Saturday, December 26, 1998
Rainbow Classic
is befitting of
its name
Entering its 35th year,
By Cindy Luis
UH's holiday tournament is
always one of the best
Star-BulletinHe's been on both ends of the bench. First as a player, now as an associate head coach.
The Rainbow Classic holds a special place in the heart of Bob Nash, a member of the only Hawaii men's basketball team to win back-to-back Classic titles (1970-71). More than 20 years later, Nash still holds a piece of the tournament record book for most rebounds in a single game; he grabbed 30 against Arizona State in the 1971 championship game.
"There are a lot of tournaments now but the Classic has been able to maintain itself as one of the premier tournaments through the years," Nash said. "Other tournaments have modeled themselves after the Rainbow Classic. Teams know they'll have quality competition without having to change money or languages. And they get to enjoy our culture in Hawaii.
"Certainly things have changed since I played, the biggest being in the national TV exposure. Back then, everything was taped and maybe some of the clips got shown. The publicity has grown and made it a nationally recognized tournament."
Not that they've planned on it but the Rainbows have historically been generous hosts. In the 34 previous Classics, Hawaii has won just four times -- beating Brigham Young in 1970, Arizona State in '71, Pittsburgh in '90 and Kansas last December.
Although Rainbow head coach Riley Wallace always seeds his team first, "We don't look for weak teams so that we get to the final," Nash said. "We bring over the best possible teams we can.
"We want to play those quality teams to improve our power rating and help us get ready for the WAC season. Having played or beaten a pretty top-notch team gives us momentum."
The field for the 35th event doesn't have the marquee names as in the past.
There is no Kansas, Nebraska, Maryland or Louisville. There is nowhere near the quality of the 1992 event that had three of the eventual Final Four teams -- North Carolina, Michigan and Kansas.
However, there are teams with NCAA Tournament traditions such as Princeton, North Carolina-Charlotte, Murray State and Florida State. Rounding out the field are teams in a rebuilding mode under new head coaches -- Mississippi State and Texas -- as well as Southwestern Louisiana.
"I think there's a lot of parity in this tournament but there's a lot of parity in college basketball now," Nash said.
"Because of the once-in-four-years rule, we can't always get the ranked teams out here. Plus, they have other options (tournaments) now.
"But there is prestige with the Classic. There are quality games. A lot of seasons have been made in the Rainbow Classic. Teams have taken their experiences here to prepare for conference play. And for a lot of kids, this atmosphere is as close as they'll ever get to being in the Final Four."
Nash, in his 19th season as an assistant, can't decide whether it's more fun to win as a player or as a coach.
"It's always fun when you win," he said. "I've enjoyed both sides of it. You're happy for yourself and your teammates when you win. But, as a coach, each year I go into the Classic to help prepare our kids so that they'll feel the same joy I had when you can win our tournament."
Rainbow Classic
Where Stan Sheriff Center
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Rainbow Classic capsules
Coach: Jessie Evans (2nd, 22-18)
Key players: Reginald Poole (6-8 Sr. F) 15.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg; Brett Smith (6-9 So. C) 5.8 rpg; David Patrick (5-10 Jr. G) 10.6 ppg.
Last time out: The Ragin' Cajuns went to Oakland, Calif., this week for the Golden Bear Classic, in which they beat Mississippi State, 56-49, but lost to host Cal, 94-64, in the title game.
Fun facts: Smith is the only returning starter and Poole the only senior. Poole sat out last season to have a tumor removed from his left leg ... Coach Evans was an assistant at Arizona for nine seasons, including the 1997 NCAA title campaign. He was also an assistant at Texas (1986-87).
Classic history: USL finished sixth in 1992, losing to North Carolina in the opener, beating Nebraska then losing to Jackson State in the consolation bracket.
Coach: Bobby Lutz (1st, 6-4)
Key players: Galen Young (6-7 Sr. F) 14.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg; Diego Guevara (6-1 So. G) 13.2 ppg, 4.3 apg; Kelvin Price (6-8 Sr. C) 11.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg.
Last time out: The 49ers dropped a pair to begin their six-game road swing, losing in overtime to then No. 6 North Carolina, 75-73, then falling in their Conference-USA opener, 63-58, to St. Louis.
Fun facts: Guevara, a member of the Venezuelan national team, leads C-USA in free throw shooting (.929) ... Sophomore guard Dee Tolliver had his ninth perfect 4.0 grade point average in a row as a freshman during last year's fall semester.
Classic history: First appearance.
Coach: Rick Stansbury (1st, 9-1)
Key players: Tyrone Washington (6-10 Sr. C) 15.0 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.9 bpg; Tang Hamilton (6-7 So. F) 11.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg; Oral Roberts (6-7 Sr. F) 11.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg.
