The Hawaii basketball team not only has some catching up to do in the Western Athletic Conference standings, but in the classroom as well. UH making up class work
after long road tripBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Rainbows have been away from home a total of 18 days since the spring semester began on Jan. 13. So after returning from a week-long road trip on Sunday, UH coach Riley Wallace gave the players two days off before getting back to work on the court today in preparation for Saturday's home game with San Jose State.
"They can get their legs back and they have more time to get their class work done and catch up," Wallace said. "It's that time of year when you have to get them re-energized.
"There's always a time for that and to get them back thinking about what they're here for, education."
While on the road, the team holds study hall every day under the supervision of team counselor Dr. Michael D'Andrea, who also coordinates assignments with professors.
"We try to lighten up the (class) load in the spring compared to what they do in the fall," Wallace said. "We try to mix it up so where they're not overloaded in the spring because of the time they miss."
The team had 10 players with grade point averages of 3.0 and higher last spring.
The Rainbows are home until Feb. 19 before embarking on their final regular-season road trip. They face Nevada that night, then board a plane after the game and head to Ohio for their Bracket Busters game with Kent State on Feb. 22. They'll stay on the road for games at Tulsa and Rice the following week.
Glad to be back: Although the Rainbows' frustration on the road may be nearing the hair-pulling stage, Wallace said their 24-game winning streak at home is helping keep the team focused.
The Rainbows are two wins shy of the school record for consecutive wins at home heading into this homestand.
"That's a motivating thing for the fans as well as the players and coaches," Wallace said.
UH fell to 13-7 overall and 6-6 in the WAC with losses at Louisiana Tech and Southern Methodist last week and enters this week's play fifth in the WAC. The Rainbows held leads late in both games last week and have lost their road games by an average of four points.
"They're frustrated that we're losing the close games on the road, but we're only three games away (from) being where we were last year," Wallace said. "A shot or a call or something goes our way in three games and you're 16-4 and everybody's happy. So it's a fine line and we're not that far off."
Center of attention: After juggling the lineup for last Saturday's loss at SMU, Wallace said he's leaning toward putting junior center Haim Shimonovich back in the starting five this week.
Shimonovich suffered through a rough outing against Louisiana Tech and had his string of consecutive starts snapped at 52 games when the Rainbows started Nkeruwem Akpan against SMU.
Shimonovich still played most of the game, logging eight points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. Akpan posted two points and one rebound in 16 minutes on the floor.
"(Shimonovich) was better and I think Tony performed better coming in (off the bench) than he did starting," Wallace said.
WAC honor to Meeking: Louisiana Tech forward Antonio Meeking was named the WAC Player of the Week after helping the Bulldogs pull out two wins last week, including a 66-65 decision over the Rainbows.
Meeking scored 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Hawaii on Feb. 6. He went on to post 23 points in a 65-60 victory over San Jose State two days later.
Meeking has scored at least 20 points in nine of LaTech's last 10 games. The Bulldogs have won five in a row to jump into fourth place in the conference at 7-5.
Stats watch: UH guard Carl English continues to hold off SMU's Quinton Ross for the WAC scoring lead. English is averaging 20.6 points per game, with Ross right behind at 20.3.
Rainbow point guard Mark Campbell leads the conference in assists with 121 (6.05 per game) and Shimonovich is first in offensive rebounds at 3.15 per game.
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Word of Life Academy basketball player Shane Lawrence avoided serious injury in an on-court collision last week, according to his mother, Denise Lawrence, who is also the school's athletic director. Word of Life hoops player
isn’t badly hurtBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comDuring a Division II game at Kamehameha on Thursday, Shane Lawrence's head banged into teammate Mike Hanakahi's knee and Lawrence was knocked unconscious for about 20 seconds, his mom said.
"For people watching in the stands, it looked really serious," Denise Lawrence said. "But it wasn't as bad as it looked. He had a lot of pain, but no concussion."
After being looked at by three firemen in attendance, fire department and ambulance personnel arrived to treat Shane Lawrence. He was brought to The Queen's Medical Center for a CAT scan and neurological tests.
Denise Lawrence was impressed with Kamehameha coach Steven Aiu, who is also a fireman at the Moanalua station, for his attentiveness to the situation.
"Because he's the coach, he could have been more concerned with the team," she said. "He stayed there with Shane and I appreciate that."
She made sure to call Kamehameha officials Friday to thank them for the steps they took to insure proper care.
Word of Life's intermediate basketball coach Roy Alvarado and volleyball coach Dwight Kahoohanohano were the other firemen to respond to the injury. Alvarado works at the Kaneohe fire station, while Kahoohanohano is from the Kaimuki station.
Denise Lawrence also said the receptionist at Word of Life took calls all day Friday from concerned fans checking to see if Shane was OK.
Comparatively speaking: Punahou boys soccer coach Bob Clague has led 14 Buffanblu teams to state titles and is going for No. 15 this year.
But how does this year's Interscholastic League of Honolulu squad stack up with some of his teams from the past?
"It's hard, really, to compare," Clague said. "They're all different teams, different personalities, different strengths. I think we've had stronger teams, individually speaking, but the teamwork wasn't as strong (as this year's team).
"This is a very good 'team' team and we've been in a couple of games with our backs to the wall and have come through."
Punahou (12-0-2) is one of three undefeated teams in the state tournament that runs today through Saturday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex. The other two unbeatens are Baldwin (10-0) and Mililani (11-0-1).
Clague's first state title came in 1976. The Buffanblu last won it all in 1998.
Grandfatherly love: Soccer fan Stanley Kau, 78, had a dilemma last Saturday at the Oahu Interscholastic Association boys soccer tournament.
He couldn't root for either team, because he had grandsons on both rosters.
First cousins Aaron Kau of Pearl City, a sophomore, and Evan Kau of Mililani, a freshman, were on opposite benches.
Evan didn't play because of a sprained ankle, but Aaron got on the field in the Chargers' 1-0 loss.
"That was some game Saturday night," Stanley Kau said. "But I couldn't cheer for anybody, and they might meet again in the state tournament, because they play for two really good teams."
A solution to the elder Kau's "no cheering" problem is nowhere in sight.
"They've got two more years against each other," he said.
Crusaders headed to Junior Olympics: Three members of the state champion Saint Louis School air riflery team have qualified for the Junior Olympics.
Senior Michael Tanoue and juniors Eric Okamoto and Lionnel Ronduen will compete in the April event at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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