NEW ORLEANS, La. >> Florida coach Mary Wise isn't sure what is harder: getting to the final four or winning at the NCAA championships. Gators looking to take
next step -- winning a gameBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comThe Gators have a strong tradition and dominate the South Eastern Conference like Hawaii does the Western Athletic Conference. Florida fares well in the postseason, but it has a final-four hump. Wise has been to five final fours (1992-93, 1996-98) but never won a game at the big event, going 0-15. She can tell you exactly what went wrong each time.
"Once we came injured and had no chance. Twice we came and did not play well," Wise said. "Twice we came and played well and were just beat by a better team. What we haven't been able to do is pull off an upset. We've never been the higher-seeded team. We're still the lower-seeded team, but we are healthy, which we've never been in the past and we also have a Player of the Year type (in Aury Cruz) on the floor wearing a Florida uniform.
"There is that void of not having won that national championship, but we also know it's a small group of people that have national championship banners. We've knocked on the doors and now we have to open it."
Hawaii coach Dave Shoji can relate, but he doesn't believe you have to win a title to legitimize your program any more.
"We went four years looking for our first one. Even that seemed like forever," he said. "If you can get this far, you don't have to win to prove anything."
Don't forget the defense: With much of the discussion centering on go-to players and All-Americans in yesterday's prematch press conference, it would have been easy to overlook the small keys in today's matchup between No. 2 Hawaii and No. 3 Stanford.
Libero Melissa Villaroman and defensive specialist Hedder Ilustre know they're teammates are counting on them to be Stanford stoppers. The digging demons are relying on a little help from the front line.
"Hedder and I talked about how defense is going to win this match for everybody on the court," Villaroman said. "We just got to get those balls up and get them to our hitters. I think we're a better defensive team than they are. If we outdig them, then I know we'll win the match.
"It's all about having our blockers set. When they're set, we're set. With Ogonna (Nnamani) who jumps real high, we just have to touch those balls. We just need to get them in the air."
Villaroman had a fabulous shovel performance against the Cardinal in November. She dug 12 balls, most of them hard-driven ones that should have gone down. Against the Cornhuskers last weekend, she and Ilustre combined for 37 digs, an act they'll need to duplicate today.
Superstitions: Stanford coach John Dunning has been a little limited in his clothing options the last month. The Cardinal coach refuses to wear blue after a conference loss at Arizona when he wore a shirt that matched the Wildcats' school colors. But that's not the only color he avoids.
"I ditched all the shirts that were Stanford shirts last year, so I've been wearing a black sweater at every match for about a month," Dunning said. "I'm going to leave that this weekend and burn it if we lose."
Only three schools (Hawaii, Pacific, Stanford) have managed to defend their titles and Dunning could be the first to do it with two different programs. His Pacific team went back-to-back from 1985-86.
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If you're a football player, best scout is an award you don't want to win twice. Although it means you're doing a good job simulating opponents in practice, it's usually also an indication that you aren't climbing the depth chart very quickly. Wright is top
scout againBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comBut Hawaii defensive back Gary Wright was named the team's best defensive scout this year for the second time while still managing to get into the lineup for quality playing time by the end of the regular season.
As the Warriors prepare to meet Tulane in the ConAgra Foods Hawaii Bowl on Christmas, Wright is in the Warriors' five-defensive-back "nickel" package. The 5-foot-10, 201-pound junior worked himself into the mix starting with the Alabama game on Nov. 30. and also played extensively in the season-ender against San Diego State.
Wright has battled in training camps for playing time since his arrival from Kalaheo High School in 1999, but always fell a little short. But the coaches never lost their faith in his ability.
"Since he came here he's been a guy we've looked at -- athletically, and he works as hard as anyone we have," Hawaii coach June Jones said. "He walked on, he could run. As long as you have that quality of being able to run, the rest can be taught. Every year he's getting a little bit better. Before he gets out of here he'll contribute."
Wright already has, with 12 tackles this season. He's played in all 13 games, but that was almost exclusively on special teams before the Alabama game. Still, it's one more game than he played combined in his freshman and sophomore seasons; he was bothered by nagging injuries as an underclassman.
"I've endured a lot of stuff," said Wright, who battled for a starting cornerback job before spraining a knee before the 2001 season. "Coach (Rich) Miano (defensive backs) and Coach (Kevin) Lempa (defensive coordinator) have emphasized to me to be ready, keep doing your job and work hard in case your time does come. Every day make the most of every opportunity."
When Wright received his scout team award at the Warriors banquet on Dec. 8, he took the opportunity to sing an ode to cheeseburgers that he wrote himself. Patrons of the McDonald's in Kailua that he worked at while in high school understand. Here's the explanation for the rest of us:
"I love to sing. When I was at McDonald's I used to make up jingles. (Kalaheo and UH teammate) Shawn (Withy-Allen) always likes to hear me sing, so I wanted to do one for him and the rest of the seniors at the banquet."
"Some of them were pretty good," Withy-Allen said. "I told him he should send them to corporate headquarters, maybe they could use them in their commercials."
Fuga gets another year: UH defensive tackle Lui Fuga was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA, Jones said.
Fuga, who suffered a broken ankle in Hawaii's season-opening game against Eastern Illinois, now has two years to play two seasons beginning next fall.
After being named the Warriors' most inspirational player in 2000, Fuga missed all of 2001 with shoulder injuries. He rehabbed and started against EIU, only to be injured for the season on the seventh play of the opening game.
Jackson to appear at game: Former UH safety Nate Jackson will address the crowd at the Hawaii Bowl before kickoff.
Jackson, who will be celebrating his birthday, wants to thank the people of Hawaii who have raised money to help pay for $200,000 in medical expenses he accrued while being treated for a virus and undergoing heart surgery earlier this fall. About $80,000 has been raised, according to "Friends of Nate Jackson" spokeswoman Toni Floerke-Politsch.
In addition to a concert tonight at the Sheraton, future fund-raisers include a golf tournament March 14 at Koolau. Call 224-8048.
Fieldturf???: It was still a mystery last night if the contract to install a Fieldturf surface at Aloha Stadium after the Hawaii Bowl and before the Feb. 2 Pro Bowl would be signed soon. Lawyers for the NFL and the state were still working on the deal last night, according to Hawaii Tourism Authority executive director Rex Johnson.
"I have no good news and no bad news," Johnson said last night.
Fieldturf president John Gilman, who said installation was a done deal more than two weeks ago, declined comment yesterday.
"Can't discuss it right now," Gilman wrote in reply to a Star-Bulletin e-mail asking about the subject.
Hawaiian Dredging has been subcontracted to prepare the stadium floor for installation of the new surface.
"We're ready to go," heavy unit manager Mel Miyamoto said.
Right to business: Tulane will head to Aloha Stadium for practice tomorrow morning after its scheduled 5:30 a.m. arrival.
The Golden Wave contingent will still have some time to kill before checking in at the team hotel, some of which will be taken up by a team meal, said Donna Turner of Tulane's media relations office.
Honored: UH punter Mat McBriar was named an honorable mention on the College Football News All-America team.
St. Louis School alumnus Jason Gesser of Washington State made the first team at quarterback.
McBriar averaged 43.7 yards per punt this season on his way to making the All-WAC first team.