Rainbows tip off
season tomorrow
The time for preparation is over.
Since coming together for Midnight Ohana, the Hawaii basketball team worked to blend the talents of five new scholarship players with six returnees over five weeks of practices, most of which were closed to the public.
The Rainbow Warriors gave their fans a sneak preview with a lopsided exhibition win over UH-Hilo last week and they're anxious to finally test themselves with wins and losses on the line.
"I think our confidence is always huge," UH senior Jeff Blackett said. "You could tell in the exhibition everyone was really hyped and really excited to play and I think that carries over to your confidence."
The Rainbows open the campaign with three games in a week's span starting with tomorrow's opener against Mississippi Valley State at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.
After facing the Delta Devils, UH plays Coastal Carolina on Friday and Southern Illinois a week from today.
"There are not a lot people who know what we have within this arena right now," junior guard Deonte Tatum said. "So for us to get off to a good start, it's going to set the tone for how our whole season's going to be. If we get off to a good start we're going to start opening eyes."
Competition in practice has made it difficult for UH head coach Riley Wallace to define a starting unit. He hopes the daily battles will create depth, allowing him to keep fresh players on the floor.
"If I can maintain the intensity of the 11 scholarship players, then your job would be, 'We need you to play 25 minutes because we've got 15 minutes out of this guy,' " Wallace said. "I think that would be the first time that I've been able to look at it that way."
Blackett and junior forward Julian Sensley are the team's top returnees, and transfer Chris Botez will likely join them in the front court at center. Junior forward Matt Gipson returned to practice yesterday after sitting out three workouts last week with an infection on his right foot.
The competition in the back court has been a five-player race throughout the preseason and remains close. Matt Gibson and Jake Sottos started the exhibition game, but Tatum, Bobby Nash and Kris Groce figure into the mix as well.
"We have so many different lineups we can go with, I don't blame Coach for not knowing exactly who he's going to start," Sensley said. "I think it depends on who we're playing and who he feels comfortable going with."
Mississippi Valley State opened its season with an 83-76 loss to Jacksonville State. The Delta Devils, who went 22-7 last year and won the Southwestern Athletic Conference's regular-season title, return the guard combo of Solomon Forbes and Hosea Butler.
"We started the season with a lot of new guys and we're trying to develop some chemistry," said Lafayette Stribling, who enters his 22nd season as MVS head coach. "We're trying to learn each other. ... You can't do it in a short period of time, a lot of times it takes game experience to get things going, so all of this is going to be good for us."
Forbes averaged 14 points per game last season and scored 22 against Jacksonville State.
"We watched a little film on them and went through some things in practice and they're really athletic," Sensley said. "They just spread the floor and try to beat you off the dribble."
