Off to a good start, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will be jumping the pond from Oahu to Kauai tomorrow night for an outer-island showcase against the Chaminade Silverswords. UH sits at 6-2 on the young season and will be taking
Off to a good start, the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will be jumping the pond from Oahu to Kauai tomorrow night for an outer-island showcase against the Chaminade Silverswords.
UH sits at 6-2 on the young season and will be taking on their Honolulu-based opponent at the Kauai High School gym. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, when Kauai gets an up-close and personal view of the two college programs, as the ‘Bows try to keep building towards Big West Conference contention and the Division II Silverswords look to improve upon their 4-3 record.
Sophomore Isaac Fotu has quickly become one of the most popular members of this Warrior squad and UH athletics in general. The 6-foot 8-inch forward wears a ‘fro and the number 42, while displaying an array of low-post moves and a knack for finding the ball off the rim. Hailing from New Zealand, Fotu has received pro offers in his home country, but has stated that he has every intention of remaining at UH for the long haul.
As a freshman last season, Fotu averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 boards a game, while shooting more than 62 percent from the floor. This season, despite breaking a bone in his right shooting hand, he’s upped those figures to 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. The injury currently keeps him out of contact drills, but it hasn’t caused Fotu to miss any game time.
“It’s getting better,” Fotu said during a Wednesday interview. “I’m still pretty limited in practice. I’m still wearing the cast but it’s getting better, so that’s a good sign.”
In a recent column, I made the assertion that this current UH squad has a comfort level on the court, a noticeable understanding of each other’s tendencies and abilities. Basketball is the sport maybe most reliant on camaraderie translating to on-court success, so having familiarity like that early in the season bodes well for the ‘Bows as they move forward.
“That’s exactly right,” Fotu said. “We’re all very comfortable with each other. We know what each other can do and no one cares to take the credit, so we’re all in it to win. I think that shows on court. We hang out a lot off the court, as well. It’s just like playing with your friends, basically.”
His popularity has provided Fotu plenty of attention already. He has a pretty good following on Twitter (@ifotu42), where he’s not shy about reaffirming his affinity for poke bowls, and the Manoa students regularly wear afro wigs and bring signs to the games.
“It feels good, I love the fans over here,” he said. “Wherever I go, it seems like people know me, so it’s nice to be recognized. The fans over here are one of a kind.”
He has backed up that support with hustle and strong play under head coach Gib Arnold. While the team showed flashes in a 17-15 season last year, they have their eyes on some tangible goals in the 2013-14 campaign, with Fotu as a key cog in those efforts.
“I just try to lead by example as much as I can. Coach (Arnold) said he’s looking for me to be a bit of a leader, as well,” Fotu said. “Being a returner, even though I’m not as old as the other guys, I just try to lead by my actions. I don’t really say too much, so I just do my thing every night.
“Like every team, we want to win the Big West championship, obviously. But we have little statistic goals, like keeping teams under a certain percent shooting and I think that’s helped us to be successful so far. We know what we need to do and coach Arnold has told us what we need to do, so every night we’re just playing as hard as we can to try to achieve those goals.”
Last year, Hawaii and Chaminade played their neighbor island game on Molokai. It was an up-and-down affair with UH coming away with a 104-93 victory.
“That was a pretty fun experience,” Fotu said. “I don’t think they’d ever had a college game over there, but they were all excited. They gym was packed, which was good. It was a good experience to play over there with Coach (Brandyn) Akana being from there. It meant a lot to him, as well.”
Though he hasn’t been to Kauai before, Fotu has been informed from others on campus about the Garden Isle and is looking forward to the shortest “road” game the team will enjoy all season.
“It seems like a lot of people from here are from over there,” Fotu said, in reference to Kauai. “They said it’s beautiful, so I’m pretty excited to get there.”
The Kauai High School gym can get pretty loud and hot for a normal KIF contest, so it will likely have the same characteristics Saturday night when the big boys are pounding up and down the hardwood.
“It’s like playing back in high school again,” Fotu said. “I think this year will be fun if it’s anything like last year.”
For information on remaining ticket availability for Saturday’s game, contact Kauai High School athletic director Dino Pabre or Parks and Recreation director Lenny Rapozo.
