Monday, November 11, 1996
Despite record, rollover essential to vonAppen
By PaulArnett
Star-Bulletin
There are still 19 days remaining of the 1996 season, but University of Hawaii head coach Fred vonAppen already is talking rollover.So far his inquiries have fallen on Hugh Yoshida's deaf ears, but it would be suicidal for the Rainbows' athletic director not to give it to him.
"I think in order for us to continue making progress, I need to be rolled over," vonAppen said yesterday afternoon.
"But it's not my choice. And I don't want to hold anyone hostage, but if I'm not rolled over, it's not exactly a vote of confidence. It would make recruiting a hell of a lot harder.
"It's come up in our discussions, but he hasn't responded to it. I think it would be a deathblow to the program if he doesn't."
Not that vonAppen would quit and take the high road. He said he would stick around until his three-year contract played out, but joked that he would make Yoshida's life miserable.
"I'm good at that," vonAppen said, then smiled. "Three years isn't long enough to turn around the program. Believe me, I'm not enjoying this very much.
"I'm not sure a viable alternative is shoveling crap in a henhouse in North Dakota. The only redeeming thing is the kids have been trying.
"As poorly as we're doing, maybe they'll fire us. I don't know what to expect. I'm not content with the way we're playing. I'm not content with the administrative atmosphere.
"I haven't been for some time. We're not coaching well enough. We're not playing well enough. As coaches, you're never satisfied."
VonAppen recently gave Yoshida a 30-point proposal diagraming what the Rainbows need to do in order to be more successful.
Many are items vonAppen has touched upon before, but as of yet, Yoshida hasn't given him a written response.
"Some are must-haves, some are suggestions that we probably need to address," vonAppen said. "A lot of them are old issues. They were an in-house thing for a while, and nothing happened. We're going to have to improve on what we currently have. We've almost hit the basement. The basement would be no wins at all.
"We're reaching the limit of our patience and the fans are reaching the limit of theirs. The transition has been more difficult than anticipated."
But vonAppen and his coaching staff refuse to give up. They know the next recruiting class will be the second building block in their young regime.
Obviously, it will take more than one. In order to be successful, vonAppen needs at least five years to see if his plan comes to fruition.
"Are we going to play this thing out to see if we know what we're doing?" vonAppen said. "Or are we going to make another change? I don't make those decisions.
"The point remains is this program is looking up a long elevator shaft to get back into a competitive posture."
The Rainbows lost several more players to injury in the Western Athletic Conference loss to San Jose State. INJURY REPORT
Tight end Gary Ellison injured his biceps and is out for the season. He already had missed several games with a knee sprain suffered in Laramie, Wyo.
Linebacker Stephen Gonzales sprained his ankle. While X-rays were negative, he remains questionable for this week's game with Brigham Young University.
So is tight end Ryan Green, who suffered an even worse ankle sprain. VonAppen said the ligament damage could keep him out for a couple of weeks.
Offensive lineman Iosefa Puaauli suffered a broken right hand, but is expected to play with a cast. Russell Grant also suffered a concussion after San Jose State linebacker Jacob Malae leveled him on a pass play near the goal line.
"He didn't know what state he was in," vonAppen said. "We'll have to see how he responds this week before letting him play."
Once again, Hawaii wasn't listed in the top 50 of any major team category, according to numbers released yesterday by the NCAA. INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The only person to crack the top 50 in any individual category was free safety Eddie Klaneski. He is tied for No. 38 in the nation in interceptions with four in 10 games for an average of .40 interceptions a game.
Klaneski fell out of the top 50 in punt returns. He had only two for nine yards in the 38-17 loss on Saturday to the Spartans.
VonAppen thought on Saturday night that a San Jose State player touched the football on the onsides kick that the Spartans recovered. OFFICIALS MISSED CALL
He said yesterday that his coaching staff confirmed it after watching the film several times.
"But I'm not going to get on the officials for that one," vonAppen said. "Our guy (Ricky Daley) should have gotten on the ball better. When he touched it, the football became a live one."
If San Jose State did touch it before Daley, it should have been Hawaii's football at that spot. Had Daley left it alone, it would have been Hawaii's football as well because it didn't travel the necessary 10 yards.
That play appeared to be the turning point in the ballgame. San Jose State drove 42 yards on seven plays to take a 14-7 lead the Spartans would never relinquish.