[ RAINBOW BASKETBALL ]
Texas Southern
hopes NCAA trip
pays offThe Tigers are coming off
a streak like UH had
in March 2001
Riley Wallace remembers the scenario well.
A team endures an erratic regular season but finally comes together down the stretch and puts together a magical three-game run in the conference tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Wallace's Hawaii basketball squad pulled off the feat to cap the 2000-01 season to begin a string of three consecutive appearances in the postseason.
"Everybody knew their roles by (tournament) time and then the next year that just carried over big time," Wallace said of the Rainbow Warriors' back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and '02.
This season, Texas Southern coach Ronnie Courtney is hoping for a comparable swing in fortune for his program after the Tigers pulled off a similar run last March.
The Tigers went 16-11 in the regular season, but entered the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament with a three-game winning streak. They then reeled off wins over Jackson State, Mississippi Valley and Alcorn State to claim the league title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
TSU's stay at the Big Dance was a brief one. The Tigers were the first team eliminated, with an overtime loss to UNC-Asheville in the tournament's play-in game.
This year, the Tigers are off to a 3-4 start with losses at Baylor, Southern Mississippi, Colorado State and Lamar. But Courtney has already seen the benefits of the trip to the tournament.
"Recruiting-wise it helped us tremendously," the Tigers' third-year head coach said. "We had young people calling us who, I would say, would probably have never called us before for the simple reason that we were able to go to the tournament.
"Just the fact that we were the only game on at that particular time, a lot of people got to see and know some things about Texas Southern that they didn't know before. It helped put the university's name out there nationwide and also helped the program in letting people know that we are a program you have to reckon with."
The Tigers made the trek from Houston to Honolulu on Wednesday and face Hawaii tonight in the second game of the Adidas Festival doubleheader at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Tigers return nine players, including two starters off last season's squad, making them the preseason favorite to win the SWAC crown. But the players know a run in March doesn't guarantee wins the following season.
"It gave us a lot of confidence, but in turn we know we have to work that much harder this year in order to do the same thing," said junior guard Allan Lovett, a preseason All-SWAC selection.
"The guys know what it takes to get to the tournament and the experience of going to the tournament lets us know how hard we have to work to try to get back," Courtney said. "As everybody knows, it's hard to repeat what you've done the year before if you're not working hard."
Although he has started just one game this season, Lovett leads TSU in scoring with 12.8 points per contest coming off the bench. Sophomore Sean Walker is second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game and leads the Tigers with 12 steals.
With two games in Hawaii, the Tigers are looking to find their stride as they prepare for the conference season. But they're also approaching the trip as an educational venture.
"It's an opportunity to play against a great Hawaii ballclub. Also, it's an opportunity for these young people to see a part of the country they've never seen before. So it means a heck of a lot for our program and for our university," Courtney said.
"In college you want your young guys to get a chance to experience things they'd probably never experience in life. This was a great opportunity for us to experience something that they could probably never pay for in their lifetime."
Texas Southern at Hawaii
When: Today, 7 p.m.Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Tickets: Lower Level, $15 (single seats only); Upper Level (adult) $11; Upper Level (student, UH) $5; Super Rooter $8
Parking: $3
Probable starters
Texas Southern (3-4) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Sean Walker (So.) 6-3 12.1 2.6 3.3 G Damien Smith (Jr.) 6-2 8.7 3.0 1.4 F Akil Butler (Sr.) 6-7 3.7 2.9 1.0 F Lionel Willis (Sr.) 6-6 11.4 5.0 1.2 F Jerome Bell (Sr.) 6-6 2.7 4.4 0.7 Notes: New Orleans plays Idaho State at 5 p.m. in the first game of today's Adidas Festival doubleheader. The tournament concludes tomorrow with TSU playing Idaho State at 5 p.m. and UH playing New Orleans at 7. ... Hawaii won the only previous meeting between the teams 70-53 on Dec. 19, 1997. ... Kuebler is the leading scorer in the Western Athletic Conference. ... TSU coach Ronnie Courtney is in his third season with the Tigers and owns a record of 29-29. UH coach Riley Wallace is in his 17th year (265-217).
Hawaii (3-2) Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Logan Lee (So.) 6-1 2.8 2.0 4.0 G Michael Kuebler (Sr.) 6-4 19.2 3.4 1.4 F Julian Sensley (So.) 6-9 7.6 6.8 2.8 F Phil Martin (Sr.) 6-8 10.8 4.6 1.4 C Haim Shimonovich (Sr.) 6-11 8.6 7.0 1.4