Intensity and respect helped usher in the new era of Rainbow Wahine basketball.

Hawai'i opened its 2009-10 season with its first practice on Friday with a 21/2-hour session of drills, 5-on-5 sessions and sprints. Through the intense, fast-break pace was support from one another and the reminder of the importance of building relationships.

The beginning of a new era was found everywhere you turned in Gym I, from new coaches to new attitudes to T-shirts that reminded everyone a new era was upon them.

"We talk a lot about basketball but that's just a part of what we're trying to teach," said first-year coach Dana Takahara-Dias. "It's talking about care of one another, about being a family, being great student-athletes, taking academics seriously, being competitive every time out on the floor in basketball and having great character."

Takahara-Dias inherits 11 returnees, a high-profiled local recruit and a program that went 8-23 last year in a season that culminated with the firing of Jim Bolla. A former Rainbow Wahine herself, Takahara-Dias' "new" coaching staff includes former Hawai'i assistants Da Houl (associate coach) and Serenda Valdez (assistant coach). Third assistant Patrick Knapp last coached at Penn.

Junior guard Keisha Kanekoa, one of the returnees, said the new era will be built "starting with practices, intense practices."

"Practice like how we play," Kanekoa said. "It all comes down to how we practice.

"Hopefully from practice, we can take it onto the court."

Kanekoa said opening day was intense from the beginning to the end. Though there were nerves, it was a good feeling to be back.

"People came out ready to play," Kanekoa said. "They knew what Dana was expecting. The coaches told them ahead of time what to expect and when they step on the court, they have to be ready to produce."

Added Takahara-Dias: "They put in the effort and the time (during the offseason) so we could look pretty solid today. But we're a far ways from where we want to be. We'll take a step in front of the next and get to our goals."

The Rainbow Wahine welcome freshman Shawna Kuehu, who was highly recruited coming out of Punahou, where she led the Buffanblu to state titles in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Kuehu, who didn't play collegiately last year, said she received a lot of support from her teammates.

"We're still getting used to how each other play," Kuehu said. "The support was really good.

"Everybody got each other's back on the court. We're all feeling the same thing, tired, excited."

The respect was extended to seven walk-ons, who hail from the Neighbor Islands, Mainland and abroad. They were mixed into drills with returning players, and Takahara-Dias said the coaching staff will take a good hard look at them. It's something Takahara-Dias is familiar with, having been a former walk-on at UH.

"If there's someone that can contribute and someone that can actually be a part of this team and make us better, we will look at everyone," Takahara-Dias said.

The Rainbow Wahine open their season by hosting an exhibition game against Division II Hawai'i Pacific on Nov. 4.

The regular season begins with a three-game road swing through Southern California, starting at UC Riverside on Nov. 17, followed by UCLA (Nov. 19) and Cal State Bakersfield (Nov. 21).

The home opener is Nov. 27 against Arizona State in the Rainbow Wahine Classic.

Note: Among the watchful eyes at practice on Friday was Vince Goo, who coached the Rainbow Wahine for 17 seasons. Also taking in the practice were UH volleyball coach Dave Shoji and assistant Kari Ambrozich.