What to Expect from the UH Men’s Basketball Season?

The UH Rainbow Warriors had a solid start to their season beating Cal State Northridge late in the night on ESPN’s Hoop Marathon. With several new faces, I wonder what we can expect from the Bows this season? Here’s what I’m hoping to see.

Most momentum changing shots. This has to go to freshman, Shaquille Stokes. Coming from the courts of NYC, Shaq is a battler and keeps coming at you. Sure, he’ll make freshman mistakes, but he’s going to have moments where his shots and drives will shift the momentum of the game.

Most daggers. No doubt Zane Johnson’s triples will be the proverbial “nail in the coffin” for opposing teams. When the opposition makes a run, Z’s 3 will squelch that and demoralize the comeback.

Breakout game. Hauns Brereton will have one game where he gets rolling… and rolling… and rolling. Think Tony Akpan a few years back when he was in that magical zone. Hauns will do it from the outside, midrange, and inside with nifty drives (like a more mobile Mindaugas Burneika).

“Oh thank you.” When the clock is ticking down, who gets the ball for the last second shot? No, it’s not (yet) Bobby Miles. But, he’ll actually come through on occasion where all the fans will think, “oh thank you.”

Most ejections/technical fouls. Toss up between Joston Thomas and Vander Joaquim. Vander is playing the role of inside enforcer so by default, his confrontations will draw attention fromm the refs. Joston still will have quick fouls and his frustration will get the better of him, and he’ll let the ref know about his displeasure.

Most improved. The early candidate is Trevor Wiseman. So he’s still not a power finisher, going for layups instead of throwing it down. But it seems like he has a semblance of a growing offensive game, not purely relying on hustle and garbage points. He might be able to knock down some jumpers.

Another exciting season awaits!