Miller time again
for Rainbows

Son of former UH forward Jack
Miller Jr. plans to walk on at
Hawaii for the upcoming season

Bobby Nash will soon have company as a second-generation member of the Hawaii basketball program.

Jack Miller III, the son of the former UH forward of the same name, is planning to join the Rainbow Warriors as a walk-on this season.

Miller, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 17.9 points as a senior at Saint Louis and was named to the Star-Bulletin's Fab 15 this spring.

"It was a family decision; that was a big part of it," Miller said. "My mom was a cheerleader (at UH), so she wanted me to go there as well."

Jack Miller Jr., played for the Rainbows in the early 1980s and was an All-Western Athletic Conference pick during the 1983-84 season, when he averaged 15.4 points and seven rebounds per game.

The younger Miller will follow his father's path by joining Nash -- the son of former UH forward and current associate coach Bob Nash -- on the Rainbows' roster.

"(Head coach Riley Wallace) said he's going to be a little harder on us because our parents did play for (UH)," Miller said.

Miller began his high school career at Iolani, then moved to Ohio, where he lived with his grandparents and attended Findlay High School for two years. He moved back to Hawaii as a senior and graduated from Saint Louis, where he was the primary scorer and top ball-handler for a young Crusaders team.

"He was the only senior on the team and he was the new kid in school, but the kids really rallied around him," Saint Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "He made everyone on the team better, and made everyone feel a part of the team.

"Jack is a very team-oriented basketball player," he added. "He easily could have scored more for us, but the great thing about Jack is he's going to do whatever it takes for the team to be successful."

Tengan said Miller will have to learn to play against taller opponents in college. But Miller already has some experience making the adjustment.

"(Playing in Ohio) got me used to playing with taller kids and a faster type of basketball," he said. "And it helped me mature, because I did a lot on my own."

Miller said Bowling Green tried to lure him back to Ohio, but he decided to stay in the islands with his family. His younger brother, Jamison, is a 6-foot-5 post player entering his sophomore year at Saint Louis.

Miller said he's been working out this summer with Iolani standout Kyle Pape, who is headed for Colorado School of Mines. He will also play in the College Summer Basketball League, which opens Thursday at Manoa District Park.

Current UH players expected to play in the league include Nash, forward Julian Sensley and center Milos Zivanovic.

UH to host Bracket Buster: The Rainbows will host an ESPN Bracket Busters game for the second straight year, Wallace said.

UH has played in the event the last three years and hosted a game for the first time last season, losing to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an eventual Sweet 16 team, 87-81, in a nationally televised matchup.

The Rainbows were sent to the Midwest for games at Kent State and Southern Illinois in the middle of their Western Athletic Conference season in their first two Bracket Busters appearances.

"We weren't able to back it up, but it helped a lot compared to what it was the year before," Wallace said of hosting last year's Bracket Busters game. "I thought we played one of our best games of the year against Milwaukee and still got beat. That shows you how good they were, and it was a good game for TV."

UH plays a road game against UWM this season as a payback for the Panthers' trip here in February.

The Rainbows are also hopeful of getting a spot on ESPN's Big Monday lineup during the WAC season. The WAC reached an agreement with ESPN to replace the Mountain West Conference in the Big Monday package.

Ivy champs coming: Penn, last season's Ivy League champion, has been added to UH's schedule to complete the Rainbows' nonconference slate.

With the WAC shrinking by one team next season, the Rainbows had two spots to fill following the Rainbow Classic in December. North Carolina A&T is set to visit on Dec. 27, with Penn following on Dec. 29.

The nonconference schedule is highlighted by the season opener against Michigan State on Nov. 19 and a home-and-home series vs. UNLV, Nov. 22 in Las Vegas and Dec. 6 in Honolulu.