Jordan Graves was one of the 28 percenters last season.
UH-Hilo’s senior point guard prides himself on being the head of the snake, and the 6-foot-1 point guard delivered on many fronts, including defensively. He was second the Pacific West Conference in steals, spearheading the Vulcans’ full-court press and starting all 32 games while leading the way in assists.
“Coach wants a little bit more production out of me, but I’m still going to be doing the same thing, working in the offense and getting us into our sets and being a leader on defense,” Graves said, “so I’d say my role hasn’t changed too much. Looking for different guys.”
Clearly, the snake bites, but can it be dangerous from long range?
Last season, Graves saw mixed results on 3-pointers, making 17 of 61 (27.9 percent) and averaging 8.2 points per game. The goal this time around – for coach and player – is to get that 3-point shooting percentage into the 30s.
“He’s capable,” coach GE Coleman said. “You can definitely see him taking on a bigger role as a leader.”
Coleman noted that Graves didn’t go home during the summer, instead electing to stay in Hilo and hit the gym, where he, no doubt, hoisted up plenty of 3-pointers.
“Just getting a lot of reps in and putting up a lot of shots,” Graves said. “I put a lot of work in during the summer, and I believe I can be ready to knock those shots down.”
He’s hardly the only player that Coleman would like to see shoot better. UHH shot 45.9% from the field during last season’s 12-14 campaign, while opponents made half of their shots.
When Graves-led UHH frustrated teams last season and turned them over with its full-court press it was a sight to see. An even better sight this season would involve the Vulcans scoring more points off the miscues they expended so much energy to create by taking advantage of the opportunities.
Steals and forcing errors are great, but poor shot selection on the other end is tantamount to giving the ball right back.
“Our press defense is our biggest advantage, but when you are fatigued maybe you aren’t going to have your legs, so maybe just making that one extra pass to get someone open to get a better shot can be big,” Graves said. “Pass up a good shot for a great shot is what our mentality has to be.”
The Vulcans will role out three guards in their starting lineup Friday at Concordia-Irvine, with 6-0 sophomore Damani Whitlock and 6-3 sophomore Jalen Thompson joining Graves on the perimeter.
Last season, Thompson, shot 34.2 percent from 3-point range, playing in all 26 games and making five starts, averaging almost five points a game and shooting 83 percent from the free throw line.
“He’s starting to do more than just be a shooter,” Coleman said. “He’s always been a very good shooter, he’s expanded his game and he has more experience and you an see that now with his second year in the program.”
Whitlock also enters his second season, but he played in only more four games last season because of an injury. He’s also capable of playing point guard and being a harassing on-ball defender like Graves.
How big an impact junior transfer Elisha Duplechan, a former Division I guard at Nebraska-Omaha, makes will depend on how fast he can get healthy and build chemistry with his teammates. Coleman said Duplechan was questionable for the season-opening trip.
“As far as it goes, if all three of us are out there, whoever get the rebounds, we push the ball,” Whitlock said. “But set positions, I run the wing and let Jordan run the (point guard), but we’re basically playing between the one and four positions.
“As far as the guards, we gained a lot of athleticism and we press a lot better this year. We’re up and down the court more, and we’re flying around playing hard 24/7.”