Aloha ball for Riley

UH has a lot riding on Wallace's final regular- season home game -- today against Boise State

For the 598th time, Riley Wallace will endure the uncertainty.

With the practices behind him and the game looming, he'll roil his insides and tighten his nerves contemplating matters now out of his control.

Hawaii vs. Boise State When: Today, 5:05 p.m. Where: Stan Sheriff Center TV: KFVE, Ch. 5 Radio: KKEA, 1420-AM Tickets: $3-$26 Parking: $3 Notes: About 3,000 tickets remained as of yesterday afternoon. ... The first 3,000 fans will receive a team photo. ... Jim Nabors will perform the national anthem before the game and Jimmy Borges will sing "God Bless America."

Such is the life of a college basketball coach.

"The worst part is game day until the tip-off," Wallace said. "All day where you continue to worry about, 'Did we do enough? Did we have everything in? What's it going to be like?' All these things that go through your head and the pressure builds up.

"And then when you have your tip, it's all natural."

After 20 years spent building and maintaining the Hawaii basketball program, Wallace will walk out of the tunnel and take his customary seat on the UH bench -- fifth from the left -- for the last time in a regular-season game at the Stan Sheriff Center when the Rainbow Warriors face Boise State today.

Since formally announcing his resignation at the conclusion of this season, Wallace has been saluted at various stops around the Western Athletic Conference. But none of those will challenge his composure nearly as much as today's send-off at the Sheriff Center.

"That'll be hard," Wallace conceded as his final home game approached. "It'll be very hard."

Forward Ahmet Gueye and guard Matt Lojeski will be recognized with the annual senior night ceremony following the WAC game. Wallace will then be honored for his two decades as coach.

Though the arena will be thick with emotion after the game, Wallace won't allow himself or the team to get caught up in the hoopla prior to the 5:05 p.m. tip-off.

"Not before the game," he said. "I've demanded that out of my players. The game and winning come first, and then we celebrate afterward. It'll be a celebration, no matter what."

The Rainbows (17-12, 7-8 WAC) have some important business to attend to before the postgame festivities. They ran their winning streak to three with an 81-64 win over Idaho on Thursday and enter today's game in sixth place in the WAC.

UH can secure the fifth seed in next week's WAC tournament with a win over Boise State (16-12, 8-7) today. A loss drops the 'Bows to seventh and a date with second seed and host New Mexico State in next Thursday's quarterfinals.

"You don't want to do that," Wallace said of possibly playing the host Aggies in the early round. "Boise's good, they've got quality guys at every spot. ... They need it and they know it, so they'll be focused."

The Broncos suffered a 78-77 loss at Fresno State on a last-second shot on Thursday.

Wallace will leave UH as its winningest coach, ranking second in WAC history in overall (333) and league (165) wins and length of service, trailing only UTEP legend Don Haskins.

"When you look at his record and what he's meant to the WAC, he'll be a tough one to replace," said WAC commissioner Karl Benson, who is in town for today's game.

Wallace will officially bid aloha to the program when his contract expires on April 30, which will then lead to a dramatic lifestyle change -- and another kind of uncertainty -- for the 65-year-old from Jerseyville, Ill.

"In 1964, I graduated from college and every year since then every day I got up, basketball's been on my mind," he said. "Whether I'm going to work at the office, whether I'm going to practice, whether I'm going to recruit or just thinking about it, it's always been on my mind for 42 years. So when that stops I've got a big adjustment in my life and that's what I have to decide, what I want to do.

"I'm a very young 65."

Wallace has guided the Rainbows to 16 winning seasons, including the last eight in a row, two WAC regular-season titles and three tournament championships. The team has qualified for the NCAA Tournament three times and made six appearances in the National Invitation Tournament, with this year's 'Bows still striving to send him to the postseason for a 10th time.

"How he turned the program around and how much he really meant to Hawaii is phenomenal," Lojeski said. "I think the fans will come out (today) and appreciate that. And I'm just glad we all get to share it."

Wallace has weathered various health issues and the stresses inherent in coaching Division I basketball to remain the program's cornerstone. And he credits the contributions of longtime assistants Bob Nash and Jackson Wheeler for ensuring the stability of the program.

Shots To Remember Some 93,188 shots (field goals and free throws) have been attempted in Wallace's 597 games as Hawaii head coach. Here are some of the most memorable: Jan. 22, 1994 » Trevor Ruffin weaves up the court and launches a 3-pointer that banks in at the buzzer to lift UH to a 69-66 win over BYU at Blaisdell Arena. March 12, 1994 » Jarinn Akana drains a 3-pointer with about a minute left to give UH the lead for good in the WAC tournament title game against BYU at Salt Lake City's Delta Center for the Rainbows' first championship. Feb. 16, 1995 » Tes Whitlock throws up a prayer from the corner at the buzzer and the ball falls through the net for a 73-70 win over BYU at the Stan Sheriff Center. Dec. 30, 1997 » Erin Galloway soars for an emphatic swat of Kansas center Eric Chenowith's shot. The block sparks UH to the upset of the No. 2 Jayhawks. Feb. 21, 2002 » Mark Campbell hits the first of two free throws to lift UH to an 86-85 win over Tulsa on the school's first "White Out" night. The win propels UH to the WAC regular-season title. Dec. 22, 2004 » Bobby Nash drills a desperation 25-footer, lifting UH to a 55-54 win over Oral Roberts in the semifinals of the Rainbow Classic. Jason Kaneshiro, Star-Bulletin

"I think with Riley, Bob and myself, our whole life has been the program," Wheeler said. "The man is an incredible person. He's loyal, he has high ethics, he thinks about you and your family all the time, we have so much fun here it's ridiculous. It's going to be an emotional time."

Alika Smith was a four-year standout under Wallace as a player in the 1990s and returned last season as an assistant coach.

"Playing for him I left everything out there, and him giving me the opportunity to come back and coach with him has just been an experience of a lifetime," Smith said.

Other assistants have gone on to build their own head coaching careers, including Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh, Jeff Law at Hawaii-Hilo and David Spencer at UC Riverside.

"Probably every day I think back to something I learned from Coach Wallace, whether it's on the court or off the court," said Dixon, whose Panthers are ranked 12th in this week's Associated Press poll.

"It was a learning time and just a great experience. Mainly, he gave me my first job. I'm thankful for Coach Wallace and the opportunity he gave me to learn. It's so much more than Xs and Os, it's how to treat people and how to represent a university."

From his first team in 1987 to the current season, Wallace's emphasis on work ethic has remained constant. And he hopes that principle will help his team wring a few more wins out of his final games -- including game No. 598 today.

"I want to make sure my team is prepared and that they play hard, that's been my goal throughout coaching," he said. "If I show them that I'm busting my ass as hard as I can every day, usually they will, too. That's always been my philosophy."

Wallace to interview at Centenary

Riley Wallace's future could take him back to where his coaching career began.

Wallace said he will interview for the athletic director's position at Centenary, the college he graduated from in 1964 and where he broke into the coaching business as an assistant in 1967. He served as head coach for 1 1/2 seasons.

The Hawaii coach said he'll stop by the Shreveport, La., campus on his way to the Final Four in Atlanta later this month. He said he was contacted by Centenary officials, including the school president, about the position.

"I don't know anything about it or what they're looking for. I just promised them I'd take a look at it," Wallace said.

"It's not a done deal. I haven't given up on the idea that I might want to live here at least part of the time."