A very early look at Hawaii in 2010-2011

Apparently, nothing happened yesterday basketball-related in the WAC so luckily we had this in reserve:

HAWAII

UH is right up there with Nevada in welcoming, save a few players, what amounts to a brand new 2010-2011 roster. Hawaii needs scorers and accurate long distance shooters -- elements grievously missing from the last squad.

So, barring academic woes or inexplicable behavior, here are your 2010-2011 Rainbow Warriors:

BACKCOURT/WING

returnees

* Beau Albrechtson G 6-4 205 Jr - a walk-on who won't see much court time       
* Rykin Enos G 5-11 190 Jr. - ditto             
* Leroy Lutu G 6-3 200 Jr - ditto
* Zane Johnson G 6-6 210 Jr. - first and foremost, his role is as a catch-and-shoot from distance marksmen -- let's see if he has developed greater creative ability
* Hiram Thompson G 6-2 175 Sr. - this guy, of anyone in college basketball, deserves a healthy season and based on the current roster, he looks like the starting point -- Thompson contributes all over the stat sheet although he isn't necessarily a cut-above type creator

newcomers

* Jordan Coleman 6-foot-4 180 CA HS - a marvelous athlete possessing excellent down-the-line potential -- how quick his learning curve is will be the key to his amount of playing time
* Bo Barnes 6-foot-4 180 Westwind Prep (AZ) - another catch-and-shoot-from-distance scorer, he doesn't appear to have starting potential but definitely will find his way sooner or later into the backcourt rotation
* Bobby Miles 6-foot-1 190 CA HS - Thompson and Salter should eat up most of the available playing time at the point, so Miles is likely to redshirt
* Anthony Salter 5-foot-11 175 Iowa Western College - he brings speed and quickness, a nice change of pace from Thompson and he will hopefully quickly adapt to the D-1 level
* Trevor Wiseman 6-foot-7 200, CA HS - controlling his temper is job one here as that will allow the focus and concentration necessary to develop his skills set, it's still unknown (to PTW) if he has the necessary academics to be eligible this coming season

FRONTCOURT

returnees
        
* Douglas Kurtz C 7-0 265 Sr. - he played 125 minutes last year as a community college transfer and the likelihood is that Vander Joaquim will garner the non-Bill Amis minutes at the five this coming season, so court time will again remain scarce -- he probably should have gone to a lower level of play but dropping him now would negatively impact the inroads Arnold wishes to make in Brazil        
* Bill Amis F 6-9 220 Sr. - not a star but a solid glue guy who will add some points, rebounds and blocked shots each game -- let's see if he has added weight/strength during his redshirt year because such will increase his effectiveness

newcomers

* Dominick Brumfield 6-foot-8 210 Big Bend College (WA) - very good potential, -- the question is can he put it together as soon as this coming season?
* Vander Joaquim 6-foot-10 240 College of Eastern Utah - he won't score a lot but it's enough if he will defend and rebound
* Josten Thomas 6-foot-7 235 College of Southern Idaho - call him the key for the Rainbow Warriors' season as consistent frontcourt scoring (especially) and boardwork are the needed contributions from Thomas

By the way, Coach Gib Arnold has gathered quite the recruiting coaching staff, an element critical to making UH a factor again in the WAC. Walter Roese will roam Brazil and South America, Scott Fisher's responsibility is Australia and Benjy Taylor is familiar with Illinois and parts of the South. Arnold knows southern California as well as Utah. This assemblage was a prerequisite for any uptick in UH recruiting.

PTW's best guess at a UH starting five:

* Anthony Salter
* Hiram Thompson
* Zane Johnson
* Josten Thomas
* Bill Amis

Whatifs: If Josten can also play the three, then Joaquim can play in the middle and Amis move to the four but Johnson's shooting range is going to be needed on the court for 30+ minutes a game. He can also probably handle the two, with Salter and Thompson splitting time at the point.