Wednesday, February 11, 1998
’Bows backed
against the wall
in WAC
UH is fighting for a
By Cindy Luis
berth in the tournament
Star-BulletinIt's a magical mystery tour that has lost its magic and is now just one big mystery. The University of Hawaii men's basketball team, once the toast from coast to coast, is just trying to avoid becoming toast in terms of postseason play.
The Rainbows arrived in Texas yesterday, hoping to salvage their pride and end the tailspin that has resulted in a 3-5 record in the Western Athletic Conference.
Hawaii (14-6) looks to end a two-game skid without coach Riley Wallace, home in Hawaii Kai recuperating from heart surgery. Associate head coach Bob Nash joined the team yesterday following a recruiting trip to Connecticut and will handle the team.
The Rainbows will try to regroup against No. 22 Texas Christian, one of the hottest teams in the country.
"Obviously, we're playing the best team in the league," assistant coach Jackson Wheeler said. "What will it take to win? A lot. It was a winnable game for us at home and we didn't do it."
The 83-76 defeat on Jan. 19 was one of five games where the Rainbows felt they beat themselves. Outside of last Monday's 91-76 loss to Fresno State, "the other games were all winnable," assistant coach Jeff Law said.
"We let the TCU game slip away when we played them (in Honolulu), and they're much tougher at their place (12-1 this season)," Law said. "We know it's going to take an exceptional effort for us to win. Impossible, no. But it's going to take an effort we haven't shown in the last month."
While Hawaii is rapidly disappearing into obscurity, TCU is rising to prominence with nine straight wins and the highest-scoring offense in the country (101.8 points per game). The Horned Frogs (20-4 overall, 9-0 conference) also lead the nation in rebounding (41.3 per game).
Junior center Lee Nailon is No. 2 nationally in scoring (25.8 ppg) and senior guard Mike Jones is 11th (22.3 ppg). The pair combined for 37 points against the Rainbows last month, 26 coming in the second half when TCU used a 9-0 run after intermission to pull away.
Health-wise, Hawaii is not the same team that held TCU 20 points below its scoring average. Senior guard Anthony Carter, who had a career-low seven points against the Horned Frogs, reinjured his shoulder in practice last week and again is using a shoulder wrap.
Forward Eric Ambrozich also reaggravated a shoulder injury in practice while dunking on a fast break. The 6-foot-8 senior has been unable to work out in the weight room, and his weight has fallen below 200 pounds.
And Micah Kroeger's offensive production -- he was averaging approximately 14 points a game -- has dramatically fallen off. Kroeger has totaled 31 points in the last five games, including a career-low two points in Wednesday's loss to San Diego State.
Adding to Hawaii's frustration are lapses on defense. A disturbing pattern continued against the Aztecs where the Rainbows played well defensively for 30 seconds on an SDSU possession, only to give up a basket with five seconds or less on the shot clock.
"Another thing is we keep waiting for those (scoring) runs to come that have broken the games open for us," Law said. "Starting with Tulsa (a 64-63 loss Jan. 24), those runs haven't come. This team hasn't panicked, but sometimes panic would be good."
A look at the WAC standings should suffice. Hawaii, in sixth place in the Pacific Division, is in danger of not making it to the conference tournament.
The Rainbows will need at least a split of their final six games to ensure getting one of six berths in the division. Earning at least a split on this road trip would help tremendously.
"I don't know what it's going to take to jog these kids' memories, their feelings, their emotions and desires," Law said. "Hopefully, between last Wednesday's loss and (tomorrow's) tip-off, something has clicked."
WAC men's basketball
Tomorrow: Hawaii (14-6, 3-5) at No. 22 TCU (20-4, 9-0), 4 p.m.
1997-98 Rainbow Men's Basketball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
