ROCK? Rainbows shine in
prime timeOh, the Special Events Arena was rockin' all right. And 20 years from now, half a million people will say, "I was there the night the 'Bows beat Kansas." Let it be known now there were 10,300 in the house.
Chalk?
Wins don't get much bigger than this, at least not here.
Chalk it up for a bunch of guys who pushed the big dogs from the Big 12 to the edge, took their best shot in return, and then stood there as if to say, "Is that all you got?"
Jayhawk?
Not even, baby.
Smith from three! Twine time!
Ambrozich in the lane!
Carter hits a 28-footer, baby!
Uh-oh! Uh-oh! Get a T.O. baby!
And Dick Vitale wasn't even here.
As they say up there on the Great Plains. Yee-HAH!
Big time basketball arrived in the islands last night. The Rainbows handed No. 2 Kansas its first regular-season nonconference road defeat in three years.
That's a span of 113 games.
Their 76-65 victory is bound to have a ripple effect that will wash all the way to the mainland.
Bang! From way downtown!
"I don't want to hear anybody say 'Nice little team'," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said in the postgame glow of the biggest win in the history of the program.
"People come out here and they say, 'You got a nice little team.' Well, we got a nice big team."
INDIANA was the first to find out. Ten opponents have come in here this year and gotten their fannies kicked.
Now comes the hard part -- keeping the monster fed.
Wallace, I'm sure, was the happiest guy in the joint last night. But he knows each game is a test for a program that can't afford to lose or the poll voters will turn on him.
Norfolk State is up next and Wallace will be the first to tell you the Rainbows can't bask in this spotlight too long.
"A win like this can push you to the next level," Wallace said. "But you have to take it and do something with it.
"We can't afford to lose to Norfolk State."
Were those chuckles?
Not so fast.
It wasn't too long ago that the Rainbows were constantly the hunter and nearly everyone else was the hunted.
Roy Williams knows the feeling. Hell, Kansas fans were probably shaking their heads from Overland Park to Waikiki.
As Butch said to Sundance, at least in the movie, "Who are those guys?"
The Kansas coach knows well.
"We're pretty much everybody's biggest game," Williams said. "You've got a good club. Make sure you follow 'em. Give 'em a chance."
FUNNY he should say that. I'll be the first to admit, I didn't give Hawaii much of a chance against the Jayhawks. Sure, Raef LaFrentz was hurt, but they just plug in another stud like Lester Earl and away they go.
And I've seen so many games in all different sports where the Hawaii team stares into the face of adversity and finds a reason to let down.
But this team has the heart of a champion. Has for two years. They don't look for excuses or the easy way out.
Basketball can be a wonderful spectacle. But the difference between winners and losers is usually far less glamorous.
It basically comes down to which team has the guys who go after the loose balls, take an elbow in the chops without bitching and are willing to leave their hearts out there on the floor.
I talked to Wallace Sunday night at halftime of the Kansas-Ohio State game.
He had the confidence of a man who knew much more than he let on.
"I think we can play with them," he low-balled.
I'll say.