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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
’Bows had a good,
not great, seasonDOES NIT mania count as March Madness?
Uh, no.
(At least not for the first couple of rounds, anyway.)
And there is no real guarantee of even that much, as Hawaii's Western Athletic Conference tournament run ended in its first game yesterday, when Phil Martin's putback bounced out.
It would be great to see these guys play at home one more time. But even if that doesn't happen it's been a pretty good year.
A great year?
Oh, heck no.
A very good year? I'm not saying that either. Don't get me wrong. Not even close.
But these Rainbows surprised us. They went on a nice run, flirted with first place. It was fun when they rocked the house at home.
This team was fun.
As usual, the road was a much scarier place, but the 'Bows showed toughness when they won three in a row on the continent early in the season. Quite an accomplishment.
During this final stretch run, the tank looked (in the paper and on TV) empty.
Bracket busted, bubble burst.
And so today there's a chance it's over. Already.
After all this program has done these past few years, this feels early. We're used to UH finding some late magic. A manic run. Instead, yesterday, the ball bounced out.
SO TODAY, SHOULD you feel disappointed? Sure.
Frustrated? You wouldn't be a fan if you didn't.
Hopeful? Why not? Go for it. The NIT may come calling yet. There's a chance it hasn't ended yet.
But I think this team probably played about to its level, did what it could do (if not more than we expected, when this season started, when Carl English bolted, when this lineup was laid out).
And 19 wins ain't bad.
Yeah, they could have boxed out better and hung onto loose balls harder, especially yesterday. They could have made more stops. They could have made more shots.
You could say that about every team after every loss.
Riley Wallace has his weaknesses. He knows it. If he didn't have any he'd win them all every year (and he'd probably be at UCLA, where they really know how to complain about basketball coaches).
But he's had some nice runs, lately, and this was another one. He coaches with everything he has. His guys play hard, and they win. He has some Rainbow fans disappointed, still hungry, after 19 of them. That says you're doing something right.
And in its WAC tournament opener UH lost a game it could have won. That's happened a few times this season, and it's never easy to watch.
Hawaii was a pretty good team that lost to another pretty good team in a pretty good game.
But they've won more of those, this year, by a good number, and overachieved at times, too. This team raised expectations with its play.
No, it wasn't a great season, it turns out. No, not even a very good one.
But it was a good year.
Yesterday, it ended badly.
Most seasons do.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com