The Hawaii basketball team's Canadian contingent will grow to three this week. Canadian Carlone
joins UH
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comEli Carlone, a 6-foot-4 swingman, watched yesterday's practice at the Stan Sheriff Center and will start practicing with the team as soon as his paperwork clears with the university.
Carlone will walk on as a transfer from Brock University in Ontario and will sit out this season. He played two years at Brock and will have two years of eligibility left at UH.
"He's supposed to be a great athlete," Hawaii coach Riley Wallace said. "He's paying his own way and walking on. He's a transfer so he has to sit but we'll give him a look."
Carlone joins Carl English and Phil Martin as the Rainbows' Canadian connection.
"The guy who ran the all-star team with Carl and those guys recommended him, and he called and said he wanted to come," Wallace said.
Wallace added that Carlone's addition this semester will add much-needed height to the scout team in practice.
Wallace expects another player, a transfer from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, to walk-on next week.
Coaching shuffle: After last week's Western Athletic Conference split against UTEP and Boise State on the road, the Rainbow coaching staff shuffled its lineup to address some on-court concerns.
Jackson Wheeler is running the scout team this week, with Bob Nash devoting more time to working with the team's post players.
Nash was in charge of the scout team earlier this season, but with center Haim Shimonovich struggling with foul trouble in recent games, Wallace wanted Nash to concentrate on honing the junior's game.
"We're looking at it," Wallace said. "I just wanted Nash to work with the big men a little more. We have to improve our big-man skills inside, because we have to have Haim in there, he has to stay in the game."
Game time: Hawaii plays three games in five days, starting with Thursday's WAC contest against SMU. The Rainbows then face Louisiana Tech on Saturday and Fresno State the following Monday.
The Fresno State game was originally scheduled for Feb. 22, but was moved to accommodate the Rainbows' participation in Bracket Busters Saturday.
Hawaii's opponent in the 18-team event highlighting mid-major conferences will not be officially announced until Feb. 3. Early projections had the Rainbows traveling to UC Santa Barbara, but it now appears the team could be headed to Nebraska to take on No. 16 Creighton.
The only confirmed Bracket Busters matchup is Tulsa playing at Gonzaga.
Home sweet home: Hawaii enters this week's games having won 19 consecutive home meetings, tied for eighth-longest in the country. The Rainbows have also won 16 straight WAC games at the Stan Sheriff Center.
UH last lost at home on Dec. 14, 2001, to San Diego State. The Rainbows last lost a WAC game at home on Jan. 11, 2001, 79-71 to UTEP.
UH Athletics