It was one last tantalizing glimpse of what might have been, and what still could be.

On Saturday, Hawaii's Roderick Flemings showed people in the Stan Sheriff Center what it meant to walk upon air. In his best all-around game as a Rainbow Warrior — featuring several above-the-rim highlights — Flemings led UH to a senior-night victory over Nevada and kept hopes alive for a Western Athletic Conference tournament berth.

Though the exasperating UH season of 2009-10 isn't over yet for Rainbows fans, to them it had to feel like a last hurrah of unfulfilled potential. UH can qualify for the tourney with a win at eighth-place nemesis Boise State tomorrow, but must overcome an 0-7 road record.

Flemings, the 6-foot-7 senior swingman, will be the first to tell you that things didn't happen quite as he envisioned when he signed with the Rainbows in the summer of 2008 as a junior out of Weatherford (Texas) College.

This was the guy who did the unthinkable — spurned Kentucky — and elected to finish out his journeyman's college career in the middle of the Pacific on his way to the NBA Draft.

That was the dream. This is the nightmare: He's dealt with nagging ailments both seasons and watched as things around him went from bad to worse in a hurry, with an almost-comical sequence of what's-going wrong-next? events during his senior year.

HE IS AWARE of the hype that shrouded him on the way, following an outstanding prep career at Desoto (Texas) High School, a season at Oklahoma State, and a JUCO All-America year at Weatherford.

“;I mean, it's been a rough two years, man. I am kind of disappointed it hasn't reached that level,”; Flemings said. “;Especially because of injuries (ankle and knee sprains). I really haven't been a person to get injured in my life, so this is a very different experience for me. I'm glad it wasn't a serious injury or nothing like that, but I'm just kind of disappointed that I couldn't even show what I could do throughout the whole season.”;

No one can say Flemings quit on his 10-18 (3-11 WAC) team. Over the last half of the season, the Dallas native has been a man on a mission — coinciding with his renewed health. By averaging 20.5 points over the Rainbows' last 10 games, he raised his senior scoring average to 16.6 points per game. He's also notched six double-doubles this year.

Point guard Hiram Thompson appreciates the work Flemings has put in despite all the 'Bows' hardships, which have included two season-ending injuries to teammates and the indefinite suspension of scorer Dwain Williams. The team captain was “;in awe”; of some of Flemings' sky-high dunks and rebounds on senior night, when Flemings played in front of 11 family members, including his mom, grandma, and sister from Dallas.

“;He's really carrying us as a team,”; Thompson said. “;We know he's our leader. Coming out each day and bringing it, so when he's doing that he's hard to stop.”;

SOME HAD Flemings pegged as a second-round NBA Draft pick at the start of the season, but he dropped off the radar with a slow start to an anticipated monster final year.

He's closed strong, however, with the return of his freakish leaping ability. His one-handed alley-oop slam vs. New Mexico State on Jan. 21 remains a topic of conversation, and is his favorite moment at UH.

His regular conversations with his mom, Kim, and grandmother, Lula, help him balance the good moments with the bad. And there've been a lot of the latter.

“;My family's been real supportive, just trying to keep me motivated,”; Flemings said. “;Sometimes I get down on myself, because I've never been like a loser. Lose a lot of games and things like that. So they just try to keep me up, tell me I got to keep playing. Show people that I can play. Gotta keep it going.”;

He went for 39 in a losing effort to Cal Poly on Feb. 20, the fourth-highest output ever for a UH player and most by a 'Bow in the Sheriff.

Unfortunately, it might be a case of too little, too late for NBA teams — at least until he proves himself elsewhere, like in upcoming summer camps or in an alternate league.

“;I think Rod still has a long ways to go to get drafted,”; said Aran Smith of the Web site nbadraft.net. “;The big scoring output should help his cause in securing a spot at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (a Virginia event for top college players). I think he lands on an (NBA) Summer League roster and from there it will take finding a role with a team. Most likely he'll end up in Europe or D-League. He still has a ways to go skill-wise, but has an intriguing combination of strength and athleticism.”;

FLEMINGS KNOWS there's much more to be done, and what lies before him.

“;I'm just trying to focus to get on a team, man, some kind of professional level to make money playing basketball,”; he said. “;Wherever that might be.

“;But I know I got a shot at playing in the league.”;

With his 20-point, 12-rebound effort against Nevada, Flemings moved past Terry Houston and Al Davis into 18th place on the UH career scoring list. At 929 points, he is behind only Tom Henderson (1,082), Anthony Carter (1,070), Reggie Cross (1,013), Michael Kuebler (977) and Trevor Ruffin (967) among two-year players at UH.

He's eighth in free-throws made (241) and seventh in free-throws attempted (346) with at least two games left. He's currently tied with Predrag Savovic for eighth in career scoring average.

“;That ability has always been there,”; UH coach Bob Nash said. “;He's just starting to exhibit it. As he got in better shape and looking at his future, the certain things he has to do nightly, he's gotta play defense, he's gotta score, he's gotta do a lot of different things for us, play a lot of minutes. He's taken on the coaching.”;

What pleased Nash the most, though, is Flemings being on track to graduate this spring.

What'd please Flemings the most is making the WAC tournament and upsetting a few teams along the way. In this kind of season, can you blame him?

“;It'd feel great,”; Flemings said. “;That'd be like a fairy-tale ending.”;