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UH's Purcell wins
weekly WAC awardRAINBOW BASKETBALL
Nash ready for Wallace’s coaching style
Hawaii sophomore defensive end Mel Purcell surprised a lot of people by getting in on 12 tackles (including two sacks) in UH's 31-15 victory over Texas-El Paso on Saturday.
Warriors coach June Jones is not among them.
"I'm really proud of Mel," Jones said. "I knew (he was) going to be a great player."
The Western Athletic Conference offices in Denver took notice yesterday, naming Purcell the league's defensive player of the week.
Not bad for a guy who hasn't even started a game -- and might not this season because he's playing behind seniors Travis LaBoy and Houston Ala.
"The one good thing about being on defense so much is guys like Mel get to play," defensive line coach Vantz Singletary said. "He was in around 50 plays, as much as the starters. He's getting it done."
The 6-foot-5 Purcell has gained 45 pounds since arriving at UH last year and weighs 258.
"June always said this guy's going to be a great one. June's got the eye, it's proven to be true," defensive coordinator George Lumpkin said. "He plays hard, smart, good athlete. Nice person to be around, great attitude."
On one stop of UTEP's Jordan Palmer, Purcell nearly tackled the Miners quarterback into Jones on the sideline.
"Yeah, I thought that was going to be another car wreck. I was going to be dead, I could see it coming for about 30 seconds, it seemed like," Jones said with a laugh.
The other WAC honorees were Louisiana Tech running back Ryan Moats (offense) and Fresno State kicker Brett Visintainer (special teams).
Back to basics: The Warriors (5-3, 4-1 WAC) have now won three in a row as they get ready to play at San Jose State (2-5, 1-3) on Saturday. But Jones knows there are areas that need improvement.
One is tackling. Linebacker Ikaika Curnan and cornerback Abraham Elimimian have been reliable all season, and now Purcell can be added to the list.
But, as a team, the Warriors have had quite a few embarrassing moments when ball carriers simply slip out of their grasps.
That's one of the biggest reasons Moats rushed for 267 yards against UH on Oct. 18 and the Miners had two 100-yard rushers on Saturday.
Jones admits the Warriors are not doing well in one of the game's basic skills.
"There's a technique to tackling, and you've got to be in control of your feet, you've got to step to contact, put your head across," he said. "And when you don't do those things, good players break tackles. We practice it all the time but you've still got to be able to do it in a game."
Tautofi out: Junior defensive tackle/end Darrell Tautofi is done for the season because of academic issues.
"I'm thinking he'll be back for spring practice," Singletary said. "He has a lot of schoolwork to catch up on. He's in classes all day."
Tautofi is a 6-2, 281-pound transfer from Dixie College whom the Warriors are depending on next year for defensive line depth. All four starters and backup end Kevin Jackson are seniors.
Stat chat: UH receivers top the WAC in receptions and yardage. Chad Owens leads the league with 6.83 catches per game and Jeremiah Cockheran is tops in yards with 94.8.
Hawaii has not had a 100-yard rusher since Mike Bass ran for 146 yards against UTEP in 2001 (30 games ago). Bass, a junior running back, did not play Saturday.
San Jose State's Gerald Jones has 13 career interceptions and needs one more to tie the school record.
No disrespect intended: San Jose State coach Fitz Hill said the Spartans' "stomping" on Boise State's midfield Bronco logo before BSU's 77-14 stomping of SJSU on Saturday was misinterpreted by some.
"We always punt the ball from the end zone toward midfield (at the end of pregame drills) and run up and gather there and call it up," Hill said. "Our punter kicked a good one and we ended up at the 50 (on the logo)."
Hill said he should have had the ball punted the other way.
"I wish our punter kicked it as good in the game," he said.
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[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Nash ready for
Wallace’s coaching style
Bobby Nash is the youngest player on the Hawaii basketball team, but he knew better than most newcomers what to expect from coach Riley Wallace's practices.
Nash is the only freshman on this year's Rainbow Warrior squad but spent most of his life growing up around the program while tagging along with his father, associate coach Bob Nash. Thus he was far from fazed the first time Wallace raised his voice in practice.
"I know coach likes to yell a lot over there and he's tough on the guys, but we expect that from coach," Nash said.
Although Nash has grown from a Rainbow ballboy to a scholarship athlete, the transition from high school to the Division I level isn't exactly seamless. After helping Iolani School win back-to-back state championships as an All-State forward, the 6-foot-6 Nash is getting used to looking up at his new teammates.
"Sometimes you have to switch to the post and guard people like Phil (Martin) and Haim (Shimonovich)," Nash said. "It's an adjustment because I was the tallest guy on the team, probably one of the tallest guys in the state playing basketball, so I had an advantage over a lot of people. But here everybody's the same size."
Although Nash is working through the growing pains inherent in making the jump to college ball, Wallace likes what he sees so far and indicated that the true freshman might see some playing time this season if he can adjust to the system.
"You can see he has enough ability that he'll be a player, he just has to get through a lot of mistakes to get there," Wallace said.
Still hurting: Injuries and illness left the Rainbows with 10 players in practice yesterday.
Shimonovich tried to test his injured achilles yesterday, but left practice early during drills. The senior center was able to take off the protective boot he had been wearing for the past week, however, and his status remains day-to-day.
Junior forward Jeff Blackett suffered a sprained ankle during Saturday's practice and sat out yesterday's workout. He is expected to be back at practice this week.
Walk-on guards Tui Avaava and Garland Gantt have both missed recent practices. Avaava is recovering from an illness and Gantt injured his thigh in a collision in practice last week.
Looking ahead: With a commitment from forward Matt Gipson, the Rainbows have two more scholarships to offer for this recruiting season.
The NCAA limits schools to eight scholarships over two years and no more than five in a single season. UH signed Blackett, Nash, Julian Sensley, Logan Lee and Jake Sottos last year. With five seniors set to complete their eligibility this season, the NCAA limit means the Rainbows will have 10 scholarship players for the 2004-05 campaign.
Gipson gave a verbal commitment last week and can sign a national letter of intent in November. The late signing period begins in April.
Tickets on sale: Season tickets for the upcoming UH basketball season are on sale.
Ticket packages can be purchased at the Stan Sheriff Center ticket office, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can also be ordered by phone at 944-BOWS or on the Internet at www.etickethawaii.com.
Only upper level seats remain. Adult tickets are $185, students (ages 4-18) $79 and UH students $49. Super Rooter tickets (not including the Rainbow Classic) are $105 for UH students and $175 for guests, plus a $40 premium seat donation.
The Rainbows face Brigham Young-Hawaii in an exhibition game on Nov. 17 and open the regular season Nov. 21 against UC Santa Barbara.
