Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Monday, January 1, 2001
Hawaii not so Hawaii tangled with some tough beef while Texas Christian devoured another cupcake Saturday.
green after Classic
experience
Rainbows head to Texas
for Thursday's
WAC openerBy Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinIt's debatable whether UH's closer-than-the-final 69-58 loss to No. 6 Tennessee, or TCU's 130-71 romp over winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff is the better final preparation for Western Athletic Conference basketball battle.
Rainbows coach Riley Wallace is sure of one thing: The time for moral victories is over as his 6-5 team flies into Texas tomorrow for the league opener Thursday with the Horned Frogs (10-3) and a game Saturday against the Mustangs of Southern Methodist (9-3).
The buzz of nearly knocking off the Vols (13-1) is replaced by the realization that Hawaii has the worst record in the nine-team WAC.
"We've got our work cut out now because we've got TCU and SMU, and that's a different energy level than what we played in this (Rainbow Classic) tournament," Wallace said. "They get up and down and go. We're on the road, we need to get our rest and be ready to go."
The injury-riddled Rainbows went toe-to-toe Saturday with one of the nation's best collections of talent for the first 35 minutes. Unfortunately for Hawaii, the game lasts 40.
Still, the what-ifs abounded.
What if Hawaii shot better than 8-for-20 (1-for-7 down the stretch) on free throws?
What if 6-foot-10 post player Troy Ostler and guard Mike McIntyre had more than two healthy ankles between them?
What if 6-10 Haim Shimonovic was eligible, or 6-9 Bosko Radovic healthy?
And what if Reggie Cross, Chris Gaines and Anthony Carter still played for Hawaii?
The point of the last question is that excuses are easy to find. The Rainbows themselves didn't look for them after the game. Instead, they seemed to realize that playing Tennessee close with a short team (in both number of usable bodies and height) could pay dividends later.
"I'd say this helped prepare me," said freshman post Phil Martin, who would not have logged nearly 40 minutes against UT with Ostler and Radovic healthy, or Shimonovic eligible.
"I got a look at some big, big boys."
Some of that was watching Isiah Victor and Charles Hathaway get rebounds instead of going after them himself. But the 6-7 Martin did use his quickness to get three steals and play some good defense against Tennessee's titans.
"I thought their players inside defended well because they were aggressive," Vols coach Jerry Green said.
Green also complimented how UH's guards slowed down his backcourt, including senior star Tony Harris:
"We weren't shooting it that good, and their defense had something to do with it. They played excellent defense on the ball."
Freshmen guards Jeep Hilton and Carl English, like Martin -- and, actually, the entire team -- are still works in progress.
Wallace said point guard Hilton has improved vastly, but still has lapses running the team in key situations.
Harris and Hilton played even until the last few minutes, when Hilton was distracted by their running verbal and shoving battle. They received a double-technical foul at 4:26 left. Wallace said it's no coincidence that UT outscored UH 14-6 the rest of the way.
"He's come a tremendous way, and that's part of his learning tonight," Wallace said. "He's got to keep his mind on what he's got to do on floor. He stopped running the offense.
"I'm very disappointed that two nights in a row we didn't execute (offensively) better down the stretch."
The Rainbows got away with it in Friday's 75-67 semifinal victory over Saint Louis, as Mindaugas Burneika and English came up with huge defensive stops and rebounds in the end game.
Burneika, the junior college transfer from Lithuania with the face of a veteran boxer emerged with 18 points in Wednesday's 81-67 first-round victory over Manhattan and 21 on Friday.
He joined teammate Predrag Savovic on the all-tournament team, and set a record for most new nicknames: "Moondog," "Bull," "Bulldog" and "Lunch Pail Man." Take your pick.
"I called him 'Cow' today (Friday)," said Wallace, who dubbed him "Bull" on Thursday. "I want him getting more rebounds instead of grazing out there."
Wallace is never one to spare the prod, even when things are going well. Still, he applauded the heart of his team, which has won four of its last five.
"This is their sixth game in 10 days. That would've been OK, except we've got these guys hurt and our rotation went down to where you're asking 6-6 guys to do what a 6-10 guy does. If we had a full slate right now, I'd really feel good about this team."
By Thursday, Ostler and McIntyre (who's sprain is less severe than Ostler's) should be ready.
Shimonovic is anybody's guess, as UH has provided the NCAA with extensive documentation from Israel that Shimonovic did not receive money to play in a pro-am league there.
Wallace said he could receive word this week from the NCAA but isn't counting on it.
Can Hawaii win Thursday and Saturday, with or without him?
"If we can carry the game from Hawaii to the mainland, which has been a problem for years for us ... the same energy level and play like that, yeah," Wallace said.
"But realistically, if we can go there and steal some games on the road ... the team that splits on the road and wins at home is probably going to win it because it's pretty balanced."
Tennessee 69, Hawaii 58
Volunteers (13-1, 3-0 OHRC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Harris 3 9 4 6 32 6 2 11 Yarbrough 6 16 3 5 33 6 1 15 Higgins 0 3 1 2 26 5 2 1 Victor 4 6 2 3 28 10 0 10 Hathaway 4 5 0 0 18 5 0 8 Walker 3 4 0 0 18 0 4 6 Haislip 1 1 0 0 6 2 0 2 Woods 0 6 0 0 11 0 1 0 Slay 5 6 5 7 28 3 0 16 Team 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 26 56 15 23 200 40 10 69 Rainbows (6-5, 2-1 OHRC)
fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Savovic 8 18 3 7 26 14 2 22 Martin 5 11 2 4 40- 3 0 12 Hilton 0 2 1 2 34 0 4 1 Burneika 3 6 0 1 20 2 1 8 Puida 3 9 0 1 38 8 2 7 Terrell 0 1 0 0 6 1 1 0 English 1 2 0 0 7 2 0 2 Ostler 2 5 2 5 16 1 2 6 Fields 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Team 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 22 55 8 20 200 33 12 58 Key--fg: field goals; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime-Tennessee 36, Hawaii 36.
3-point goals--UT 2-12 (Harris 1-2, Slay 1-2, Yarbrough 0-2, Higgins 0-2, Woods 0-4); UH 6-15 (Savovic 3-7, Burneika 2-3, Puida 1-3, Hilton 0-1, English 0-1). Personal fouls--UT 21, UH 23. Fouled out--Burneika. Technical fouls-Harris, Hilton. Steals--UT 5 (Yarbrough, Higgins, Victor, Walker, Slay), UH 7 (Martin 3, Hilton 3, Puida). Blocked shots--UT 6 (Victor 3, Hathaway 2, Yarbrough), UH 1 (Ostler). Turnovers--UT 17 (Walker 5, Harris 4, Victor 3, Yarbrough, Higgins, Haislip, Woods, Slay), UH 18 (Savovic 5, Martin 4, Hilton 3, Puida 2, English 2, Burneika, Fields). Officials--Rucker, Hunt, Yoshida. A-8,291 (tickets distributed), 6,393 (turnstile).
Rainbow Classic All-Tournament Team: Maurice Jeffers (Saint Louis), Dean Oliver (Iowa), Predrag Savovic (Hawaii), Mindaugas Burneika (Hawaii), Ron Slay (Tennessee). Most Outstanding Player: Tony Harris (Tennessee).
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii