Thursday, April 9, 1998

JUCO all-star makes
UH his late pick

Marquette Alexander was
going to stay home and play for USF,
but had a late change of heart

By Cindy Luis
Star-Bulletin

Deflation turned into elation within a matter of hours.

Yesterday morning, Riley Wallace was told by Marquette Alexander that the junior college all-star would be staying home to play for the University of San Francisco.

Last night, the University of Hawaii men's basketball coach added to the dessert portion of the team awards banquet with a sweet piece of news. Alexander, a 6-foot-9, 260-pound power forward, had changed his mind.

"I'm coming," said Alexander, who followed up the verbal commitment with his faxed letter of intent to UH late yesterday afternoon.

Alexander, who averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds a game for City College of San Francisco, was the second recruit to submit his paperwork yesterday. Also officially in the Rainbow fold is the Florida junior college player of the year, Johnny White, a 6-1 guard who averaged 17 points and six assists for Brevard (Fla.) Community College.

Wallace is still waiting on the binding letter of intent from 7-1 center Terry Sellers of Compton (Calif.) College. Sellers verbally committed last month.

The Rainbows are still in the hunt for JaQuay Walls, Sellers' teammate at Compton. Arizona has apparently stepped up its efforts for the 6-1 guard in light of the pending departure of All-American guard Mike Bibby; Walls reportedly is wavering between Hawaii, Arizona and Colorado.

The Rainbow team that won 42 games the past two seasons can be credited with some of the recruiting success, Wallace said.

Senior guard Alika Smith picked up four awards at last night's banquet, two outright as the team's best free-throw shooter (81 percent) and as the most inspirational player. He shared two others with his backcourt partner, Anthony Carter: community service and the Art Woolaway Most Outstanding Player.

Carter was named the top playmaker, finishing in the top 10 nationally in assists. The senior All-American honorable mention missed the banquet, preparing for the Desert Classic all-star game this week in Phoenix.

Mike Robinson was given the Captain's Award, which is voted on by the coaching staff. Robinson hopes to play another season for Hawaii and is waiting to hear from the NCAA as to whether he'll be granted another year of eligibility.

Senior forward Eric Ambrozich won the academic award for a second year. Senior forward Micah Kroeger was named the top defensive player and Erin Galloway won the award as the team's top rebounder.

http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu