THE sports world according to Fitz: Three players will
have to really step upJust when it looked like the University of Hawaii men's basketball team had a good shot at the NCAA Tournament or a certain NIT berth, bad luck struck big time.
Losing Seth Sundberg, who suffered a lacerated spleen against Air Force Saturday night, is a huge blow to the Rainbows, who were on a roll with a 16-4 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the WAC.
The loss of three players to suspension was bad enough, but Sundberg being out will just about doom the Rainbows' postseason chances.
Or will it?
Obviously, rebounding will be the hardest-hit area. Sundberg was banging the boards especially well the last two games with 11 rebounds each night against UNLV and Air Force. He also had four blocked shots against the Falcons.
The 7-foot-2, 265-pounder also changed many shots and clogged up the lane with his physical presence, forcing most UH opponents to change their offensive attacks.
The pressure is now on three players, probably in this order of intensity: junior forward Michael Robinson, senior center Danny Furlong and junior forward Ales Zivanovic.
Robinson will have to rebound more, avoid foul trouble while still playing tough defense - and still contribute at the offensive end.
That's a tall order for Robinson, who has the necessary talent but is short on experience. He also has shaky hands on occasion, but could make up for it with his strong work ethic on the court.
Furlong is consistent at times at the defensive end, but not much help offensively. He will probably be used to replace Robinson for short breathers in the high altitude of the next two games at Wyoming and Colorado State.
Zivanovic simply cannot be expected to do much after such a long layoff. But he has the skills at both ends of the court if he can somehow shake off the months of rust.
Watch for UH head coach Riley Wallace to play a lot of zone defense - maybe even going exclusively with the zone - at Wyoming and Colorado State to keep his thin troops fresh in the thin air and to limit fouls.
Another problem is that Wyoming is hot and has won two in a row - and Colorado State is one of the toughest places to play in the WAC.
If Hawaii pulls out one of the two games before heading home, it should be considered a very successful trip, especially under the circumstances.
If the Rainbows somehow win both games, they should be given a ticker-tape parade.
Also, best wishes for a speedy recovery to Sundberg, a really good guy who must be devastated to likely have his college career end in such a promising season.
The Rainbows wouldn't be anywhere near the position they are in without their popular senior center and unofficial team captain.
If it's true that UH head football coach Fred vonAppen was going to dump receivers coach Ken Margerum, you have to wonder about the future of the program. MARGERUM MADNESS
Margerum was mainly responsible for the team's current recruiting success on the West Coast and he sure seemed to be an excellent teacher for the UH receivers, who basically didn't get many chances to catch the ball last season with the Rainbows' ineffectiveness on offense.
Watch for Guy Benjamin to be reassigned with vonAppen bringing in a new offensive coordinator from the mainland.
And best wishes to Margerum, a truly nice guy who likely made an excellent career move by getting away from this potentially explosive situation under the temperamental vonAppen.
What? No Tiger Woods? I'll take Tom Lehman to win it this year. HAWAIIAN OPEN
