Notebook
Tuesday, December 17, 1996
Sundberg must
By Mike Fitzgerald
keep his cool for the
rest of the season
Star-Bulletin
University of Hawaii center Seth Sundberg is off the hook - for now away.Sundberg was suspended for one game after punching Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo's Russ Bryden in the Rainbows' 86-84 victory Saturday night.
He sat out UH's impressive win against Ball State on Sunday, which gave the Rainbows the Nike Festival title and a 6-1 record going into the Rainbow Classic Dec. 27-30.
But one more fight and Sundberg is gone for the season, according to the same NCAA rule that called for the one-game suspension. And that would be it for his college career, since Sundberg is a senior.
"He made a mistake and publicly apologized for it," said head coach Riley Wallace. "But he's still on thin ice and really has to watch it."
Television replays showed Bryden getting in a couple of minor shots himself. But Sundberg's punch was a roundhouse right and could have caused more serious injury if it had landed squarely.
"It can happen easier than people realize, especially with a team that does a lot of reaching and grabbing like Cal Poly does," Wallace said. "That kind of style can be very frustrating.
"But we're confident that he'll take care of it the rest of the way."
Wallace was pleased with the smaller, but quicker, starting lineup on Sunday, which had Eric Ambrozich playing the middle of a 2-3 zone defense.
The zone was effective against the Cardinals, especially their top scorer Bonzi Wells, who was 6 of 20 from the field.
Michael Robinson also came through in his first start, with 14 rebounds in the first half.
"Seth will still be the starter, but it's nice to know that we can go with it," Wallace said.
Wallace made a connection between Sundberg's ejection and a foul call that helped UH win the Cal Poly game. CONTROVERSIAL CALL
Referee Donovan Lewis called a foul on Cal Poly's Josh Porter with only 1.7 seconds left on the clock and the score tied 84-84.
Ambrozich calmly knocked down the two free throws and Shantra Cotright barely missed hitting a long game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Cal Poly head coach Jeff Schneider was furious and screamed at Lewis - and then kicked a UH band speaker. It was an unusual call for so late in the game.
"After Seth got ejected, they really started calling a tight game," Wallace concluded. "He (Porter) had Eric's arm hooked, but I don't think they would have called it under normal circumstances and it would have gone into overtime."
Wallace should still send Lewis a Christmas card.
Ambrozich was named WAC player of the week for the Pacific Division yesterday. ERIC THE GREAT
The 6-8 junior forward scored 21 points against Cal Poly - including the winning free throws with 1.7 seconds left in the game - and added another 18 points against Ball State. He also was voted the Nike Festival's MVP, beating out two big-name players: Cal Poly's Wells and Alabama-Birmingham's Carlos Williams.
"I'm really excited for him," Wallace said. "He is really what it's all about - he's a good student, he's polite and he worked hard all summer to get his body in shape.
"To be honored this early in the season is really something."
Ambrozich is averaging 12.1 points per game, third-highest on the team. He also has 6.1 rebounds per game.
Utah's Keith Van Horn was named Mountain Division player of the week for his huge night against Weber State.
He scored 41 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had three steals. He was the first Ute to score more than 40 points since 1984.
Wallace said that he has invited Alan "Rubberman" Hackbarth to come out and do his dance routines during the UH men's basketball games. RUBBER STAMP
Hackbarth, a 6-2, 159-pound defensive back on the UH football team, is a regular attraction at the UH volleyball matches. He recently added a hilarious high-speed Macarena dance to his timeout shows.
"I asked him before the season started to come out and help get the crowd going," Wallace said. "Hopefully, he'll come out after volleyball is over."
Robinson's 18 rebounds against Ball State tied him with San Jose State's Olivier Saint-Jean for the most boards by a WAC player this season. WAC-KY NUMBERS
Anthony Carter's 13 assists, also against Ball State, are tops among WAC players so far.
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