’Bows’ coaching Final Four takes on a whole new meaning for Riley Wallace and the Hawaii basketball program the next few weeks.
staff continues
recruiting season
Hawaii must fill some needs
with its 4 remaining scholarshipsBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comAfter a brief but hectic stay in Honolulu, the Rainbow head coach will be back on the road Wednesday. Wallace heads to the NCAA men's Final Four in Atlanta, where he'll be at the annual convention for the National Association of Basketball Coaches, watch the national semifinals and final, and root for All-American guard Predrag Savovic in the NABC Roundball Challenge, the 40th college all-star game for the nation's top seniors.
March Madness technically ends on April 1 this year with the championship game. But it continues for another week or so for the Hawaii coaches as they try to nail down commitments for their final four scholarships.
Hawaii was one of only two Western Athletic Conference schools that did not sign anyone during the early signing period last fall. The other was Fresno State, which is currently looking for a new head coach.
The Rainbows, finishing one of their finest seasons ever at 27-6, have some big needs. Hawaii has to replace 55 percent of its offense and the leadership of departing seniors Mike McIntyre, Mindaugas Burneika and Savovic.
They also need a backup point guard for incoming senior Mark Campbell and a big man to fill out the post rotation with Haim Shimonovich, Tony Akpan and returning redshirts Josh Stanhiser and Milos Zivanovic.
Wallace spent the past week on the mainland, including some time at the junior college national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.
"It was a very good trip," said Wallace, who is prohibited by NCAA regulations from commenting on specific players.
However, Clif Wegner, Campbell's former coach at Clackamas (Ore.) Community College, did confirm that Hawaii is interested in Mike Kuebler. Kuebler is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard who was named the MVP of the conference as well as an all-tournament selection. The Cougars finished third at the NWAACC Tournament earlier this month.
"Mike would be a perfect fit for Hawaii and their offensive system," said Wegner. "To be honest, it's more suited to him offensively than what we ran this year. He would flourish there."
Kuebler averaged 25 points and five assists at two-guard and point guard for Clackamas, which coincidentally finished 27-6, the same as Hawaii. He also shot 45 percent from 3-point range.
As a freshman, he played mostly as a two-guard, but he took on the point when Campbell was hurt during the conference tournament. Kuebler last season led the Cougars in scoring (19.3 ppg), led the league in free-throw percentage (88 percent) and the NWAACC in 3-point percentage (53 percent).
As of this week, Hawaii and Furman had the most interest.
Hawaii is also apparently very interested in 5-10 point guard Jason Carter from Gary, Ind., who helped Barton (Kan.) Community College to a 22-10 record this season. Carter, an explosive player with a 45-inch vertical, led the Cougars in scoring (16.4 ppg), 3-pointers (52, .335), and steals (76) and was second in assists (77) and rebounds (4.9).
The knock on Carter is that he is a "black hole" ... the ball goes in to him and never comes back out. "Does not have a 'pass first' mentality," according to one scouting service.
Also in the running for Carter's services are Fresno State and Cincinnati.
Hawaii looks to be the front-runner for 6-7, 220-pound power forward Emigijus Lukosius. If he signs, Lukosius would be the third Lithuanian out of Weatherford (Texas) College to play for the Rainbows, following in the steps of Nerijus Puida (1999-2001) and Burneika (2000-2002).
Wallace visited with Lukosius last week, prior to Hawaii's NCAA Tournament game against Xavier in Dallas. Hawaii is also interested in another Coyote player from Lithuania, 6-6 freshman guard Vaidotas Peciukas, one of the leading scorers in the Texas junior college ranks.
Although Peciukas could transfer in as a sophomore, as did former Rainbow Micah Kroeger, Hawaii will likely try to bring him in after next season. Also being looked at for the 2003-2004 season is the 7-foot younger brother of 6-11 redshirt freshman Milos Zivanovic.
There is at least one other foreign prospect who caught the eye of assistant Scott Rigot during his trip to Europe last month.
Two players who have been mentioned as potential Rainbow recruits have verbally committed elsewhere: 6-4 guard Prileu Davis, from Phoenix (Ariz.) College, to Louisville, and 6-2 guard David Doubley, from Skyline Community College in California, to Pacific.
Two other players mentioned as having interest in Hawaii are 6-4 combo guard Marquis Poole, a sophomore at Mt. San Antonio (Calif.) College and 6-1 point guard Patrick Haddan, a senior at Woodbridge High in Irvine, Calif. Poole has had a troubled career, committing to Washington but ending up at Eastern Washington, where he was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons midway through his freshman year.
Wallace over disappointing finish: Wallace said he has let go of this season, although he is still shaking his head over the first-round loss to Xavier.
"It's still disappointing because of the way the season stopped," he said. "We were a better team than we showed. The first half was 'us' -- Rainbow basketball -- the second half wasn't."
Wallace picked Kansas to win the national title because "This is Roy's year," he said, referring to Jayhawks coach Roy Williams.
Before he leaves for Atlanta, Wallace and the coaching staff will be at the state Legislature on Monday to receive a proclamation honoring the team. Wallace also will have his final "Call the Coach Show" at Murphy's Bar & Grill on Monday from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Citing cost and time commitment, there will be no Rainbow Classic suite at the Final Four this year. In years past, Wallace and his staff had used the room as a way to schedule teams for the Classic and other preseason tournaments hosted by Hawaii.
Associate head coach Bob Nash, who is in charge of future scheduling, said he has the field for the next Rainbow Classic nearly complete. He said he expects to fill out the field for 2002 as well as start on the 2003 field during discussions with coaches next week.
Rainbow Banquet: Some 200 tickets remain for the year-end Rainbow Basketball Banquet scheduled for April 11 at the Hawaii Prince Hotel.
The cost is $40. The reception with the players and no-host cocktails begin at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
For information and reservations, call 956-6501.
Maroney was the first: Center Tony Maroney was the first Rainbow to play in the NABC senior All-Star game, competing in Seattle in 1995. Anthony Carter participated in another all-star game in 1998. Carter, a guard with the Miami Heat, has missed the past few games to await the birth of his first child. Wallace said Carter's girlfriend had a baby boy Thursday.
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