[ UH BASKETBALL ]
PHOTOS BY DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Carl English, left, jumped over Lance Takaki at Midnight Ohana to win the dunking contest. Coach Riley Wallace, above right, dressed as "Fat Bastard," greeted UH President Evan Dobelle and other courtside guests Friday night.
UH in the groove In flashing back to the '70s Friday night at Midnight Ohana, the Hawaii men's basketball team saw flashes of its future.
at Midnight Ohana
By Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThis afternoon, the Rainbows trade in the glitz and glitter for grit and gut-busting workouts. Hawaii's quest to three-peat as Western Athletic Conference champion begins for real at 4 p.m. in Gym II.
"We're ready for Sunday," said junior center Haim Shimonovich. "Tonight was good fun and now we go to work."
Shimonovich celebrated his 23rd birthday at the Stan Sheriff Center with a game-high 16 points to help the Green to a 56-37 win over the White in yesterday's post-midnight scrimmage. He also hit a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in the game; Shimonovich was 0-for-4 from 3-point range in his previous two seasons.
"Hopefully, it won't be the last," he said.
Coach Riley Wallace likely has other plans for his big man. The yelling over poor shot selection begins this afternoon.
"I'm sure he'll be talking about that one for a while," said Wallace, who wowed the 4,500 or so fans when he came out dressed as "Fat Bastard" from the "Austin Powers" movies. "Tony (sophomore forward Akpan) is still talking about the one he hit last.
"Overall, it was a successful night. You saw what some of our new kids could do. It was fun, but now we'll be putting it together as a team."
Teamwork was key to pulling off the night. Who would have thought that junior forward Phil Martin would enjoy wearing the aloha print uniform from the Fab Five days, replete with a 6-inch fake Afro? Or that Wahine coach Vince Goo would be a dead ringer for Austin Powers in a purple velvet suit.
"It was a great uniform and I loved the big hair," said Martin, who led the White team with 14 points. "I was Coach Nash out there. He's a great rebounder but skill-wise, I think we're the same. He had the better hair back then."
Associate head coach Bob Nash, a member of UH's Fabulous Five of 1970-72, holds several school rebounding records. He didn't disappoint the Midnight Ohana crowd with his impersonation of Shaft.
The slam-dunk contest also wowed the crowd, even the misses. Newcomer Jason Carter, a 5-foot-10 guard with a 35-inch vertical, nearly won the title with his airborne antics, but wasn't able to put the ball down.
The winner for the second time in three years was Carl English, who reprised his shot of two years ago when jumping over 5-4 senior guard Lance Takaki.
"It's all about fun and the key for me was having a few days off to rest up for it," English said. "I think this was the best Midnight Ohana we've had since I've been here.
"As for the scrimmage, it's about whoever wants it and who shows up when the lights come on. I'm going for a three-peat this year. We've got a lot of talent and we've just got to work the new guys into the system."
English added 15 points for the Green, including hitting his first three 3-point shots as the team rolled out to a 23-4 lead. He finished 4 of 6 from long range.
The Rainbows saw their three-year losing streak to the Wahine in the 3-point shootout end when newcomer Michael Kuebler outscored the Wahine's Jade Abele 15-8. Ironically, Kuebler and the White went 0-for-9 in 3-pointers in the scrimmage.
Carter was impressive with several assists, including a bullet pass from the top of the key to Vaidotas Peciukas. He finished with seven assists and four steals.
"This was something new to me," said Carter, who played the past two seasons at Barton County (Kan.) Community College. "The JC I came from didn't do anything like this. It's something to get used to, just like getting used to Hawaii.
"We played OK. We've got to get better. This was our last day of having fun. I think we're going to be real good. Real good."
With the first real practice some 38 hours away, Wallace already knew what he wanted Carter to work on.
"He's pure speed and quickness down the floor," Wallace said. "He'll have to settle down and learn our system."
Green 56, White 37
GREEN (56): Carter 1-6 0-1 2, Shimonovich 7-9 1-2 16, Peciukas 3-6 0-0 7, English 5-11 1-2 15, Akpan 2-6 2-2 6, Williams 1-3 1-2 3, Lombard 0-1 0-0 0, Alama-Francis 3-4 0-0 7. Totals 22-46 5-8 56.
WHITE (37): Martin 7-11 0-0 14, Zivanovic 1-1 2-2 4, Campbell 4-7 1-2 9, Kuebler 0-1 0-0 0, Paul Jesinskis 3-11 0-0 6, Takaki 1-3 0-0 2, Dmitrovic 1-2 0-0 2, Holliday 0-1 0-0 0, Pickart 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-39 3-4 37.
Halftime: Green 39, White 21.
3-point goals--Green 7-13 (English 4-6, Shimonovich 1-1, Peciukas 1-1, Alama-Francis 1-2, Carter 0-1, Williams 0-1, Lombard 0-1), White 0-9 (Jesinskis 0-4, Campbell 0-3, Kuebler 0-1, Takaki 0-1).
Rebounds--Green 24 (Shimonovich 7), White 24 (Martin 4). Assists--Green 11 (Carter 7), White 6 (Campbell 3). Blocks--Green 2 (Shimonovich 1, Akpan 1), White 0. Steals--Green 11 (Carter 4), White 2 (Campbell 2). Turnovers--Green 8, White 13.
Officials: Larry Yamashita, Pat Tanibe, Ryan Wells.
Att: 4,500 (est).
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