In his 16 years as head coach of the Hawaii basketball team, Riley Wallace can't recall a more grueling road trip than the one the Rainbows endured last week. Flu, fouls, depth
hurt UH on roadBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Rainbows returned home Sunday after going 1-2 on a trip that took them through Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. Players were weakened by the flu throughout the trip and center Haim Shimonovich went down with a severely sprained right ankle.
"It seems like the flu bug is gone, now they just have to get their strength back," Wallace said. "Haim, we're working on."
Shimonovich is doubtful for this week's games against Boise State and UTEP, but Wallace hopes he'll be ready for the Western Athletic Conference tournament next week in Tulsa.
Redshirt freshman Milos Zivanovic started in Shimonovich's place against Rice on Saturday and played 19 minutes, going 0-for-3 from the field and grabbing three rebounds. Wallace said the coaches will re-evaluate the center position again this week.
Although Rice center Yamar Diene scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Owls' 75-58 win, Wallace didn't lay the blame on Zivanovic.
"He was with Coach (Bob) Burke today breaking down the film," Wallace said yesterday. "The first five times he changed shots and they got second-chance points off of the guys behind them. He made them miss, but then he got tired."
Zivanovic hadn't played more than 11 minutes this season and Wallace said he left him on the floor more than he had hoped when back-up Nkeruwem Akpan got into foul trouble early.
When Akpan fouled out in the second half, the Rainbows moved 6-foot-6 forward Vaidotas Peciukas into a post position.
"He was undersized for their big guys, so depth becomes a problem," Wallace said.
Just in case: If the WAC's Board of Directors allows Fresno State to play in the conference tournament, Hawaii would have to sweep its games this week and hope Louisiana Tech loses to SMU on Saturday in order to stay out of a play-in game.
The Rainbows would win the tiebreaker if they can finish in a tie with Louisiana Tech for sixth place at 9-9. The teams split their season series, and the next tiebreaker is their records against the teams above them, starting with the highest seeded team. Hawaii's 1-1 record against Rice vs. LaTech's 0-2 mark against the Owls would be the difference.
Hawaii would then be seeded sixth and LaTech would be seeded seventh and be forced into a play-in game against the 10th-place team.
UNLV's 1998 squad is the only team to play in a preliminary round game and go on to win the tournament championship.
Student appreciation night: Saturday's regular-season finale with UTEP has been dubbed "UH Student Appreciation Night." The first 500 students at the Stan Sheriff Center get in free.
The first 2,500 fans through the gates also receive a free team photo. The promotion is sponsored by the UH Federal Credit Union.
WAC honor to Jackson: Fresno State guard Damon Jackson was named WAC Player of the Week yesterday. Jackson scored a season-high 28 points against Nevada on Saturday as the Bulldogs clinched the WAC regular-season title with a 107-99 win in double-overtime.
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