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Thursday, January 11, 2001
Energetic A "Do Not Disturb" sign would have made no sense for Riley Wallace's hotel room door in Dallas last Thursday night.
English emerges
Freshman getting more
minutes for the RainbowsBy Dave Reardon
Star-BulletinThe University of Hawaii basketball coach was already unhappy for obvious reasons after the Rainbows absorbed a 103-64 pounding from TCU.
So there was nothing stopping guard Carl English from knocking on Wallace's door to discuss a performance that included 0-for-4 on 3-pointers and five turnovers in a season-high 23 minutes.
Yeah, right.
But English felt so bad about the way he played that the desire to apologize overwhelmed any apprehension of dealing with an already nettled coach.
"I got a chance and I kind of let myself, the team and him down," English said. "I felt obligated."
ROUNDBALL
Who: Hawaii vs. UTEP
Wallace said the gesture was typical of English's character.
"He's the real deal," the coach said. "A great kid."
Of course, it's one thing to say you're sorry, and quite another to prove you are through your future actions.
With UH still stinging from injuries, English got another chance Saturday against SMU.
The Rainbows lost again, 69-56, but through little fault of the 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman. English again played 23 minutes; this time he scored a career-high 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He also had three assists and just one turnover.
On a team loaded with experience at shooting guard and small forward, English waits his turn, despite obvious talent and desire.
"I've worked with him a lot on the scout team, where they get to show their individual skills a lot," associate head coach Bob Nash said. "I think he's going to be a great player for us."
English has shown flashes, like when his rebounding and free throw shooting clinched UH's 75-67 win over Saint Louis in a Rainbow Classic semifinal on Dec. 29.
"He's just got to get under control. He's excitable and has a lot of energy," Wallace said.
"He makes things happen, which is good."
Guard Mike McIntyre's sprained right ankle appeared nearly fully healed in yesterday's practice, so it's questionable if English will get to play as much tonight in the Rainbows' WAC home-opener against UTEP as he did on the road.
"If (McIntyre and post Troy Ostler) coming back healthy and me getting less minutes helps us win, it helps us win," he said. "I'm gonna do whatever it takes for us to win, but it's not going to get me down because when times are tough you've just got to bounce back."
English knows all about resiliency -- and that's not a reference to his recovery from ankle surgery last year.
When he was 5 years old, his parents died in a house fire. English has few memories of his mother and father.
"As you grow up without them, you wonder what they were like, what their dislikes were, what kind of people they were, so it's kind of hard," he said.
English's aunt and guardian, Betty McGrath, raised him after the tragedy.
"Of course he missed his parents, but he grew up like any other kid," she said.
It also helped that he lived in a tight-knit community of 50 in Patrick's Cove, one of many small fishing towns that dot the coast of Newfoundland.
"It's like Hawaii in that everyone's friendly," he said. "The biggest difference is there's a million people here."
Like everyone else in Patrick's Cove, he became a fisherman.
The thing that made English unique growing up was the orange round ball that was his constant companion.
"He built his own basketball stand out on the highway," McGrath said. "Even in the winter time he'd be out there with a little pair of gloves, standing in the snow shooting baskets."
After averaging 38 points a game as a junior at Fatima Academy in nearby St. Brides, English caught the attention of many U.S. schools, including Miami and Bradley as well as Hawaii.
The little boy shooting baskets in the snow is now a celebrity in Newfoundland, where his every move is followed via the Internet. Some also pick up telecasts of UH games by satellite dish.
"It feels good, it's nice to have the people from home on your side," English said.
"It puts a little pressure on you. If you don't play it's hard to call and tell them that you didn't get in the game."
It's doubtful Carl English will have to deal with that problem much more.
UH Athletics
Ka Leo O Hawaii
