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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Calm down ... this
was an exhibitionNOTE to self: This was just an exhibition, which means you really shouldn't get too excited one way or another. Remain calm. Stay cool. This was just a warm-up, a practice run, a casual goodwill exercise in working out the kinks, which explains why it took at least a good three minutes for Riley Wallace to look like his head was going to explode.
So no, we probably shouldn't get too worked up that last night's 63-56 Rainbow win looked like an exhibition for one team and a game to another (it was, respectively, for Hawaii and BYU-Hawaii).
"I kinda just dealt with it as if it was just a practice," UH's Paul Jesinskis said.
And so it's too early to panic, despite the fact that it's painfully obvious that these Rainbows haven't played together enough yet to be a real team (and this is a group -- yes, yes, I know, they all do -- that really needs to be one).
That's what opening exhibition games are for.
"We couldn't ask for a better game for us," Wallace said.
And so we also probably shouldn't get too excited that OH, MY GOODNESS, JULIAN SENSLEY IS THE REAL DEAL!!!
Oh, sorry. Am I typing in capital letters again?
No, no. Let's calm down.
Forget the fact that he's an enormous man who can run the floor and hit the 3. And that he's strong, so strong. He rebounded. He hustled. He dove. When he takes hard fouls, it's like he gives them.
Forget that last night he had court vision that could coax a smile out of Ebeneezer Scrooge.
"He's very unselfish," Wallace said.
And how his blocked shot off the glass ignited a Rainbow break that resulted in a Phil Martin almost-dunk that cut BYUH's lead to two.
And then there was The Slam. (Let's just say you shouldn't have stayed home watching Monday Night Football.)
"I was a little nervous," he said, "it was my first Division I game. Once the ball was tipped I was fine."
Uh, yes, I would say he can play this game a little bit.
But curb your enthusiasm. Hawaii still spent most of the game trailing a Division II team. A good one, yes -- Jake Chrisman took Sensley to the hoop a few times, finishing with 23 points, and Michael Stowell did not miss until 8-and-change left in the game. BYUH looks like it might have a heck of a season. But these guys aren't the 1982 Chaminade Silverswords.
"That would probably haunt us for the rest of the year," Michael Kuebler said, "to lose to a school that's on the same island."
Still, this is an exhibition, and it got their attention like it was supposed to. These guys have some potential. These guys showed a few signs.
Kuebler was tough. Vaidotas Peciukas may be a basketball player yet. After a spectacular block, he earned an approving nod from Wallace.
"It shows you in the second half," Wallace said, "his value is there."
And then there was Jesinskis, who may have done something even more spectacular than bringing home 13 points, six rebounds and two dunks-- Rainbow fans can hope he may just have woken up Haim (The Key to the Season) Shimonovich.
And that's what exhibitions are about, after all.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
