Tuesday, January 15, 2002
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AP poll annoys He could be the poster boy for American Express.
Wallace, UH
Hawaii coach wonders what
more his team has to do after
seeing Georgia cracked
both Top 25 listsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.com"Hi, remember me? My name's Riley Wallace."
Wallace wasn't plugging the credit card company yesterday, but the Hawaii basketball coach was plugging his team. The Rainbows, off to a 15-2 start, are nearly anonymous in the polls.
In yesterday's Associated Press Top 25, Hawaii received 23 points, putting them at No. 35. They are the only Western Athletic Conference team receiving votes from the panel of 72 sportswriters nationwide.
One of the calls Wallace made yesterday was to Andy Katz, the senior basketball writer for ESPN.com. In yesterday's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25, Hawaii picked up nine points and have 18, good for No. 34. The only other WAC team with points is Tulsa with three.
"It's disappointing for the players, they were hanging around today to see if we had made (into the polls)," said Wallace. "I've been here long enough to know what the problem is. The voters just don't know about us. Andy (Katz) knows and he said he'd do something this week.
"I talked to a couple of friends on the (coaches) poll and they had no idea that our record was as good as it was, that we were 6-0 in the WAC. Some of them don't use the computer."
At least the computer recognizes the WAC. The Rainbows, winners of nine straight, moved up to No. 40 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and No. 63 in the Sagarin ratings. The WAC opponents ahead of Hawaii in the Sagarin are Tulsa (30) and Fresno State (46), while Fresno State is 37th in the RPI.
As the winning streak grows, so does the disappointment in lack of national recognition. It was compounded yesterday when Georgia (14-2), the team Hawaii beat for the Rainbow Classic title, debuted in the AP poll at No. 20 and was No. 24 in the coaches poll.
Two other teams that were unranked last week earned a spot in the AP poll: No. 23 Oregon (12-4) and No. 25 Indiana (11-5).
The Rainbows leave Thursday morning for a 10-day road trip. Hawaii faces San Jose State Saturday, Rice on Jan. 24 and Tulsa Jan. 26.
WAC Player of the Week: The weekly honor went to Nevada guard Terrance Green. The junior scored 25 points, dished out six assists and grabbed four rebounds in an 88-85 win over Fresno State. Green scored nearly 10 points better than his season average (16.1).
Rainbow senior guard Mike McIntyre was among the nominees. McIntyre had 39 points, including seven 3-pointers, in Hawaii's wins over Louisiana Tech and SMU last week.
Coaches vs. Cancer: The annual campaign, sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, kicks off tonight with "Hoop It Up" at All Star Hawaii in Waikiki.
The Hawaii coaches and players will be attending the festivities from 7-10 p.m. There is no admission charge and free parking is available at the cafe's garage on Kalaimoku.
There will be food, music and skill contests.
The Coaches vs. Cancer program is dedicated to reducing the risk of cancer in youths, using fan contributions to assist for cancer research as well as public education of the disease.
International night: The Hawaii men's basketball program is hosting an International Night Fund-Raiser, Jan. 29, beginning at 6 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
This is the main fund-raiser for men's basketball, with proceeds going to recruiting and training table.
The event includes international cuisine, entertainment and a silent auction.
Tickets are $100. For information, call the basketball office at 956-6501.
UH Athletics