Last time out: The Bulldogs fell to SW Louisiana in the opener of the Golden Bear Classic. They finished third in the tournament, defeating Eastern Kentucky, 75-62.
Fun facts: Hamilton's real name is Tephen. His nickname comes from his childhood due to his fondness for the breakfast drink Tang ... Roberts, not related to the preacher, is from St. Vincent & the Grenadines, an island group in the Caribbean. He was a ranked youth champion table tennis player ... Coach Stansbury succeeded Richard Williams, the school's all-time winningest coach.
Classic history: The Bulldogs finished fourth in 1987, defeating Hawaii then losing to Arizona State and Louisville.
Coach: Rick Barnes (1st, 2-7).
Key players: Nnadubem Gabe Muoneke (6-7 Jr. F) 16.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg; Kris Clack (6-5 Sr. F) 13.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Chris Mihm (7-0 So. C) 12.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg).
Last time out: The Longhorns fell to host LSU, 63-61, in overtime. UT was just 11 of 24 from the line.
Fun facts: Five of UT's losses have been by a combined total of 12 points ... Clack nabbed his 200th steal against LSU, becoming just the third Longhorn to reach that mark ... Mihm had 100 blocks in just 33 games and became the fastest player to reach the 100 career block mark in UT history ... Coach Barnes took Clemson to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances before taking on the scandal-plagued Texas program.
Classic history: First appearance.
Coach: Tevester Anderson (1st, 9-0)
Key players: Isaac Spencer (6-6 Jr. F) 17.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg; Aubrey Reece (6-0 Jr. G) 11.6 ppg, 5.3 apg.
Last time out: The Racers defeated Western Kentucky in their 138th meeting to extend their home-court winning streak to 33, best in the country.
Fun facts: Senior forwards Marvin Gay and Duane Virgil are from Port of Spain, Trinidad ... Spencer was Alabama's Mr. Basketball in 1996 ... In the MSU media guide, freshman guard Blair Hogg said if he came into $1 million he would buy a new cafeteria with better food for the school.
Classic history: First appearance.
Coach: Bill Carmody (3rd, 56-10)
Key players: Brian Earl (6-2 Sr. G) 16.4 ppg, Gabe Lewullis (6-6 Sr. F) 16.4 ppg.
Last time out: The Tigers lost last week to Rutgers and nationally ranked Maryland.
Fun facts: On the coaching staff is John Thompson III, son of the Georgetown head coach ... Earl has played in seven tournaments during his career and has been named to the all-tournament team in six of them, the last four as the MVP ... Nate Walton, son of UCLA great Bill Walton, is a junior. Nate's youngest brother Chris competed in the Iolani Classic this week for University of San Diego High.
Classic history: The Tigers placed eighth in 1979, losing all three games (Louisville, Army, and Nevada).
Coach: Steve Robinson (2nd, 23-17)
Key players: Ron Hale (6-8 Jr. F) 14.9 ppg, Terrell Baker (6-5 Sr. G).
Last time out: The Seminoles were stunned by Butler, 77-65, to end a two-game winning streak.
Fun facts: Junior guard Oliver Simmons is a transfer from Kentucky. His girlfriend, Fiona Bolten, a volleyball player, also transfered from Kentucky to play for FSU ... Coach Robinson was an assistant at Kansas for seven seasons and was on the Jayhawk bench for the 1992 Rainbow Classic. He took the Tulsa job for two seasons and was the WAC's Mountain Division coach of the year in 1997.
Classic history: First appearance.
Coach: Riley Wallace (12th, 178-159).
Key players: Mike Robinson (6-8 Sr. F) 11.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg, Casey Cartwright (6-6 Sr. G) 11.0 pgg, Marquette Alexander (6-8 Jr. F) 11.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg.
Last time out: The Rainbows dropped their fifth consecutive game, 78-69, to St.
Bonaventure in the third-place game of the Hawaii-Nike Festival. Alexander was named to the all-tournament team.
Fun facts: This is the slowest start for UH since the 1993-94 season, when the Rainbows were 2-6 but went to the NCAA Tournament as WAC Tournament champions.
Classic history: The Rainbows have won the tournament four times, including last season, when Hawaii knocked off second-ranked Kansas in the title game. Other wins were in 1970, '71, '73 and '90 ... At least one Rainbow has been named to the all-tournament team in each of the past 20 events. Three Rainbows have been the MVP: Anthony Carter ('97), Phil Lott ('91) and Chris Gaines ('89) ... Hawaii is 5-5 against Sunday's first-round opponent Southwestern Louisiana. The last meeting was in 1990, which the Rainbows won, 94-86.
