[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Kuebler and Rainbows
ready for Beavers
after long breakHawaii plays its first regular-season
game in 19 days, vs. 4-2 Oregon State
Michael Kuebler remembers his days as a youngster cheering on the team in green as it battled Oregon State on the basketball court.
Growing up in the Northwest, he was a devotee of the Oregon Ducks, OSU's in-state rival. Now a senior guard at the University of Hawaii, Kuebler will wear a different shade of green when he finally gets his shot at Oregon State tomorrow night as the Rainbow Warriors face the Beavers at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Oregon State at Hawaii
When: Tomorrow, 7:05 p.m.Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV, Ch. 5
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Tickets: Lower Level, $16 (singles only); Upper Level (adult) $12; Upper Level (student, UH) $5; Super Rooter $9. Parking, $3.
"I was pretty much a hardcore Ducks fan when I was younger, so it's something I'm really looking forward to," Kuebler said.
Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
This is the Rainbows' first regular-season game in 19 days. Their exhibition game against the EA Sports All-Stars last Sunday doesn't count in the records, so tomorrow's matchup will be the team's first official home game since losing to UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 21.
With the lengthy layoff, rust is one of UH coach Riley Wallace's concerns as the Rainbows try to avoid dropping back-to-back home games for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
"It's almost like the season's starting now," said Wallace, whose team will play eight games over the next 21 days.
The Rainbows (2-2) would have preferred playing a few more games since losing to Dayton in the finals of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 26, but the break gave them a chance to address some of the questions that emerged in their first four contests.
"We've had a lot of practice and I think guys are starting to get their roles and know what they have to do and I think that's important," center Haim Shimonovich said.
Shimonovich is slated to make his first official start of the season tomorrow. He has worked his way back into shape following an Achilles' injury in the preseason and leads the team in rebounding with 7.8 per game. He started the exhibition game and had 10 points and 10 rebounds in UH's 69-67 win.
Kuebler, a native of Salem, Ore., leads the Rainbows with 18 points per game and has hit 10 of 21 3-point shots. He said watching both Oregon and Oregon State basketball games were a big part of his youth.
"I remember going in and watching OSU games back home," he said. "Every time a big school came in to play them, I'd watch OSU and Oregon play. So to play either one of those teams is exciting."
Oregon State improved to 4-2 with an 84-53 win over Willamette, an NCAA Division III team, on Friday and arrived in Honolulu yesterday afternoon.
The Beavers, under second-year coach Jay John, are among the youngest teams in the nation, with no seniors on their 14-player roster.
This year's OSU squad is trying to break a string of 12 consecutive losing seasons, and the Beavers enter tomorrow's game on a bit of a roll after beating Kansas State in triple-overtime on Dec. 6 and blowing past Willamette on Friday.
"I think we have some pretty good momentum going right now," said sophomore co-captain Lamar Hurd. "With a lot of young guys, that's good because they ride off the energy and emotion of games. Playing Hawaii, we definitely need that.
"We know this is a big game. We believed that this game was one of the top three preseason games that we had, so we're definitely going to prepare hard for this one."
Hurd entered the year as one of OSU's most experienced players after starting all 28 games last season and earning Pac-10 honorable mention All-Freshman honors. This year he's averaging six points and 5.3 assists per game.
Forward David Lucas and guard Chris Stephens are the Beavers' top scorers with better than 14 points per game.
The Beavers broke out of a recent shooting slump by hitting 52 percent of their shots from the field against Willamette. Reserve guard Angelo Tsagarakis made six of seven 3-point attempts and finished with 18 points against the Bearcats.
John hopes this trip will help speed the development of his team as the Beavers prepare for the Pac-10 season.
"We have really good kids," John said. "They're trying to do what we ask, there's some talent there, but I can't speed up the growth process. Only time can take care of that.
"This will be good for us to play this caliber of team. ... I want my guys to get more experience. The more they get, the faster they grow up and the better we get."
