Thursday, January 17, 2002
Mike McIntyre knows the drill. All too well. ’Bows enjoying
road successBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThis will be the 17th regular-season road trip of his career. The senior guard for Hawaii's basketball team knows what to bring along: Vitamins, homework and what he calls "Rainbow Pride."
Packing a winning attitude hasn't happened often in McIntyre's four-year career. In his first three seasons, Hawaii was 2-22 in regular-season road games, 2-20 in Western Athletic Conference meetings. This year, the Rainbows are 4-1 away from the Stan Sheriff Center, and are 2-0 to open WAC road play for the first time.
"The guys on this team want to win more," McIntyre said after yesterday's practice. "It's all about desire. That's what it takes to win on the road.
"You're going into uncomfortable places, with fans who aren't too nice. You have to be mentally and physically ready."
Hawaii (15-2, 6-0) got over one mental road block last season after winning at San Jose State for the first time in three years. The Spartans (5-13, 0-6) are struggling, but McIntyre said that doesn't matter.
"For some reason, San Jose always plays us tough," he said. "They always come ready to play Hawaii. Even though they're 0-6, you can't overlook them.
"We have to be ready and play one game at a time. We don't want any of these teams to come up from behind and bite us."
Saturday's meeting is the first of a three-game swing that includes stops at Rice next Thursday and Tulsa on Jan. 26. With all the travel and climate changes, the last thing the Rainbows need is to get sick.
McIntyre speaks from experience on how to stay healthy. He caught a nasty cold his freshman year when the team played at BYU during a heavy snowfall.
"Everyone has to take care of their body, take vitamins, hydrate and get sleep," he said. "When you do the little things, you're OK."
Hawaii was scheduled to leave early this morning from Honolulu Airport.
UH Athletics
