Wright On: Ohana Times Two is history in the making

After the most successful week of basketball in the history of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, the urge to rush ahead and make enthusiastic pronouncements about the promises of future, delivered by both the men’s and women’s teams is strong.

Let’s suppress that thought for just a bit, because it’s inevitable that we all will now expect bigger, better, more from the Rainbow Wahine and from first year coach Eran Ganot’s men’s team. The human compulsion to project will never leave us, so we will get to that soon enough, but first, a couple points are worth retaining regardless of what happens next.

For the moment, allow us to wallow ever so briefly in the dual accomplishments, starting with Laura Beeman’s team making their second straight conference championship game and getting it done, impressively, this time, with a 78-59, coast-to-the-finish-line victory over UC Davis. Ashleigh Karaitiana was the MVP, Destiny King was an all-tournament team selection and none of this appears ready to end, not with Beeman’s record improving to 49-17 in the conference in her first four seasons at Manoa.

It’s always an uphill struggle for Hawaii teams, but the double championships — Ohana Times Two — create an introduction to island basketball for potential recruits from coast-to-coast and beyond. Yes, basketball’s been vibrant here in the past, but today’s top high school players consider the past to be something that happened in the last two or three years. Suddenly, for them, Rainbow Warrior basketball is a thing.

Thanks to the saturated coverage of March Madness that will commence this week, the Rainbow Warriors have a chance to open the eyes and maybe the futures of talented players who may have just a bit of wanderlust in their souls.

“They’re playing big time basketball,” UH-Hilo men’s basketball coach GE Coleman said last week of Ganot’s team. “When you have three players (Stefan Jankovic, Roderick Bobbitt and Aaron Valdes), who can do what they do, you have a chance against anybody.

“But think about this,” Coleman said, “it’s possible, if Valdes had not been injured and missed some time, that all three of those guys could have been named player of the year in the conference. That doesn’t happen very often.”

Something else that impressed Coleman was how the ‘Bows played with a giant target on them that comes with winning the conference regular season title.

“It’s a great thing to do,” Coleman said, “but in a one-(NCAA Tournament) bid league, winning the regular season makes it even harder to win the tournament.”

In the Big West, coaches are more than willing to share information on the regular season champ with other coaches trying to find the critical flaw, but Saturday night in Anaheim, Long Beach State couldn’t find a way to win for the third time this season against the ‘Bows.

Just now, though, Ganot doesn’t need a lot of information on Friday’s opponent in Spokane because he surely knows about Coach Cuonzo Martin and the Cal Bears who, arguably, have as much top-shelf talent as any team in the tournament.

Ganot comes from the Randy Bennett system at Saint Mary’s, which shares some philosophical approaches with the defensive system employed by Martin, in his second season at Berkeley.

Martin inherited a talented roster a year ago when he replaced Mike Montgomery, who retired unexpectedly, but to that lineup he has added two of the most highly prized freshmen recruits in the country, 6-foot-7, 225-pound Jaylen Brown and 6-11, 215 center Ivan Raab, who has a 7-foot-2 inch wingspan he uses to protect the rim.

In his low-ball approach to the game, can Martin keep those two freshmen happy? The whole approach in Martin’s system is about sacrificing for your teammates, making the extra pass to force the defense to work harder. It’s a proven system that works as Martin showed at Tennessee, despite the abuse from Vols’ fans who wanted him fired so former coach Bruce Pearl could be re-hired.

That didn’t happen, but Martin jumped when the Cal job opened and his two recruits have given him two big timers to build around.

The challenge for the ‘Bows is considerable, but Ganot’s three-headed monster can create issues for defenses, especially if games are played in the 50s or low 60s. How will the two freshmen respond to their first glimpse of the postseason? Can Bobbit solidify his game, stay out of foul trouble and distribute the ball effectively? Will the more experienced Jankovich exploit an edge against Raab? Can Valdes become the go-to option and if so, will he convert the opportunity?

A sloppy game by Hawaii and it’s all over, but a close game that frustrates the Cal freshmen could make it compelling and a win against the Bears?

Almost incalculable, given the Rainbow Warriors will be suspended from the tournament next season, but the difference between getting to the tournament and getting a win is the difference between interest and intrigue.

Playing basketball in Hawaii and upsetting teams in the postseason is interesting, but if top players on the West Coast see it happen with their own eyes, their college career gazes may shift toward the Pacific.

History was made last week. The hunt for more is out there this week.

Contact Bart at barttribuneherald@gmail.com with comments, questions