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RAINBOWS NOTEBOOK

Hawaii to face
WAC’s leading scorer

Next big challenge for the University of Hawaii men's basketball team:Stop the Western Athletic Conference's leading scorer.

UTEP (12-1, 1-0) comes to town for UH's conference home opener Thursday at the Stan Sheriff Center, and the Rainbows need to find an answer for the Miners' 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior Brandon Wolfram, who averages 24.4 points, tied for second in the nation.

"He's off to a good start," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said of Wolfram. "(Former UTEP coach) Don (Haskins) told me he is one of the best offensive players he's ever had there."

Wallace said he will use 6-7 freshman Phil Martin or 6-6 junior Mindaugas Burneika to defend Wolfram.

Slow start

The Rainbows have now started five of the past seven WAC seasons by losing their first two road games. The exceptions are 1996-97 and 1997-98, when UH won 21 games each season and went to the NIT.

At 6-7, Hawaii is the only WAC team with an overall record under .500.

Good cause

UH finished second in the nation last year, to Syracuse, in raising money for the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer promotion.

The combined efforts of the men's and women's teams from 3-point land netted $127,000 for the fight against cancer. Syracuse was the only program of 400 participating to raise more money.

Sponsors pledge a certain amount per 3-point shot made by the Rainbows and/or the Wahine.

This year, money will also be raised via an auction at Murphy's Bar & Grill. Murphy's proprietor Don Murphy is co-chairman for the drive.

For pledge cards and more information, call 595-7544 or 955-6501.

Home Fields advantage

Backup center Todd Fields got a chance to play in front of friends and relatives against SMU on Saturday, and performed well. The 7-foot senior from Mesquite, Texas, scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 16 minutes. All are season-highs.

"He played hard," Wallace said. "He changed some shots and got some tough rebounds."

Tip-ins

The Rainbows had yesterday (the first day of the new school semester) off from practice after playing eight games in 17 days. ... Wallace said North Carolina-Charlotte is one of the teams being considered for next year's Rainbow Classic. Boston College, Nebraska, Georgia and Portland have already committed. ... Former UH guard Jarinn Akana works in the Dallas Mavericks' front office. He helped arrange for the Rainbows to see the Mavs host the Detroit Pistons. ... Wallace said he received a request for Martin to play on a summer all-star team that will compete overseas. ... There was no new word yesterday on the availability for Thursday's game of post Troy Ostler and guard Mike McIntyre, who both have sprained ankles, or of post Haim Shimonovic, whose eligibility is still being determined by the NCAA. McIntyre played Saturday, but wasn't 100 percent. ... Rice guard Mike Wilks was named WAC Player of the Week after averaging 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals in two games last week. ... After Thursday's game against UTEP, Hawaii hosts defending conference champion Tulsa (9-5, 0-1) on Saturday and San Jose State (8-5, 0-2) on Jan. 20. ... UH is 141st among 325 NCAA Division I teams in the Sagarin rankings.

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Dave Reardon, Star-Bulletin