Haim still hot
Haim Shimonovich continued his clutch play yesterday.
The Hawaii center went to the free throw line for five shots at the end of the Rainbow Warrior basketball team's practice. With two sprints for the entire team riding on each miss, Shimonovich sent the players and coaches home early by coolly knocking down all five.
Shimonovich has been on a roll lately after a strong showing in last week's EA Sports Maui Invitational. The senior co-captain helped the Rainbows to a runner-up showing in the tournament by coming off the bench to average 12 points and eight rebounds in three games.
"It gave me quite a bit of confidence," Shimonovich said of his week on Maui. "Now I can believe more in myself, and I'm just looking forward to the next game."
Shimonovich and the Rainbows will have a bit of a wait as they don't play another regular-season contest until Dec. 15 when they face Oregon State. The 19-day break will be broken up by an exhibition contest against the EA Sports All-Stars on Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"I think it's too long but that's what we have to deal with, so we have to stay in shape and be ready in the next two weeks," he said.
Shimonovich sat out the early weeks of practice this season with tendinitis. As a result, his conditioning faltered and was low on the depth chart to start the season.
He played just six minutes in an exhibition game with Brigham Young-Hawaii, and was on the floor for 20 minutes in the season opener against UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 21. He then saw his playing time jump to more than 26 minutes per game in the Maui Invitational as he sparked the Rainbows with solid play in the post.
"It was good playing back-to-back-to-back," Shimonovich said. "It was kind of hard, but it's something you have to get used to it because you have the Rainbow Classic and the WAC tournament, so I think it's good preparation."
UH coach Riley Wallace, who has used three starting combinations in four games, said Shimonovich will likely be back in the starting lineup once his conditioning improves, creating competition for playing time in the post with Phil Martin and Julian Sensley.
Although Shimonovich's play last week was a positive step, he knows the key to a successful senior season will be to build on the momentum he established on Maui.
"You're only as good as your last game," Shimonovich said. "So I I have to, every night, play harder than the night before."
Too much D-II: It's still early, Wallace hopes last week's win over Chaminade doesn't eventually come back to haunt his team.
The Rainbows beat the Silverswords 68-54 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational in the first meeting between the schools since 1982. But because Chaminade is an NCAA Division II team, the win isn't included when UH's Rating Percentage Index is calculated. Therefore, UH is 1-2 according to the rating system.
"I loved the notoriety that it brought to the game and that was all good, but it really, really hurts you whether you win or lose," Wallace said.
The RPI has been used by the NCAA since 1981 to aid in the selection and seeding of teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Wallace has said previously that the Western Athletic Conference discourages members from scheduling Division II teams. He said the Rainbows beat out Rice for a bid to the National Invitation Tournament last season partly because the Owls had played Division II teams early in their schedule.
WAC honors: Tulsa forward Anthony Price was named the WAC player of the week.
Price hit 15 of 19 shots from the field and averaged 15.5 points, six rebounds and 2 1/2 blocks in the Golden Hurricanes' two games last week. Tulsa lost to No. 14 Oklahoma 81-73 and defeated TCU 74-62.
UH guard Michael Kuebler was also nominated for the award. Kuebler averaged 22.3 points in three games on Maui, rating him a mention on ESPN.com's "Weekly Watch."
Short shots: Boise State and Texas-El Paso, both 3-0, are the only undefeated teams in the WAC. Fresno State (0-2) is the only team without a win. ... Following a win in the Maui Invitational, Dayton moved up to 30th in the Associated Press poll with 53 votes. The Flyers received one vote in the previous week's poll. Nevada is the only WAC school to receive a vote in this week's rankings.
