Transfers give boost in return to practice

Jared Dillinger and Stephen Verwers won't be eligible to play for the Hawaii basketball team until next season. But that doesn't mean they aren't contributing to this year's squad.

Since the transfers returned home for the holiday break, various issues shrunk UH's roster to 10 players for much of the last month.

So their return for yesterday's practice provided a boost to the team's numbers while giving the UH regulars a chance to catch their breath.

"It's the first good practice we've had competitively in a long time," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "We were able to go longer today. We cut the length down before because if you're out here 2 hours, they're working 2 hours if there are only 10 guys."

The Rainbows (8-6, 2-2 Western Athletic Conference) took Monday off after returning from a disappointing road trip, and turned their focus to Saturday's game against Fresno State (8-6, 1-2) at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Dillinger and Verwers are sitting out this season as transfers from Air Force and Colorado State, and work with the UH scout team in practice. They returned to the mainland following final exams in mid-December and didn't travel with the team last week.

The return of Verwers, a 6-foot-10 center, and Dillinger, a 6-5 guard/forward, provide greater depth in practice in the front court.

"I haven't had a break in practice since I don't know when," UH forward Matthew Gipson said.

"They help us out tremendously every day. We're all pieces of the puzzle on this team and we sure do miss them on the road."

With guards Bobby Nash and Matt Gibson nursing injuries, and center Milos Zivanovic leaving the team over the last month, the Rainbows enjoyed little down time in practice the past few weeks.

Gibson recently returned to practice, while Nash continues to let an injured shoulder heal. Both will apply for medical hardship at the end of the season.

Verwers said he worked out over the break to try to keep in shape and was able to keep up with the team's fortunes since the Rainbow Classic.

Shaking it up?: Wallace indicated center Chris Botez may get a longer look with the first unit this week.

Botez played with the "white" squad, made mostly of UH's starting group, in a scrimmage to end yesterday's practice.

"I'll look at it a couple of days and see what's up," Wallace said.

Junior Ahmet Gueye has started all 14 games in the post this season and leads the WAC in blocked shots with 37.

He struggled with foul trouble in UH's loss at New Mexico State on Saturday, and finished with eight points and three rebounds in 21 minutes. Botez, who started 27 games last season, hit all four of his shots off the bench.

Tough breaks: A pair of three-point losses to Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State dropped UH to 0-4 on the road this season and 2-12 since last year.

But with a few breaks the other way, the numbers could be much different as seven of those losses were by four points or less.

"It's just frustrating," Botez said. "You're fighting these teams on the road and you come down to two or three points. It's nerve wracking, but we're just going to keep at it."