With a week to go before the Hawaii men's basketball team's first exhibition game, the Rainbow Warriors' flex-motion offense remains a work in progress.

Coach Bob Nash brought the Rainbow Warriors' second batch of practices to a close yesterday after seeing the team run fullcourt, five-on-five sessions on both Thursday and Friday. Yesterday, he went back to breaking things down in halfcourt settings.

“;(Friday) they weren't getting that part of it down as crisp as I would like,”; Nash said. “;I think our halfcourt stuff is starting to come around, and I think we'll spend a little more time in the halfcourt to make sure we're solid in it. We know that we can get out and run and get some transition baskets off of turnovers and rebounds. But after made baskets guys gotta be in certain places to make that happen, and (Friday) that wasn't happening.”;

Starting jobs, for the most part, remain up for grabs, though Nash hinted he'd be leaning toward those with solid knowledge of the offensive system going into next Sunday's friendly contest against Hawaii-Hilo at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Junior newcomer Roderick Flemings continues to recover from a sprained ankle that has limited his mobility. He'll figure to be a lock to start at shooting guard or small forward if he keeps making progress.

Sophomore Kareem Nitoto has emerged as the front-runner at point guard, in part because Hiram Thompson has been hampered by nagging injuries and illness.

“;Guys are getting into basketball shape now, so everything's starting to look a little better,”; said Nitoto, who worked the position as a reserve last year. “;We got Petras (Balocka) running the floor hard, so we're looking pretty good.”;

Guard Lasha Parghalava's energy has been infectious for his squad during drills, and fellow Pensacola (Fla.) JC transfer Balocka has displayed both brute strength and a soft touch around the basket.

Returning forwards Bill Amis and Adhar Mayen have missed a practice with illness, but have displayed solid knowledge of the system with a year under their belts.

Satterwhite going under knife

Second-year freshman Gary Satterwhite Jr. said he plans to have surgery next week to repair torn cartilage in his left (non-shooting) shoulder. The walk-on guard out of Radford initially was hurt just prior to the official start of the season, and re-aggravated the joint while doing one-on-one drills with Parghalava this week.

He hopes to return this season, but a medical hardship is a possibility.

“;I redshirted last year, so I really don't want to do it again, but my main thing is to get healthy,”; Satterwhite said. “;Hopefully, I get one of those (medical hardships) and work from there. Right now I'm just worried about getting my shoulder healthy and back to where it needs to be.”;