Ganot said of the healthy players. “And I thought fatigue set in a little bit at the end. In the past when you played these games you might have 7-on-7 or 8-on-8. We had 6-on-6. So I think that kind of made the last one drag a little bit, although we shot it well.”

Allen, the graduate transfer from UCLA, put up the best overall stat line across the three 10-minute periods. He had 23 points and 10 rebounds. Sheriff Drammeh scored 15 and Johnson and Leland Green had 13 apiece.

Allen showcased an improved stroke from his Bruin days, connecting on four of seven 3-point attempts.

“My teammates and coaching staff have a lot of confidence in me to shoot when I’m open,” Allen said. “If I shoot a couple and I miss, they have the confidence (in me) to shoot again if I’m open. So I don’t have to worry about any of that.”

Between Thursday’s tipoff banquet and the G&W scrimmage, Allen compared UH’s preseason events favorably to what he experienced at UCLA.

“He’s gotta continue to evolve into a more leading role,” Ganot said. “But he has really improved as a shooter.”

Lewis, who previously played Division I at Texas-San Antonio, was pumped up by the crowd’s oohs on a couple of his knifing layups.

“It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget, having a good turnout like we got this afternoon is definitely something I’ll look forward to during the season,” Lewis said.

It sounds like UH will start moving toward a set rotation in the near future.

“As you can see, we want to get to our top eight soon,” Ganot said. “We have a good idea where guys are individually; now, (it’s about) which group clicks best. At times, two point guards go together. I was impressed with Matt Owies’ consistency. I don’t think there’s much surprise there.”

The freshman from Australia was the best distributor on the day, dishing seven assists against one turnover. Drammeh, meanwhile, played point guard in front of a UH crowd for the first time.

“He’s pushing it. He’s trying, obviously, very hard, and finding that new role as well,” Ganot said. “He’s had some ups and downs but he’s been very coachable and has a good attitude.”

Ganot praised Johnson and Green for coming on late after a quiet start and some missed shots, respectively. He said freshmen bigs Ido Flaisher and Zigmars Raimo showed “flashes” but needed to supply a bigger presence around the basket. That also went for Jack Purchase, the Auburn transfer who heated up for a stretch around the middle.

Then it was time for the alumni game. About a dozen alums played, plus a couple others like John Penebacker and Tim Shepard who sat out. Not everyone on the list I posted last week made it out, although a couple others, like Dyrbe Enos, did.

The game ended in a very suspect 70-70 tie. It was the second alumni game in three years; Benjy Taylor put one together during his interim season as coach.

“It was good fun,” former point guard Miah Ostrowski said. “It felt good to get back in the Stan Sheriff again. It’s always good to be around the program and thankful for Coach Ganot and the rest of the UH staff for putting this game on and keeping us a part of the program.”

Ostrowski rated Geremy Robinson getting up and dunking in his late 30s as the top moment of that game, as well as a thunderous tomahawk jam by Sai Tummala.

Phil Martin also had a nice throw-down.

Here’s some shots from the day.