Hawaii men’s basketball: Shooting for next-gen shooting

During a recent practice, Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot brought his players together and let them know in no uncertain terms that their performance in a shooting drill was unacceptable.

Twice.

“Our shooting wasn’t there,” Ganot said afterward. “So a big part of our being good in any area, and in that area for sure, is being consistent. You might have a range there, but our range can’t be that wide. Our numbers, the extremes were too far apart. … So that was kind of a big message there.”

The animated moments were not just some throwaway reason to get on the players, juice them up a little more than a week into the grind of preseason practices. Outside shooting and spacing are integral to the Rainbow Warriors’ four-out offense that Ganot implemented upon his arrival in 2015.

“I think they take it in a positive way,” said senior Eddie Stansberry, UH’s leading returning outside shooter with a team-high-tying 77 3-point makes last year. “You know, Coach, he’s not lying. We definitely need to be able to shoot the ball to be an effective team. I think the biggest thing is that he knows our guys are going to respond.”

The Rainbow Warriors will get in their Green & White scrimmage at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Stan Sheriff Center. Admission is free.

#HawaiiMBB senior shooting guard Eddie Stansberry breaks down what the fans should expect to see at Saturday’s Green & White scrimmage at the Stan Sheriff Center (1 pm). pic.twitter.com/29DaDpwfMC

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) October 11, 2019

UH is coming off the program’s most prolific season from behind the 3-point arc, but is looking for outside production from a new wave of players to go with a volume shooter in Stansberry and contributors like Drew Buggs and Samuta Avea.

“I think shooting is always important to being successful,” Ganot said. “We talk about spacing. We always do a good job getting to spots. But shooting helps your spacing, as we know. It creates opportunities for our bigs to operate or our point guards to drive. … Sometimes you’ll miss shots, but you could tell the footwork, the balance, the follow-through weren’t quite there either. Our shot put-up wasn’t consistent. That’s something we cannot have happen.”

In 2018-19, UH set program records in 3-pointers made (266) and attempted (751). The season 3-point percentage of .354 was eighth-best in program history, and the best since 2010-11.

Stretch forward Jack Purchase joined Stansberry in hitting on 77 from long range, with Brocke Stepteau contributing an efficient 37 (on 44.6% shooting) and Sheriff Drammeh 28. Buggs chipped in 16 triples, Avea 14 and Leland Green 12. Justin Hemsley hit a trio of triples in reserve action and Brandon Thomas connected on one.

UH bid farewell to Purchase, who left as the program’s all-time leader in 3-point makes with 199, as well as fellow seniors Stepteau and Drammeh. Green transferred out a season early and Thomas also left with a year to go on his eligibility clock.

That makes Stansberry the clear leading man returning with his 35.8% conversion rate. Nearly three-quarters of the junior college transfer’s shots were 3s.

“We had three core with me, Brocke and Jack, but at the end of the day I can always improve my jump shot with the younger guys,” Stansberry said. “Such as (Justin) Webster, coming in his first year, he’s actually shooting the ball really well. At the same time I’m trying to improve my game and shooting, I’m trying to tell the younger guys the same thing. Keep their heads up, take great shots, and that’s what we work on. That’s what we have these practices for, why we have these shooting drills.”

Ganot said of Stansberry, “he’s going to make a jump to being a great shooter.” The coach feels good about Avea’s progression — the wing hit 35% last year in a small sample size — and he voiced confidence in Webster, who arrived out of the Hargrave Military Academy. He noted Buggs has made it an emphasis. Hemsley should get more opportunities this season. Washington State transfer Ahmed Ali was brought in in large part for his ability to knock down shots.

UH has also toyed around with Zigmars Raimo, who has not hit a 3 in his college career, taking shots from outside at power forward.

Will that add up to enough shooting to keep defenses honest? Time will tell.