Vebobe eager to finally start Rainbow career

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

One ferocious dunk.

After sitting out the first six games of this season, Luc-Arthur Vebobe will make his debut for the Hawai'i men's basketball team tomorrow. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"If I get a chance to dunk, I'm going for it," he said. "But I'll be happy just to be out there, really."

Vebobe, a 6-foot-9 forward, was cleared to play by the NCAA Thursday after sitting out the first six games of this season. He was penalized for participating against professionals in a French league prior to arriving in the United States.

"It wasn't like I was a pro getting paid or anything like that," Vebobe said. "It was actually more like a tryout for me in that league. I hardly played. I remember one game, I only played 35 seconds at the end. I still don't understand why I had to sit out all these games."

He'd like nothing more than to take out all his frustration with a rim-rattling slam dunk.

For those who didn't get a chance to see Vebobe at Midnight 'Ohana — or for those who forgot, since it's been nearly two months since UH's opening practice — he is more than capable of it.

Perhaps the team's most athletically gifted player, Vebobe won the slam-dunk contest at Midnight 'Ohana, and has dunked over virtually every teammate during practices since then (he was allowed to practice with the team while sitting out the penalty).

"He's the kind of player you want to watch if you're a fan," said teammate Mark Campbell, UH's starting point guard. "He'll bring the crowd to its feet. He knows how to finish, put it that way."

UH head coach Riley Wallace said Vebobe will be in the playing rotation at both forward positions, behind starters Mindaugas Burneika and Phil Martin.

"He brings athleticism and he can play above the rim," Wallace said.

Because of his quickness and jumping ability, Vebobe should be an asset on both ends of the court.

"He's long and lanky, but he's quick, so that makes him good defensively," Campbell said. "On offense, he makes everybody's job easier because you can get him the ball up in the air and he'll go get it."

However, Wallace added that Vebobe's progress has been hampered by a lack of game action. What's more, the 'Bows have started 5-1 without Vebobe and guard Predrag Savovic, who is still under NCAA investigation.

Vebobe's last game was nearly nine months ago, when he was a starting forward for Foothill College (Calif.). He averaged 12 points and 4.5 rebounds at Foothill last season.

The 'Bows have not played in nearly two weeks, but as Vebobe noted: "That's nothing. I've been waiting for this game a lot longer."

In celebration of his freedom from NCAA limbo, he also had a promotional idea for tomorrow's game.

"They should let all the students in for free," he said.

Meanwhile, UH has yet to hear from the NCAA on Savovic's eligibility.

UH officials are hoping for a seven- or eight-game penalty for Savovic, who participated in a Yugoslavian league. Savovic, the team's leading scorer last season, has already sat out six games.