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Thursday, November 16, 2000
Wahine University of Hawaii head coach Vince Goo's 14th edition of Wahine basketball is a blend of four returnees and a new point guard who likes to play an aggressive game.
hoops team
opens tomorrow
All-WAC Galloway and
three other returnees are
among the startersBy Al Chase
Star-BulletinHis tentative starting lineup against Northern Arizona in the first round of the Hawaiian Regent Classic tomorrow has senior Dainora Puida at center, seniors Kylie Galloway and Crystal Lee at forward, junior Karena Greeny on the wing and junior college transfer Janka Gabrielova at the point.
"The good thing is they support one another. They take teammates' corrections very positively," Goo said.
"The concern now is what we do under fire. The teams coming in are veteran teams, a lot of returnees. They've played exhibition games so they have a little experience under their belts."
The Wahine haven't had the luxury of exhibitions and will be on their own shakedown cruise this weekend.
Puida has recovered from off-season ACL surgery on her right knee and should benefit from being reunited with Gabrielova, her Weatherford College teammate for a year.
Backup center Christian Roper, a sophomore, is more aggressive, more assertive in her offense and her touch on close-range shots has improved a lot.
Galloway, a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference first-team member, is the top returning scorer and rebounder. She can go inside or hit the 3-pointer with her soft touch and quick release.
"Crystal has the ability to hit the 3. Karena tends to be a streak shooter, more so than Crystal," Goo said. "Both have to help on the boards. I want four players crashing the boards.
"With Janka at the point, we're going to try and keep it simple for the first few games. Where she is from, they had five plays and ran three. We've got eight defenses and offenses. Her brain is being worked here."
Gabrielova likes the up-tempo game and is proficient with the one-hand, long, outlet pass.
"Janka is from Slovakia, but there is nothing slow about her game. She provides a lot of incentive for the others to get down the court," Goo said.
Since this is the season-opening weekend, the UH coaches don't have tapes on any of their opponents to study.
Without knowledge of opposing offensive sets, the focus is on the Wahine defensive fundamentals.
"We make progress on defense, then take a step back and have to go in the gym and break it down,"Goo said. "We'll try to get our opponents to go to their weakness and not use their strengths."
Sophomore Natasja Allen and redshirt freshman Julia Washington, when she recovers from a bruised left foot, are the reserve forwards.
Freshmen Christa Brossman, April Atuaia and Mel Croser are backups on the wing and sophomore Michelle Gabriel will see a lot of playing time at the point.
Right now, Goo figures his rotation will include eight or nine players, but he would like to see that number increase.
"I would like to see 11 in the mix eventually. We need a couple of players to work on their weaknesses and stay with their strengths. Then we'll be deep," Goo said.
That has to happen in the next six weeks.
Hawaii has 11 games in four tournaments to get ready for the conference season.
The Wahine were picked to finish second in the WAC in the preseason coaches poll.
Their first two conference games are against Texas Christian University, picked to finish third, and Southern Methodist University, the top pick.
Vince Goo's record
Year Won Lost Pct. 1987-88 14 14 .500 1988-89 20 10 .667 1989-90 26 4 .867 1990-91 12 15 .444 1991-92 25 7 .781 1992-93 28 4 .825 1993-94 25 5 .833 1994-95 6 20 .231 1995-96 23 6 .793 1996-97 21 8 .724 1997-98 24 4 .857 1998-99 17 10 .630 1999-00 20 9 .690 Career 261 116 .692 Postseason appearances:
NCAA--1989, 1990, 1996, 1998.
WNIT--1992, 2000.
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu