A summer of separation and lockdowns was finally put to rest this week for the University of Hawai’i basketball team. The Rainbow Warriors opened official team practices on Wednesday, marking the first time that the team has been able to participate together on a basketball court since March.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the abrupt cancellation of the 2020 postseason and subsequent adjustments in summer travel and conditioning.
All of that was forgotten for a few hours of practices on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“Wednesday was amazing, getting after it,” senior forward Samuta Avea said. “There was definitely a lot of chippiness, just everybody’s been waiting a long time to be able to compete and get after each other.