|
Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
It wasn't easy, but ’Bows
climb to top of standingsTHESE guys are good. In case you just joined us, in case you haven't noticed (Bob Uecker line coming) and judging by last night's attendance, you haven't -- Hawaii is in first place.
Logan Lee made his free throws with 5.7 seconds left, and 7,002 chanted for defense, and a Spartan 3 turned into an alley-oop 2, and the Rainbows escaped by a point.
And in today's standings Hawaii is all alone.
This one was tough. San Jose State always stayed within striking distance, and the Rainbows weren't playing their best game (not consistently, anyway).
Those guys in blue never went away.
This one was harder than it should have been, as San Jose State often is.
"They're always a tough team," UH leading scorer Michael Kuebler would say.
"They outrebounded us," Riley Wallace said. "And they're one of the worst rebounding teams, because of their size, in the league."
UH countered with tough defense. (How many shot-clock violations did the Spartans have? How many times were they forced to go through their offense again and again and again?) Kuebler showed up here, too, blocking a breakaway, sending another sure layup out of bounds. "Thirty-five seconds of defense, every time," he said.
This team has something.
Again. Another one. Hawaii is rolling, Riley Wallace's plans are working. And in case one of those empty seats has your name on it, you're missing another one. Another run. It's happening again.
"Maybe it's that kind of year," Wallace said, "we get all the breaks."
Wallace. If you'd like a look at the definition of every workingman (non Rick Pitino variety) college basketball coach's hero, the picture would probably have a hairdo that cuts to the skin.
Think about it. Yes, going 17 years without getting fired is an accomplishment beyond measure. But more than that, the man is proving the old workingman coaches' axiom that if you've found a coach who is competitive, clean, tough and a guy you can believe in (people still speak appreciatively about Wallace's public stand when Bob Wagner got fired), you stick with him. It will pay off.
Yes, give Wallace 15 years. He'll turn the corner.
That's a joke -- except maybe it isn't.
Yeah, Wallace has always attacked his task hard, with fervor and verve, has been a winner many times -- he's had his share of good years. But these last few feel ... different. Special. Like this isn't a season, but a movement. A program.
Like after almost a decade and a half, sometime before or during that magical WAC tournament run that sent Hawaii to the 2001 NCAAs, Wallace figured it out.
This is the kind of thing every basketball coach knows in his heart would happen, if only he'd been given another season or two.
Well, it's happening.
"I don't think a lot of people believed in this team," Wallace said. "They thought it was just going to be a so-so team, they didn't know the heart and soul of this team. ...
"And it ought to be a team that the state of Hawaii is falling in love with."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com