VIDEO: UH men start basketball practice

Thanks in part to 10 returnees and a preseason strength and conditioning program, the Rainbow Warriors were already able to start running offensive plays during their first full practice of the season.

"I think the conditioning and weights and early-season stuff that we did really paid off big time," Hawaii head coach Bob Nash said. "The learning curve will be a lot shorter. I'm real pleased with the first practice."

Yesterday was the first date that basketball teams could start full practices under NCAA rules. The 'Bows took advantage with a three-hour workout in a steamy Gym II on the UH-Mänoa athletic complex.

"The weather is hot, but you can only sweat if you work hard, and we work hard," said Jeremy Lay, one of the team's new guards. "We want to be a good team. We're all dedicated. We all say 'all in' and that means we're all in. No single person, but one team."

Ten players return from last season's 13-17 team, including starters Roderick Flemings, Bill Amis, Petras Balocka and Paul Campbell.

However, Nash said all five starting spots are "up for grabs."

"We want everybody to have the same opportunity," he said.

But during most of the team drills last night, the "first team" consisted of Hiram Thompson and Dwain Williams as the guards, Flemings at small forward, Amis at power forward, and Balocka at center.

"We put the guys who we thought were a little further along in terms of understanding things so they can be teachers," Nash said.

The second unit featured Lay and Leroy Lutu Jr. at guards, Adhar Mayen and Brandon Adams at forwards, and Paul Campbell at center.

"We're going to change things up as we go along, see how different groups work together as we learn the offense," Nash said.

Among the first five, Williams is the only newcomer. He was a starter at Providence as a sophomore in 2007-08, but did not play basketball last season while attending a junior college in California.

Williams, a 6-foot junior, said he was so anxious to start this season that he showed up at 3:30 p.m. for yesterday's 5 p.m. start of practice.

"Oh man, I miss it a lot," he said. "I was in here at 3:30 shooting around. I'm just excited to be back out here."

Williams and Lay were recruited to the team this year to help rejuvenate a 3-point attack that was lacking last season.

"I really enjoy it," Williams said of Hawaii's offense. "You get a lot of open shots, you get a lot of isolations."

Lay added: "It's not complicated to learn. You have to pay attention to it. If you're not paying attention, you can easily make mistakes. Once I get it down, it's not going to be that hard to run. I like it. It's a guard offense."

The only player who could not contribute much during the opening practice was Douglas Kurtz — the team's new 7-footer. He sat out most of the drills due to a sore right knee.

"We're just giving him some time to let it cool down," Nash said. "He can do some running, but when he's ready to go we'll throw him back out there."

The 'Bows have two weeks to prepare for their first public appearance in the Stan Sheriff Center — an exhibition game against Hawaii-Hilo on Oct. 30. They will also play Brigham Young-Hawaii in an exhibition game on Nov. 5 before the regular-season opener on Nov. 13 against Southern Utah.