Sidelines
The coach is hired, the coach is here. Finally. He's even passed the first test. He looks good in green. Trapasso’s first job:
draw an ace(Hey, it's a valid concern.)
But now, the new man in charge of Rainbow baseball would be the first to tell you, it's time for Mike Trapasso to get down to work.
There are the usual things. Settle in. Set a staff. Find a house. Move the kids. Shake some hands. Make some phone calls. Evaluate some talent.
Awaken a slumbering giant.
Oh, that's all you're expected to do, Coach. No big deal.
Trapasso said in his opening comments after being hired that the UH job has "infinite potential."
We know.
Oh, do we know.
And so Trapasso's job is simple. Bring the monster back to life, and make it roar again.
How is Trapper Mike, M.D., to do this? Today, the answer is in Omaha.
Today, at the College World Series, the biggest stage in college baseball, Hawaii boy Shane Komine is on the mound for Nebraska. This is a sign. He is the answer.
Get an ace.
UH needs a Komine. Trapasso, to do what he dreams of doing, needs to find a Komine.
An ace, as Hawaii fans saw with Derek Tatsuno over two decades ago, gets things rolling in a hurry.
An ace brings a program to life.
A week ago Komine pitched a complete game shutout in front of 5,353 in Nebraska's Super Regional opener with Rice.
This was a school record for single-game attendance. That is, until it was broken the very next outing when 5,484 showed up to watch the Huskers punch their ticket to the College World Series.
The place was rocking. The giant was stomping. The monster was very much alive.
And today, at the CWS, which is coincidentally held annually in Omaha, it will be mayhem.
Three years ago, two years ago, you could walk up to Buck Beltzer Stadium at Nebraska and sit in any seat you wanted. And it's a small stadium. A very small stadium. Nobody came. Nobody cared. Potential? Nebraska baseball had none.
People were more concerned with how the backup quarterback was getting through spring practice.
Then the Huskers got an ace.
All Komine did was win nearly every single Friday night. This is what aces do. And then on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, the team goes into the next games already knowing it can win. And so often it does. And then come sweeps and streaks and championships.
And then come fans.
And the next thing you know, the slumbering giant is rubbing its eyes and chugging coffee and dancing on the third base line.
These are the things that programs are made of.
Nebraska is in the College World Series because it has a bat in every spot in the lineup, because it has speed and patience and depth and luck.
But it was the ace that got it all started. One Friday at a time.
The new coach at UH will be watching the College World Series intently over the next week or so. This is what he wants. He's got lots to do to get there.
It's time to start nudging that sleeping giant. Time to go get an ace.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com