Young Bill Amis learned the hard way.

Take a basketball beating—both literally and figuratively—or go home.

The forward's journey from Oklahoma City to Hawaii began when he was 4 or 5. He had little choice but to play with two neighborhood kids three years older than he.

That would be Gene Wyckoff and Marquis Miller. Because there were no nearby children Bill's age, he routinely got punished on the court by the older duo.

“;They drug me out there and made me the player that I am today, beat me up, consistently,”; Amis said with his customary slight grin.

While Amis knows who inspired him to get better (or else) the other Rainbow Warriors give Amis a nod of respect for building himself into a team leader all on his own.

In what was familiar territory from his childhood, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound junior often got knocked around by beefier players in the post last year. With that in mind, Amis was among the most dedicated players in the offseason. He worked diligently to improve his strength—a major point of emphasis after his sophomore campaign—and became a go-to guy in the locker room.

As the lone returning starter from last year's 11-19 team, he was coach Bob Nash's natural choice as acting team captain in the Rainbows' first three games.

“;I thought the way he carried himself this summer, the things he's done this fall in terms of doing what we ask him to do, being where we've asked him to be, he's a guy who's stepped up,”; Nash said.

Nash wasn't referring only to his play (despite a strength-sapping bout of strep throat, Amis is averaging 9.7 points and a team-best 8.3 rebounds through three games for 1-2 Hawaii).

While last year's team lost seven seniors, there weren't necessarily one or two alpha dogs that made the rest fall in line, and Amis was more or less a quiet newcomer.

“;We ... kind of lacked leadership last year,”; Amis said. “;We didn't have anybody who was stepping up and giving advice and it was all kind of us going out there and doing what everyone could do, and everyone kind of took on policing each other.”;

Thus, he took it upon himself to become a vocal presence behind the scenes, if not always on the floor during practices and games.

“;You need to have that—a solid leader, a couple leaders on every team,”; he said. “;That kind of hurt us last year.”;

Nash said the team would pass out a ballot for team captain selections within the next day or two. Amis figures to be a lock for solo or shared duty.

Small forward Adhar Mayen appreciates how Amis, who averaged 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds last year, has evolved into a starter after being a reserve all four years at Putnam City High School and his lone season at Pratt (Kan.) Community College.

“;He's never been a starter, in high school, middle school, he's had to work his way up,”; Mayen said. “;Now he's worked his way all the way up to captain. That shows a lot of heart, desire to keep on working hard, and not giving up on life goals.”;

Amis came on strong near the end of last year, scoring in double figures in seven of the final nine games. He also posted team bests in field-goal percentage (55.7) and blocked shots (40).

The looks haven't been as clean this season (he's shooting 42.9 percent), as teams have packed the paint and dared Hawaii to shoot against zone defenses. But he has a soft left-handed jumpshot that can help spread the floor from the power forward position.

Newcomer Petras Balocka should also ease the burden of banging inside.

“;This year he's got more help in there, so he's at his natural position, which is the 4,”; Nash said. “;That gives him more out on the perimeter, a little bit more speed. An ideal fit for him.”;

Better than getting beat up by the likes of Gene Wyckoff and Marquis Miller, at any rate.