DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Delano Thomas
Daredevil
Hawaii volleyball star Delano Thomas
plays the game without fear
DELANO Thomas would be an ideal candidate for the television show "Fear Factor."
10th Outrigger Invitational
What: Men's college volleyball
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
Today: Lewis vs. Manitoba, 5 p.m.; Penn St. at Hawaii, 7:30 p.m.
Tomorrow: Lewis vs. Penn St., 5 p.m.; Manitoba at UH, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: Manitoba vs. Penn St., 5 p.m.; Lewis at UH, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Lower section: $14; Upper section: $11 adults, $9 senior citizens, $3 UH students and students 4-18
Radio: All Hawaii matches live, KKEA (1420-AM)
TV: All matches live, KFVE (Ch. 5)
He will take anyone up on a dare.
Challenge him to add volleyball to his impressive athletic resume and, as he told the high school friend who dared him to try out, "Sure." Despite not playing the sport until his junior year, the 6-foot-7 Thomas was such a quick learner that within three years, he was a Freshman All-American and a member of the U.S. junior national team.
Dare him to leave the comfort of playing middle blocker -- the only position he's ever known -- for the unknown of the outside, Thomas says "Sure." The test results from the experiment in last Friday's alumni match came back positive; the Hawaii junior had 10 kills in 14 swings, hitting .429.
However, that was against a shorter, slower, undermanned alumni team. The true test begins when Hawaii takes on Penn State in tonight's second match of the 10th Outrigger Invitational at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"We'll find out this weekend how it's working," said Warrior associate head coach Tino Reyes. "A lot of it will have to do with how he reacts to adversity. Now you're not hitting against one blocker, you'll be hitting against a double, sometimes triple block.
"It's not like hitting in the middle, where guys can hit .500, .600. He's going to have to hit sets that are not as good. If he can adjust to that, we'll be fine."
And Thomas is fine with that.
"I like the move," Thomas said. "I get a lot more swings and a lot more opportunities to help the team. It's more fun out there."
The sport wasn't that much fun when Thomas started his career at Sacramento's John F. Kennedy High. He was an established star in soccer and basketball; he went out for volleyball "more as a joke."
"Our team wasn't very good. The tallest player before I showed up was 5-6," said Thomas. "I was pretty horrible in the beginning and I didn't start.
"I don't know what happened but I began to enjoy it more. I had success. I love the game now."
Thomas' athleticism allowed head coach Mike Wilton to make the change. Wilton also had the luxury of not needing Thomas' height in the middle with the addition of 6-6 freshman setter Brian Beckwith and the return of 6-8 sophomore Mauli'a LaBarre.
Wilton had thought about the move since Thomas was a freshman and Thomas practiced on the outside a little the past two years. When sophomore hitter Jose Delgado went down with a back injury in December with the possibility of not returning until next month, the Thomas conversion became a necessity.
"We felt all along that this was something we wanted to do some day," said Wilton. "When the thing happened with Jose, we decided to pursue it.
"The idea is it gives us a guy who can hit over people and be a real force. We've seen enough so far that we want to continue the project. He's got the tools for the job. But there's a big mental requirement. He's got to develop an outside hitter's mentality. It's a different deal than being a quick attacker."
"I think he's making the transition real well," said Beckwith, scheduled to start tonight against the Flyers. "He's super athletic and he's progressing every day. He keeps getting better and better."
It's been the story of Thomas' volleyball life where he went from not playing the sport to ranking in the Top 15 nationally the past two years in hitting percentage. He has continued to improve statistically in every category, nearly doubling his blocks (73 as a freshman, 140 as a sophomore) and more than doubling his aces (20 vs. 41).
"I have really high expectations for this team," said Thomas. "I don't want to jinx it by saying how good we can be but I'm really excited about this year. We have a lot of potential.
"Growing up, I never expected the kind of attention we get, getting recognized, signing autographs, shaking little kids' hands. It's amazing. Volleyball was nothing where I lived and here you get praised for it."
Thomas considers himself lucky to have been part of the Warriors' 2002 NCAA championship squad. Will this year's team be at home playing in the final four in May?
Thomas dares anyone to think differently.
Note: Yesterday's media day included junior backup setter Daniel Rasay conducting his own interviews with a video camera. "I know what's it's like not to be interviewed, so I'm interviewing those who aren't getting interviewed so they don't feel left out," he said.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hawaii's Daniel Rasay interviewed teammate Matt Bender during yesterday's media day at the Stan Sheriff Center.
