Friday, November 19, 1999
Big Mac attack
revs up ’Bows
His thunderous dunks
energize his teammates and
UH basketball fansBASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
By Pat Bigold
Star-BulletinTRY to trap a cat in a corner, and watch all the moves it'll use to get by you.
Then watch Rainbows junior forward Bernard McIntosh being defended under the glass, and you'll see something very similar.
He disappears behind a screen of arms and legs on the baseline and suddenly emerges with the ball, his body twisted like a pretzel as he extends for the basket.
"He uses his shoulders, his head, his knees, his behind," said team captain Marquette Alexander, describing McIntosh's ability to wriggle free and score or get fouled almost every time he maneuvers underneath.
McIntosh and Alexander are becoming a tough combination in the low post on a team fresh off two exhibition wins.
But whereas Alexander can apply power to score, McIntosh relies almost entirely on quickness.
As a 6-foot-7, 230-pound forward, McIntosh is Hawaii's "little big man" who can run the fast break and use that quickness on the other end, sometimes with explosive results.
"He's a good finisher on the break," said Alexander, Hawaii's 6-foot-8 center. "He'll jump and dunk it when a person thinks he's gonna lay it up. He brings a lot of excitement to our team."
McIntosh's two power stuffs in Hawaii's 92-84 victory over the California Midwest All-Stars on Sunday ignited the Stan Sheriff Center crowd.The significance of a thunder dunk is not lost on him.
"I think it''s real important," said McIntosh, a 23-year-old native of Lexington, N.C. "It brings the crowd into it and the bench into it."
McIntosh isn't the only Rainbow who can power stuff this season, but the way he's done it off the run has been electrifying.
It can also serve as a psychological stake pounded through the heart of an opponent trying to rally late in a game.
"He runs the floor very well," said Hawaii head coach Riley Wallace. "We want him out on the break, filling the lane."
Wallace said McIntosh augments an already fast front court.
"The big guys we have can outrun most big people," he said, referring to the fact that 6-8 Alexander and 6-9 Troy Ostler can also sprint.
Todd Fields, the team's only 7-footer, has been gradually getting stronger in court-length sprints the past two weeks and could add to that speed.
McIntosh joined the Rainbows from Northland Pioneer College during the early signing period last year but redshirted. Soon after Wallace signed him, he knew he had a hard worker.
The Hawaii men's basketball team has given up on the Canadian player it hoped to sign last week. No Niandu for UH
Lunzaya Niandu, a 6-foot-7 prep forward from Montreal, had told head coach Riley Wallace that he would fax a letter of intent on Nov. 10, the first day of the early signing period.
But Wallace said he has withdrawn his scholarship offer since Niandu has expressed strong interest in Northeastern University in Boston.
"It was mutual," said Wallace, who waited seven days for Niandu to make good on his verbal commitment. Wednesday was the final day of the signing period.
By Pat Bigold, Star-Bulletin
"When Bernard went on the road with us last year to BYU, he really performed well in altitude in practice, rebounding and outworking everybody else," said Wallace.
But he told McIntosh he needed another dimension. He wanted him to work on his 15-foot jump shot in the off-season.
"Which he's doing now," said Wallace. "Now he's drawing the defense out and that makes it easier for Marquette to pass to him down low. He can go good one-on-one on low post."
As a sophomore, McIntosh led Northland to a 27-4 record and the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference title while averaging 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds.
DESPITE his ability to score (he had 21 points in a scrimmage), he said rebounding has become his real focus. And that also pleases Wallace, who has been getting a lot more caroms from his big men this season.
McIntosh led Hawaii with nine rebounds against the California Midwest All-Stars Sunday and was second to Troy Ostler's 15 against the Northwest All-Stars two weeks ago.
"It's my job to go out and rebound," said McIntosh, who has scored 17 points in two exhibition games but has been averaging 8.5 off the glass.
"He has a knack and desire for finding the ball," said Wallace.
"I told myself at the beginning of last semester when they said I was a good rebounder that I was gonna be like Dennis Rodman," said McIntosh, whose slipperiness under the basket is also somewhat worthy of the nickname, "Worm."
"I said to myself I wasn't going to care about scoring and I was just gonna rebound."
Wallace said McIntosh has been one of his more coachable players.
"He picks things up quickly," he said.
"When we go to the zone, he see things happening. He can talk and do things on his own. He doesn't get lost a lot. He knows how to play."
Tonight's game against Tennessee-Martin in the opener of the Pepsi One/Nextel Challenge takes on extra importance for McIntosh because his girlfriend, Elisa Tsosie of New Mexico, and small daughter, NI'Asia Dion, will be in the Stan Sheriff Center seats.
RAINBOW BASKETBALL PLAYBOOK
Hawaii vs. Tennessee Martin
Tonight: Tennessee-Martin (2-0 exhibition) at Hawaii (2-0 exhibition), 8 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center.
Jackson State vs. Bowling Green
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Ka Leo O Hawaii
