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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
’Bows having fun,
and it’s contagiousTHE boys are back in town. Like that old tune about Johnny and hanging down at Deano's (Geno's? Nemo's?) and that chick who got up and threw her drink in Johnny's face.
Something like that.
This game was so festive it had its own theme song.
This Hawaii basketball team built a buzz with its historic three-game conference road sweep. Last night -- UTEP in town, Hawaii at home after winning four in a row -- you had to be there.
And last night it all happened. There was excitement again. Last night there was fun again, contagious, infectious fun. Michael Kuebler joyously giving up an automatic layup to serve up a Julian Sensley dunk fun. That kind of fun.
"That shows what this team's all about," Riley Wallace said.
These Rainbows look like a team that swept through the Western Athletic Conference tournament a couple of seasons ago. Sans Savo, of course. There's no replacing a player like that.
But maybe these Rainbows found something on that last road trip. Everybody's rolling, everything was working.
"Eleven days is a long time (to be gone) and we came back happy," Wallace said. "That probably gave them the energy not to be tired."
Hawaii went 12 deep in the first half and 10 of them made plays that even a sportswriter could see.
Everybody was an impact player. Ten spark plugs, against a team that came in almost as hot.
"The first half showed you some great intensity," Wallace said.
Wow, it was fun to watch.
Hawaii was in a zone last night. Collectively. As one. There was JC Carter (who was everywhere) threading a telegraphic Wayne Gretzky pass that ended in a Sensley slam. Logan Lee efficient. Jeff Blackett almost automatic inside. Kuebler quietly 4-for-6 from 3. Bobby Nash showing he can play here.
Haim Shimonovich. A special night.
There was Haim making hustle plays, blocked shots and putbacks, and motioning for his teammates to get into it, to join him in moving on the break.
Haim and hustle in the same sentence. There. Now Riley Wallace's life's work is complete.
"We can't be satisfied with this victory," Haim said.
Of course I'm getting carried away. Of course it was too good to be true. UH played pretty well, but the ball also bounced in all the right places in all the right times. Everything was almost perfect, which means it may never happen again.
"It's games like this where everyone kind of contributes," Kuebler said. "It makes it a lot funner."
You could feel it.
Just like that old song -- the feeling that summer's come, that everything's going to be all right now. In fact it's going to be great, now that the boys are here again.
Yes, this team looks like it could win three in the WAC tournament, if it plays like this.
"We just have really good team chemistry this year," Kuebler said. "Everyone's behind each other, and it helps."
It doesn't just help. It shows.
For a night at least, the 'Bows are back.
WAC men's standings
Yesterday
Conference All games W L Pct. W L Pct. Hawaii 5 1 .800 13 3 .813 Rice 5 1 .800 13 4 .765 Fresno St. 5 2 .833 9 7 .563 Nevada 4 3 .500 10 6 .625 UTEP 3 3 .600 12 4 .750 Boise St. 3 3 .400 11 5 .688 Tulsa 2 4 .400 6 9 .400 Louisiana Tech 2 4 .333 8 8 .500 SMU 2 4 .333 8 8 .500 San Jose St. 0 6 .000 5 11 .313
Boise St. 70, San Jose St. 54
Rice 65, Fresno St. 63
Nevada 80, Tulsa 71
Hawaii 85, UTEP 63Tomorrow
UTEP at San Jose State, noon
Louisiana Tech at SMU, 3 p.m.
Tulsa at Fresno State, 5 p.m.
Rice at Nevada, 5:05 p.m.
Boise State at Hawaii, 7:05 p.m.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com