By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
DAYTON, Ohio — The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team received some sibling support yesterday.
Slobodan Savovic, younger brother of Rainbow guard Predrag Savovic, attended the UH practice yesterday at Nutter Arena on the campus of Wright State University. In addition to a hug and a Yugoslavian greeting, Slobodan gave his brother a video of a game between Ohio State and Syracuse from earlier this season.
Slobodan is a guard for the Buckeyes, and he made the 45-minute drive from the Ohio State campus. Syracuse is Hawai‘i’s first-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
"(Syracuse) plays a lot of two-three zone and they have a lot of big guys," said Slobodan, whose Buckeyes lost to the Orangemen, 77-66, back in November. "But if (Hawai‘i) shoots the ball like they did the last couple of games, I think they can win it."
Slobodan’s Buckeyes are also in the tournament, and will play Utah State in the first round of the East Region on Thursday at Greensboro, N.C. He said the team will depart Ohio today, which gave him time yesterday to visit his brother for the first time since last summer.
Interestingly, Ohio State is a No. 5 seed in the East, just as Syracuse is in the Midwest. The Rainbows are a No. 12 seed.
"We could’ve played (Hawai‘i) because we’re a No. 5 seed," Slobodan said. "I wish we played them."
However, when asked which of the two was the better player, Slobodan said Predrag is because "he’s older, so I have to say he’s better or he’ll beat me up."
 What are friends for?: The Rainbows are using Wright State’s facilities free of charge this week thanks in part to the networking of Hawai‘i assistant coach Scott Rigot.
Rigot is a close friend of Wright State assistant basketball coach Will Rey, who is arranging the practice times this week. They grew up playing and coaching in basketball camps in Pittsburgh.
"I’ve known him 20 years," Rigot said. "We’re like brothers."
Must be the shoes: Hawai‘i point guard Mike McIntyre continues to wear the pair of "rented" shoes he received in Tulsa, Okla., for last week’s Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
McIntyre’s white-and-green Nike shoes broke during the Rainbows’ semifinal victory over Fresno State on Friday, so an equipment manager for Tulsa gave him a pair of blue-and-white Adidas the next day. He went on to score 19 points to help lead the Rainbows over Tulsa that night.
"I like these a lot," McIntyre said. "I’m going to keep wearing ’em."
Because the Rainbows are sponsored by Nike, McIntyre spray-painted over the Adidas logos on the shoes and scribbled various notes like "Go ’Bows" and "Let’s Go" over it.
Injury update: Hawai‘i senior center Troy Ostler practiced on his slightly sprained left ankle yesterday and is expected to start Friday’s game.
Ostler was hurt in the first half of Saturday’s WAC championship victory over Tulsa.
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