Roderick Flemings wants you to know several things.

First, that the bar is going to be set high for the Hawaii men's basketball team. High enough that if his expectations are reached, the team will have gone farther in the NCAA Tournament than ever before.

Second, he's highly motivated by the collective snub by coaches and media of the Rainbow Warriors in the Western Athletic Conference preseason polls this week, where Hawaii was placed seventh and eighth out of nine teams.

Lastly, Flemings—who suffered a high ankle sprain in the team's first open gym this fall when he landed on guard Kareem Nitoto's foot—wants you to know that whatever is seen out of him today is no indication of what he can really do on the basketball court.

Practice begins around the country today, and Hawaii is no exception, with a 5 p.m. start that is open to the public in UH's Gym 2. Coach Bob Nash eschewed the traditional Twilight Ohana festivities in favor of a full-bore, 3-hour practice.

“;We want to get the WAC championship so we can get in the (NCAA) Tournament,”; said Flemings, a 6-foot-7, 210-pound junior and one of five Rainbow Warriors newcomers on scholarship. “;Our goal is to at least make the Sweet 16. We want to win the whole thing, but we want to set a reasonable goal as a team.”;

Hawaii landed three other junior college recruits in the offseason—forward Petras Balocka (6-foot-8, 250 pounds), guard Lasha Parghalava (6-2, 195) of Pensacola JC (Fla.) and forward Brandon Adams (6-7, 220) of Diablo Valley College (Calif.). True freshman forward Adam Jespersen (6-7, 210) of Ontario, Canada, and walk-on guard Leroy Lutu Jr. (6-3, 200) of Mercer Island, Wash., round out the newcomers.

But Flemings, a first-team All-American of the National Junior College Athletic Association, was the big haul. He averaged 20.7 points per game his lone season at Weatherford College (Tex.) and was also among the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference leaders in rebounds (11.7), blocks (1.5), steals (2.7) and field-goal percentage (.562).

Nash needs him to have a big say in replenishing a Hawaii team that lost seven seniors and 80 percent of its scoring from last season. Where exactly the coach will play Flemings on the floor remains to be seen, though his natural position is small forward.

“;He doesn't have a real position, he's just a player,”; Nash said. “;That's the thing I like about him, and the fact that he's a great young man speaks volumes for where we hope he can take us. He's a guy who will emerge as one of the better players in the WAC, I think, as the year goes along.”;

Flemings knows the team has much to prove. He was disappointed not just at Hawaii's predicted finish in the WAC standings, but also the absence of any Rainbow Warriors on the first and second all-conference teams. Nevada's Luke Babbitt was projected as the newcomer of the year.

“;I mean, it's cool. It's always cool to be an underdog; then you can show people what you're really made of,”; Flemings said with a shake of the head. “;But I seen how low they had us ranked, I seen we have nobody on the All-WAC team. I was really disappointed right there.”; He laughed. “;That hurt my feelings. I don't know, man—I think we'll prove them wrong though.”;

Passing is an integral part of Hawaii's flex-motion offense, and a fully healthy Flemings, who cut his teeth in Division I at Oklahoma State his freshman year, should have ample opportunities to display his lauded court vision.

“;He's just a tremendous athlete, and very gifted in terms of having a high basketball IQ,”; Nash said. “;We're relying on him to make us better by making the guys who he plays with better.”;

The left-handed Flemings, who chose Hawaii over Kentucky and West Virginia, dished out 3.4 assists per game for the Coyotes.

Some of that passing ability might be on display today. He estimated himself only at “;60 or 65 percent”; and is unable to move well laterally because of his ankle.