It’s that time of year, so hope springs eternal.
It’s that time of year, so hope springs eternal.
Across the college basketball landscape, most teams are all-in, telling themselves that they’re building chemistry and are ready to jell into a contender.
Roughly two weeks into preseason practice, those positive vibes certainly extend to UH-Hilo, and men’s coach GE Coleman knows that hardly makes the Vulcans special.
“Every one has buy-in until there is playing time and shot selection and all that,” Coleman said last week in his office. “Like every other coach in the country, we have buy-in right now.”
That’s not to say UH-Hilo shouldn’t aspire to have a special season.
Every team has returning players and newcomers, but Brian Ishola isn’t your garden variety returnee and Denhym Brooke definitely isn’t the type of two-year transfer that Vulcans fans are accustomed to seeing. In fact, they might already have seen him play for BYU-Hawaii.
Ishola, a 6-foot-6 senior, is a double-double waiting to happen and is among the top returning players of the Coleman era. After averaging 15.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in 2016-17, he wasn’t selected to the preseason all-Pacific West Conference team, but his goal is an all-conference season.
“A tenacious rebounder and a natural athlete inside,” senior guard Ryley Callaghan said. “He’s been working on his jump shot, so that should improve as well. More of the same for him this season.”
Ishola’s biggest predicament last season was a glaring one.
He. Had. Little to no. Help.
“We were just overmatched,” Coleman said. “I thought our kids played hard, we were just completely overmatched. After Brian, we were really thin inside.
“Defense and rebounding were a huge issue, so we added some size.”
As if on cue, a few moments later the 6-8 Brooke walked into Coleman’s office to ask his coach a question. The only thing that would have added to the help-is-here theme was if he had brought Devin Johnson, 6-7, with him.
With BYU-Hawaii winding down its athletic programs last season, there naturally was a vulture-like mentality among rival PacWest coaches. One of Brooke’s former teammates landed at Cal Baptist and another at Point Loma.
Coleman, meanwhile, circled in on his target and swooped up the PacWest’s second-leading blocker and seventh-leading rebounder.
“I just liked the flow of things and the feeling of everything around here,” said Brooke, a native of New Zealand.
Brooke, a junior, averaged 10 points a game last season, and unlike a juco transfer he faces no learning curve in adapting to the rigors of Division II basketball.
“It’s very nice that he has the experience of playing everybody in our league for two years,” Coleman said. “It also helps that he’s 6-8.”
With the Seasiders stuck in extinction mode during a 6-20 swan song of a season, Brooke treated the campaign as an audition.
“I knew I had to perform and do well, so I could keep going, because I had no security,” he said. “We managed it quite well. The people who wanted to keep playing, we worked together.”
Coming off a 10-16 season in which the Vulcans finished ninth in the PacWest at 8-12, league coaches targeted UH-Hilo to place 10th in the preseason poll, one spot behind newcomer Biola.
BYU-Hawaii made the PacWest tournament during Brooke’s freshman year, and he sees no reason why the Vuls can’t make a run at cracking the top six this season.
“I knew what I was getting into,” he said of his role. “I think we’re going to be a pretty good offensive team. Everybody can score. I think it will be a lot of fun.”
Callaghan, who averaged 11.2 points and four assists in 24 starts in his first season as a Vul, likened Brooke and Johnson to a couple of safety blankets on both ends of the court – players who he can dump off the ball to when he can’t finish drives and mask perimeter deficiencies defensively. Johnson brings ample amounts of power and athleticism and was a two-time all-league defender at Lower Columbia (Wash.) CC.
Among the other key returnees for the Vulcans are senior guard/forward Randan Berinobis (8.6 points per game, 6.2 rebounds) and sophomore guard Eric Wattree III (6.5 points).
In preparation for their Nov. 10 opener against Simon Fraser at the PacWest/GNAC Challenge Series in Bellingham, Wash., Coleman will continue to try to blend in newcomers such as senior combo guard Tre Ingram, formerly of St. Martin’s, senior guard Mike Golden as well as freshman guard Cleo Cain.
“He’s been the surprise of preseason practice,” Coleman said of Cain.
He also expects Callaghan and Wattree III to take another step forward as UH-Hilo tries to fill the void left by prolific scorer Parker Farris.
“This is our year to (put up) or shut up,” Callaghan said.
At the urging of his coach, he began jumping rope to help improve his quickness and develop into a better defensive player. Last season, Callaghan committed 81 fouls, second-most on the team, and was taken to task by Coleman for his ability to guard on the perimeter.
“My big thing is foot speed and just athleticism,” he said. “I have the skill, but at a certain point athleticism reigns. I get away with it most of the time.
“The jump rope helped me in all aspects. This year is a whole different story. I understand the speed of the game. I feel quicker and way more confident on offense and defense.”
When Callaghan looked ahead to the season, he sounded a lot like a coach – any from around the country – heralding his team’s positivity and the establishment of a winning culture.
Of course.
“We haven’t faced adversity yet,” he said. “That’s a big thing, obviously. How we react.”