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Friday, October 13, 2000
Hard work, Michelle Gabriel excelled in two sports at Maryknoll High School. Choosing one to pursue at the collegiate level was not easy.
patience pays off
for Gabriel
The decision to pick basketball
over soccer has earned the former
Maryknoll two-sport star
a scholarship at UHTEAM ROSTERS
By Al Chase
Star-BulletinShe could have accepted coach Mark Kane's offer to play soccer for the Hawaii Pacific University team.
Instead, Gabriel decided to walk on to the University of Hawaii women's basketball team.
"I really considered HPU because I really like soccer. I miss it," said Gabriel, who started playing at age 6.
UH head coach Vince Goo made no promises of a scholarship in the future, but that did not deter Gabriel from taking a chance on making the NCAA Division I team.
MIDNIGHT OHANA
When: 8 p.m. tonight-2 a.m. tomorrow.
"I knew the coaches really well. I felt comfortable with them and I had friends on the team," she said.
Gabriel, a 5-foot-5 point guard, saw limited action during the 1999-2000 season, playing in 11 games for a total of 31 minutes.
Her entry into a game meant the Wahine held a commanding lead. There was no pressure on Gabriel.
"I didn't get frustrated because I knew the girls out there were a lot better than me," she said.
Practicing every day and watching and absorbing while on the bench during games was not time wasted.
"I was able to learn how he runs everything. It was a learning experience," Gabriel said.
"I looked up to the other players and started learning from them. It kind of made me want to work harder."
Her dedication and work paid off. Goo awarded the Kailua resident a scholarship in April.
"I didn't expect to get it. Maybe in my senior year," Gabriel said. "It was just fortunate Vince made some changes and there was a scholarship available."
"She worked on her individual game really, really hard. She is a team player and you can only observe that over a period of time," Goo said. "The year of experience will give her a good overall picture of what we want on the floor."
Gabriel and 5-6 Janka Gabrielova, who transferred from Weatherford College in Texas, are the candidates for the starting point guard position.
"I know most of the plays and I know what Vince wants. That's a definite advantage," Gabriel said. "But Janka is a great player. She's fast and quick."
Though they will be vying for the same position, Gabriel didn't hesitate to offer Gabrielova a bit of friendly advice.
"Janka gets frustrated easily in the pickup games. I tell her all the time to just relax, don't show you're frustrated. The coaches don't like that," Gabriel said.
An elementary education major, Gabriel started playing basketball in the sixth grade. She credits three coaches -- Dennis Agena, Afton Smith and Mike Taylor -- with having the most influence on her development.
"They all had different teaching styles and I picked up different things from each coach," she said. A broken middle toe on her right foot has kept her out of preseason conditioning for awhile.
Fighting a bad case of strep throat for two weeks didn't help either, but Gabriel is ready to make the most of an opportunity to win a starting job.
UH WAHINE BASKETBALL
Roster
No. Player Ht. Pos. Cl. 3. Kylie Galloway 6-0 F Sr. 12. Janka Gabrielova 5-6 G Jr. 14. Christen Roper 6-5 C So. 20. Christa Brossman 5-10 G Fr. 21. Michelle Gabriel 5-5 G So. 22. Julia Washington 6-0 F Fr. 23. Crystal Lee 5-11 F Sr. 24. Dainora Puida 6-4 C Sr. 31. April Atuaia 5-10 G Fr. 32. Natasja Allen 6-2 F So. 34. Karena Greeny 5-11 F Jr. 44. Mel Croser 5-8 G Fr. Head coach: Vince Goo.
Assistants: Da Houl, Serenda Valdez, Jon Newlee.
Administrative Assistant: Byron Cheng.
Trainer: Tara Humphreys.
Managers: Gavin Petersen, Kaveta Truchlikova.
Roster UH MEN'S BASKETBALL
No. Player Ht. Pos. Cl. 1. Predrag Savovic 6-6 G/F Jr. 2. Phil Martin 6-7 F Sr. 3. Mike McIntyre 6-3 G Jr. 4. Bosko Radovic 6-9 F Fr. 5. David Hilton 5-11 G Fr. 10. Lance Takaki 5-4 G So. 12. Ricky Terrell 6-3 G Jr. 14. Haim Shimonovich 6-10 F/C Fr. 21. Mindaugas Burneika 6-7 F Jr. 22. Nerijus Puida 6-5 G/F Sr. 23. Carl English 6-4 G Fr. 24. Troy Ostler 6-10 F Sr. 25. Ryne Holliday 5-10 G Jr. 33. Lane O’Connor 6-7 F Sr. 34. Todd Fields 7-0 C Sr. Head coach: Riley Wallace.
Associate coach: Bob Nash.
Assistants: Jackson Wheeler, Scott Rigot.
Administrative assistants: Len Scaduto, Art Woolaway.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
