Close win pulls
Warriors togetherJones says the victory
at San Jose State will
help the team's growth
Surprised about the point-totals in Saturday's 13-10 Hawaii win at San Jose State? If so, you weren't the only one expecting a much more high scoring game.
"I expected it that way, too," UH coach June Jones said yesterday.
But Jones, who pointed to the fact that Hawaii still came up with more than 400 yards in total offense -- and, yes, that UH still won -- isn't worried. And he isn't unhappy with the end result.
"I walk away satisfied that we won by one more point than they did," Jones said. "No matter how we did it."
Jones praised excellent play from his defensive line (especially end Travis LaBoy), cornerbacks and return teams after surviving the road trip with a win. He knows there will be questions about the lack of scoring, but even that is a sign of the power of his run-and-shoot offense, he said.
"You've grown accustomed to a different game," Jones said at his weekly press conference.
He told the Honolulu Quarterback Club that winning as Hawaii did -- holding on by six inches and one second away from defeat -- contributes to UH's growth as a team.
"Those type of wins do more for you than any other kind of win, especially on the road," he said. "It doesn't matter how much you win by, but winning it that way does something for you. And our kids are starting to understand how to play together and how to hang together."
Jones said before the game's final play he was bracing himself for overtime or a loss.
Knocked off his game: Jones said that quarterback Tim Chang did not play his best game, thanks to a couple of hits and a couple of picks.
"It's frustrating," Jones said. "I think early in the game, after looking at the tape, he got clocked a few times. And I think that rattled him a little."
Later, Chang missed a defender -- "he thought he was throwing touchdowns and he threw picks," Jones said -- and that perturbed Chang, too. But he later "rallied up."
"He obviously, if you asked him, he'd like to play better," Jones said. "I'd like him to play better, too. He will, in those last four games, play better."
Locking down Samoa: A recent Sports Illustrated article highlighted the all-out recruiting of American Samoa by Division I football programs, but Jones doesn't see UH giving up its home island advantage there.
"I would say Arizona's not there anymore because Dick (Tomey) is gone," Jones said. "Penn State went down there because (assistant coach) Brian Norwood was here with Dick, and they went down there last year. Utah has been down there, but they didn't get anybody, I don't think, this past year, so I don't know if they'll be down there."
Other schools haven't been as successful as they'd hoped and may back off, Jones said.
Jones also said that UH has worked out a deal for Hawaiian Airlines to transport videotapes of UH games to be shown on Samoan TV.
"I would say over the next couple years we've got a chance to make that more like local (recruiting)," Jones said.
Independent thinking: Jones told the Quarterback Club that he thinks UH could pull off playing as an independent without conference affiliation. He thought that scheduling worries might be offset by a lucrative television deal.
"People say that we couldn't do that schedule-wise, but I think that we probably would never know until we do it," he said. "And I think the possibility of signing our own TV contract as an independent makes us richer that way, too, vs. the $15,000 we get from the WAC right now for ESPN. We could probably, for Hawaii alone, write our own TV contract for more money than the whole conference gets.
"But that's just me," and not official UH policy, Jones emphasized.
Bye, bye injuries: Hawaii is hoping to use this bye week to rest and recuperate from a season's worth of bumps and bruises. UH was to practice today and tomorrow before taking the rest of the week off. Hawaii will come back with a full practice Monday.
"I'm hoping a week off and just catching balls and not running will give (receivers Jeremiah Cockheran and Britton Komine) a chance to recover," Jones said.
He was worried about guard Samson Satele's condition after the San Jose State game, but Satele did not report for treatment, "so that tells me he's OK," Jones said.
Double duty: The Warriors' bye week will give defensive end Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan a chance to work with the UH basketball team.
Akpan played two seasons with the hoops squad before joining the football team in the spring. He is expected to be cleared to practice with the basketball team today or tomorrow. He'll be on the court this week and return to football full-time next week.
The UH basketball coaches are planning to have Akpan rejoin the team as a walk-on once football season is over.
UH basketball coach Riley Wallace had planned to redshirt the 6-foot-8 forward this year since he will probably miss most of the non-conference schedule. But with senior center Haim Shimonovich's status in question due to an Achilles injury, Akpan may be pressed into action in the second half of the season.
"If Haim's not in there, we might go ahead and get (Akpan) ready for the WAC," Wallace said.
Akpan played in 31 basketball games last season and averaged 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
