Hawai’i ready for Oregon challenge in first road season opener in two decades

HONOLULU – Amped up for ramps up.

For the first time since 2006, the college basketball season will start away from the friendly confines of Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center for the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team. With nine new faces on the 13-player roster, the early road trip will also provide a chance for the Rainbow Warriors to build on chemistry off the floor.

The November 4 start marks the earliest start in program history for UH and coming off a bumpy year, the new-look Hawai’i team can’t wait to tip off against the Oregon Ducks and leave the bad taste of last year in the past.

Among the new faces ready to make their Rainbow Warrior debut is center Isaac Johnson, who began his college career with the Ducks back in 2021 before transferring and spending the past three seasons with Utah State.

“I’m pumped,” Johnson said ahead of the opener against Oregon. “I think we’re excited to show everybody what we’ve been working on and all the hard work we’ve been putting in and show ourselves that too.”

The 7-footer was a part of back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams with the Aggies, helping lead USU to a first-round upset of TCU in 2024 with 19 points and four blocks before taking a backseat in his final go-round in Logan. With one final season of eligibility remaining, Johnson decided to team up with old friends from his high school days in the islands to make a run at March Madness.

“Our goal is to not just make it to March Madness and into the tournament, but to win games,” the senior responded when asked about the challenge of facing the Ducks on the road to begin the year. “So, to be in an arena like Matthew Knight Arena, with the crowd there in Eugene, it’s a great little preview of what we’re going to see.”

Johnson racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists across 36 minutes of action in two exhibitions for the Rainbow Warriors. His presence will be important for UH against a Ducks team that has four players standing at 6-foot-10 or larger, including all-Big Ten third-team selection Nate Bittle.

Oregon, who is without star point guard Jackson Shelstad as he recovers from a broken hand, will present a substantial leap in competition from the two exhibitions UH competed in during the preseason. The Ducks were picked to finish fifth in the Big 10 preseason poll and flirted with an AP Top 25 ranking as they checked in with the 27th-most votes in the country.

Despite the loss of one preseason all-Big 10 selection in Shelstad, Oregon boasts another preseason all-conference pick in Bittle. The 7-foot, 250-pound big man was a five-star recruit and 2021 McDonald’s All-American out of high school and earned a third-team all-Big Ten selection last season after leading the Ducks with 14.2 points per game and ranking 18th nationally with 2.1 blocks per night.

“We’re ready for the challenge,” said Johnson, who will be one of the many Rainbow Warriors tasked with slowing down Bittle. “I think we’ve been prepared very well for [the ups and downs of the season] from [preseason] and we’re just ready to get going.”

Oregon is 15-0 in home openers under Dana Altman and have only lost two total season-openers under the veteran head coach. The Ducks have only met up with the Rainbow Warriors once in Altman’s tenure, an 89-64 win in Eugune back in December of 2019.

“Looking forward to seeing how this team comes together over the course of the year,”  head coach Eran Ganot said of his team before leaving for the continent. “Obviously, we’re throwing them right in the fire with a great road trip and a great Oregon team. Well-coached, well balanced, great size and a tough place to play, which is what we wanted early.”

Ducks sophomore Wei Lin got a chance to fill in for the injured Shelstad in two exhibition games, scoring 14 points, dishing out eight assists and committing only one turnover in more than 50 minutes of work against Utah and Stanford. The 6-foot-4 guard joined Oregon in the offseason after playing three seasons for the Nanjing Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Hawai’i has dealt with numerous injuries throughout the preseason as well, losing sophomore guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor to a hand injury in the opening days of camp while seeing senior Gytis Nemeikša and freshman Hunter Carter each missed the Rainbow Warriors’ matchup against Pomona-Pitzer among other ailments.

Nemeikša and Carter each returned against Chaminade while Hunkin-Claytor remained sidelined for the exhibition but got back to practicing before UH left for Oregon. The sophomore point guard is expected to return to action against the Ducks.

Even with the constant revolving door in the backcourt and elsewhere, the Rainbow Warriors put together as many strong days as possible during training camp.

“Really pleased with our guys’ effort over this challenging six weeks with guys in and out,” said Ganot of the team’s preseason. “We might have to deal with that a little longer and we’ll see how it goes, but that’s part of the season. Everybody’s going to be dealing with some of that adversity.”

Since 1969-70, UH is 1-3 in season openers away from the islands. The lone win came in 1989 in the Great Alaska Shootout against Division II Alaska Anchorage, when the program finished in third place after going 2-1 against UAA, Kansas State and Texas A&M.

Hawai’i tips off against Oregon at 5:30 p.m. HT on Tuesday. Fans can watch the matchup via the Big Ten Network.