Hawaii men's basketball senior forward Bill Amis will likely redshirt, instead of forcing a midseason comeback from a foot injury, UH coach Bob Nash said yesterday.

A final decision will be made during or after final exams next week, but the Rainbow Warriors (4-4) are prepared to carry on without the post play, shooting and leadership the 6-foot-9, 220-pound Amis offered. Amis went down with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot against Brigham Young-Hawaii in a preseason exhibition.

“;Some decision will be made after the finals. At this point in time, we're leaning toward the redshirt,”; Nash said. “;It wouldn't be fair to Bill to jeopardize himself.”;

The coach added that Amis continues to rehab the injury. At recent practices, the senior has taken shots, but his foot was still wrapped in a boot. He wasn't at yesterday's practice and couldn't be reached for comment.

The native of Oklahoma City was second on the Rainbows in scoring as a junior (10.7 points per game) and first in rebounds (6.5 per game) and blocked shots (41).

Fellow senior post player Petras Balocka has raised his game in the absence of last year's team captain, with 9.9 points and 10.7 rebounds per game (second among Western Athletic Conference players). Center Paul Campbell has picked up the rim defense with just under two blocks per game.

“;It's just one of those situations. We're put in the corner and we just gotta find a way out,”; Balocka said. “;I mean, it's bad for us that he's not gonna play, but I mean, we can't look back. “;We gotta move forward and we got games to play and we can't just sit down now like bow our heads down and think like it's over, you know.”;

He felt taking a redshirt was the right decision for his former roommate, instead of forcing the issue.

“;If he comes back now or in a couple weeks, it's not going to be the same Bill that he was at the beginning of the season,”; Balocka said.

Amis — who had 27 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in the team's first exhibition vs. Hawaii-Hilo — is set to graduate in summer 2010.