Rainbow Notebook

Scrimmage sloppy
but had high notes

In their first full-court intra-squad scrimmage since Midnight Ohana on Saturday morning, the Rainbows looked like a car whose engine hadn't been started in a year.

They sputtered and popped before finally settling into a tentative hum.

The turnover total for the white and green squads was 69, but four players on each squad scored in double figures.

"They impressed me on the offensive end but not in terms of turnovers," said head coach Riley Wallace.

"But we probably shouldn't even scrimmage on that first Saturday because we'd had only five practices. We just wanted to get up and down and see exactly where they were. They did pick up the offense pretty quick. They just tried to force passes and help the other guy out overpassing. But you'd rather have them overpassing than underpassing.

"We've got a lot of work to do defensively. But I was pleased overall. Everybody hustled and everybody worked."

Possible starters

Wallace's starting five for the white squad might wind up being the starting five when the Rainbows open Nov. 7 against the Northwest All-Stars at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The lineup had 6-foot-1 point guard Johnny White (10 points) and 6-6 Predrag Savovic (20) in the backcourt, 6-8 Marquette Alexander (21) at center, and 6-9 Troy Ostler (24) and 6-5 Nerijus Puida (2) at the forward spots.

Savovic (five steals, three assists) was as creative as ever in the offense.

He drove the lane a lot and shot for the best floor percentage, hitting 8 of 9 shots (one 3-pointer).

Puida augmented his effort with six steals, five assists and two blocks.

But when asked if this was indeed his starting five, Wallace said, "Not necessarily - I'm going to keep mixing it up as long as I can."

Wallace said another possibility as a starter is 6-7 Lane O'Connor, who came out of Santa Rosa Junior College in California with a reputation as a 51 percent 3-point shooter.

"Lane hadn't been shooting (he was 1-for-6 in the scrimmage) but now I'm putting him in against zone defense and he's beginning to feel it and shoot a little more," Wallace said.

Wallace was happy with Geremy Robinson's ability to get to the foul line four times in the second half of the scrimmage. he wound up with 16 points to lead the green squad.

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By Pat Bigold