GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Chris Botez played junior-college ball in the same division as UH teammate Ryan Schmidt.

Mining the
Pacific Northwest

Four Rainbow Warriors are former
stars in the Northwest Athletic
Association of Community Colleges

It all started by chance really.

Jackson Wheeler happened to be scouting talent at a junior-college tournament in California when a point guard from an Oregon school caught his eye.

Coastal Carolina at Hawaii When: Today, 8:05 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: Live, KFVE (Ch. 5) Radio: Live, KKEA 1420-AM Internet: HawaiiAthletics.com Tickets: $17 (lower level-single seats only); $13 (upper level-adult); $5 (upper level-students); $3 (upper level-UH students); $5 (Super Rooter/Manoa Maniacs). Parking $3. Promotion: Family Night. Purchase one adult ticket and receive two free youth tickets (ages 4-18) Hawaii's NWAACC Stars Chris Botez hometown Portland, Ore. Junior college Chemeketa C.C. in Salem, Ore. Kris Groce hometown Pasco, Wash. Junior college Columbia Basin C.C. in Pasco Seth Caine hometown Seattle Junior college Highline C.C. in Seattle Ryan Schmidt hometown Keizer, Ore. Junior college Linn-Benton C.C. in Albany, Ore.

The Hawaii associate basketball coach convinced Mark Campbell to sign with the Rainbow Warriors and Campbell's success lured Clackamas Community College teammate Michael Kuebler to the islands the next year.

A check-up with the Clackamas coach later netted a tip on a center at another nearby school. And following a tight recruiting battle, Chris Botez is among four UH players who have followed the path from the Pacific Northwest to Manoa this season.

Along with Botez, guards Kris Groce and Seth Caine and redshirt forward Ryan Schmidt are all products of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges.

"It is weird how we all ended up here," said Caine, a junior from Seattle. "When I came out here and I found out all of them were from the NWAACC I was really surprised. It's good to see that."

It took the exploits of Campbell and Kuebler to alert the UH coaches to the resources available in the Northwest, and they have since established contacts in the conference, which could pay dividends down the road.

"You always want to go back to where it's been good to you," Wheeler said.

Groce was the Most Valuable Player in the NWAACC's Eastern Region in his only season at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash., averaging 21.4 points and 7.4 assists last season.

Botez (Chemeketa C.C.) and Schmidt (Linn-Benton C.C.) played against each other for their Oregon schools in the NWAACC South Division for two years and met up again when they reported to the UH campus.

"At first I was like, 'You're here too?' " said Botez, who opened his UH career with 15 points and 16 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday. "Ryan was like 5 minutes away from my JUCO."

Both Botez and Schmidt earned first-team all-star honors in the division last year. Schmidt said Hawaii probably would not have popped up on his radar if not for Kuebler's lead.

"I always had my eye on their games and paid attention to his stuff," Schmidt said. "The more I think about it, if it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't have thought about it.

"It's cool to be able to relate to people about the cold weather back home and everything. I'm calling back home and it's 34 degrees in Oregon, so it's a little bit of a difference."

Kuebler, who made 97 3-pointers last season, is finishing up his course work at UH before pursuing a professional basketball career overseas next year and enjoys seeing more NWAACC players join the UH program.

"The other guys could see how we were able to make it a good two years and they feel like they can come out and do the same thing," Kuebler said.

"I definitely think there's a lot of good competition and a lot of good players and I think (Division I) schools are starting to figure that out now. It seems like more players are getting picked up by bigger schools and guys are able to make stuff happen."

While Botez and Groce are part of the UH rotation this season, Schmidt and Caine are biding their time.

Schmidt wanted to use a redshirt year to develop his game while learning the small-forward position from current starter Julian Sensley.

Caine averaged 15.9 points as a sophomore at Highline C.C. in Seattle two years ago. He enrolled at UH last year, but some of his credits didn't transfer over and Caine wasn't eligible to play. He walked on this season and, although playing time figures to be hard to come by, is grateful for his place with the team.

"In the past I've always been one of the starting five, but I'm comfortable with this role because it's just fun," said Caine, whose father, Ichabod, is a prominent Seattle disc jockey. "I love being part of a D-I program, especially Hawaii, so I'm fine with my role."