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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Rainbows get down
to businessTHIS was the real season opener. The rest of it, well, it was a warm-up, it was fun. The Maui Invitational was a great experience. But it was still November, for goodness sake. A team can't be held accountable for what it does in November. (Or at least that's what they used to say to get those great early tournament fields set.)
This is where it begins. Now. December. It's winter, and it's on, and this is the time when you really find out who's been naughty or nice.
These are the nights of holiday specials and hard defense.
And it's a good thing they're finally here, because it looks like this year's Hawaii basketball team could be interesting.
We're back to the beginning now. Back to a clean slate, after the overwhelming pressure and expectations that hung over last year's squad. It was expected to be perfect, and wasn't. And that seemed to put a damper on what in other years would have been called a good season.
We already know these guys aren't perfect.
And there's fun in that, or there can be. Last year's team had to win every game. This season, it seems, Hawaii might be back in the business of having to win three. (I hear great things about Fresno's Save Mart Center.)
Let's face it. As of last night this bunch did not have "At-Large Bid" written all over it. This is still a work very much in progress.
They're still getting used to playing with each other. Great passes end up looking like bad ideas. Would-be great plays -- Julian Sensley missing on a put-back dunk, then inches off on an almost alley-oop to JC Carter -- aren't always there.
Hey, it was just the (real) opener, last night.
That's what seasons are for.
And sometimes, along the way, something happens, and a team is suddenly something different, just in time for the three games that matter most. We've seen it happen. I believe there was a book written about a run like that.
We saw it all come together for a few seconds last night when the small crowd (3,713, or roughly one for every free T-shirt) rocked the place. It was louder than it should have been, the way teams are sometimes better (and sometimes worse) than they should have been.
These guys aren't great, but Carter is still quicker than The Flash. Michael Kuebler can still score. Sensley still has things to work on, but the ability is there. We know what captains Haim Shimonovich (one point, five fouls last night) and Phil Martin (great late) can do when they do everything just right. There are some ingredients here.
And again, no, Savo is not among them.
Last night there was a thrilling win in overtime over Oregon State, not a good team, but still, one that plays its basketball in the Pac-10.
Missed free throws killed UH, at the end of regulation. The game wasn't pretty, not by a long shot. It, much like this team, was a long way from perfect. It looked like it was slipping away.
But these guys made just enough plays, just enough. Kuebler hit a Savo shot.
The season has started, officially now. No, this team won't win every game. But it just might win three.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com