Trojans up A few things have changed since Porter Moser's first visit to Honolulu, when he was a sophomore guard for the Creighton basketball team.
first for ’Bows
Hawaii hosts Arkansas-Little Rock
in the Hawaiian Airlines Tip-OffBy Cindy Luis
cluis@starbulletin.comThe Bluejays took on host Hawaii for seventh place in the 1987 Rainbow Classic, a game won by Creighton 81-69 at Blaisdell Arena. It was the first season for Hawaii coach Riley Wallace, and it would be his worst (4-25).
Moser is barely a blip in the box score: one minute, one defensive rebound. There was no way to tell that he would go on to become a two-year starter at Creighton, leading the Bluejays to the Missouri Valley Conference title in 1989, nor was there a hint that he'd be one of the more successful young head coaches the past two seasons (36-22).
Fifteen years after his first encounter with a Wallace-coached team, Moser has brought his Arkansas-Little Rock team to another tournament hosted by the Rainbows. His Trojans open the season against Hawaii in tomorrow's second game of the Hawaiian Airlines Tip-Off Tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center. (Cal State Fullerton and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi meet in the 5 p.m. opener).
"It's a beautiful arena," said Moser after yesterday's practice. "It was a long trip for us to get here, but we have no complaints. We're in Hawaii.
"The players are excited to be here, but the coaches are focused on the tournament."
This is no vacation for the Trojans, who are picked to finish second behind Western Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference coaches preseason poll. This is the start of what Moser considers the toughest nonconference schedule in school history.
For the third straight year, the Trojans have more road games (15) than home games (13). Among their nonconference opponents are Colorado State, Memphis, Minnesota, Southern Miss and Pepperdine, with a potential meeting with New Mexico at The Pit in Albuquerque next month.
"This is a great opportunity for our guys to play against one of the established Top-40 programs in Division I," said the 34-year-old Moser. "They have one of the premier players in college basketball in Carl English. They have good post players who are tough off the glass.
"And they have a coach's player in guard Mark Campbell. He runs the team well and makes great decisions. I've played against a Riley Wallace team, so I know they'll play hard."
The Trojans' strength is their backcourt. Junior guard Nick Zachery, named to the preseason all-conference team, finished 10th in the NCAA last season in 3-point goals per game (3.36) and led UALR in scoring (16.1 ppg).
Senior guard Jibrahn Ike has moved from a reserve to a starting role. He scored a combined 35 points in the Trojans' two exhibition wins, including 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting against the Arkansas Angels earlier this month.
Creating some problems inside will be 6-7 senior forward Danny McCall, who had a combined 20 points and 21 rebounds in the two exhibitions.
"Their overall quickness, especially on the perimeter, is a concern," said UH associate head coach Bob Nash. "They have excellent guards who can create their own shots and they shoot well. They also have a pretty good inside game with kids who work hard in the paint."
The equalizing factor for this tournament, the Rainbow Classic and other exempt tournaments will be the use of the Olympic distances for the 3-point line and the key. The 3-point line moves from 19-9 to 21-6 and the key is wider (from 12 to 16 feet).
"It's going to be the same for everyone," said UH junior guard Michael Kuebler. "Moving the 3-point line back shouldn't be hard to deal with, but the wider key will make rebounding different. And if they're looking for the 3-second call, it changes things."
The new lines weren't marked when the Trojans practiced yesterday morning, but they had been installed by the time the other three tournament teams got on to the court: Hawaii, Cal State Fullerton and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
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