No. 10-ranked North Carolina will bring its tremendous college basketball “blue blood” reputation and tradition into SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on Friday, when the Tar Heels take on Hawai’i (4-0) in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
But the Warriors have 105 years of hoops tradition themselves, and will display some of that with special “throwback” jerseys when the game tips off at 7:30 p.m.
The floral design print — reminiscent of UH’s “Fabulous Five” and “Green Machine” era of the early 1970’s — won’t be just for show. The Warriors hope to draw inspiration from the throwbacks that will help them compete against 2-1 UNC, which is coming off a 107-55 victory over American last Friday. The Tar Heels’ only defeat was a 92-89 loss at No. 1 Kansas on Nov. 8.
“I love the uniforms, it brings out the Hawaiian spirit and I can’t wait to showcase them Friday night,” said UH guard Kody Williams. “It’ll be really cool because I know we’ll have a packed house, and what’s on this jersey — we’re playing for Hawai’i, so I think this represents that really well and we’re gonna go out there and make it a dogfight. So it’ll be awesome.”
The challenge is obviously daunting.
It starts with shooting guard RJ Davis, a graduate senior who was named a Consensus First Team All-America and Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year last season. Davis scored 13 points with three rebounds, three assists and one steal in last week’s victory over American.
Sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau, who scored 18 points with eight assists and four steals against American, was named to CollegeInsider.com’s Kyle Macy Freshman All-America team last season. Another sophomore, 6-foot-10 center Jalen Washington, also scored 18 points versus American on 6 of-6 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
Shooting guard Seth Trimble, a 6-3 junior, scored 13 points with six rebounds last Friday.
“They’re off to a great start again, for all the right reasons,” Warriors coach Eran Ganot said. “(They have) three guys at the one-two-and-three who are averaging 16 (points) a game, depth inside, strength inside … talking about five returning starters and impact guys off the bench. So it’s a heckuva challenge, and that’s what it’s all about.”
By contrast, UH lost its top six scorers from last season to graduation and transfer, and have eight newcomers. But the Warriors have come together quickly enough to start out 4-0.
The anchor has been graduate transfer Tanner Christensen, a 6-10 post who scored a team-high 25 points in Sunday’s 73-69 overtime victory over Weber State and was named Big West Player of the Week — just seven days after winning OUTRIGGER Rainbow Classic Most Outstanding Player honors.
“He’s off to a great start,” Ganot said. “He’s been a proven commodity, a double-double type guy in the past. But now he came into the offseason and got into the best shape of his life, he got down to 260 (pounds), ran a 5:34 mile which is incredible. So it’s put him in a position to take off. Our guys are playing off him and he’s playing off them, and he creates so much attention on both ends.
“He’s been very efficient offensively, he’s a great screen-setter, he creates contact and draws fouls, which is a great quality. And you’ve seen he’s a really really good passing big man. So when the (defensive) support happens, he makes the right read. And that’s really helped us.”
NOTE: Friday’s game has been designated as a “White Out,” meaning fans are encouraged to wear white.