Rainbows return to court following 12-day layoff

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Are you ready for some basketball?

The University of Hawai'i's version of Monday Night Basketball will take place tonight when the Rainbow Warriors play host to Alcorn State at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"It's the only date we could get them," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "It doesn't really matter to me. You have to show up and play no matter what day it is."

The 'Bows, who are off to a 5-1 start, have certainly had enough time to prepare.

Hawai'i's last game came on Nov. 27, a 60-58 victory over Northwestern State. Over the next 12 days, the 'Bows practiced nine times.

"At this point, we're kind of sick of beating up on each other," said sophomore guard Carl English, who leads the team with 17.8 points per game. "We're all anxious to get back out there and see how much we improved in the last two weeks."

If anything, the depth has improved with the addition of 6-foot-9 junior forward Luc-Arthur Vebobe. He was declared eligible by the NCAA last week and will make his UH debut tonight.

However, Vebobe's addition may be neutralized if senior guard Mike McIntyre and freshman center Milos Zivanovic are unable to play tonight.

McIntyre has practiced sparingly the last few days with a bruised thigh; a flu-like virus has kept Zivanovic out of the last three practices. Both are reserves, although McIntyre is one of the tri-captains and ranks third on the team with 11.5 points per game.

"If those guys can't go, we're in the same situation we were before," Wallace said. "Guys who can go just have to be ready to play a lot of minutes and not get in foul trouble."

It might help that Alcorn State is struggling. The Braves are 1-4, with their only win against an NAIA team. Their two games in December have resulted in blowout losses — 87-55 at New Mexico on Dec. 1, and 102-61 at Alabama-Birmingham last Tuesday.

"It's not a gimme," Wallace warned. "We're not good enough to just show up and beat somebody. We have to play hard for 40 minutes every game."

Besides, the UH football team already set a standard with its 72-45 victory over Brigham Young Saturday.

"If they scored 72, we have to get 100," sophomore center Haim Shimonovich said.

Added English: "I already heard it, that we have to score more than 72. But as long as we win, I don't care how much we get."

If the 'Bows are to clean up tonight, they got a head start yesterday when the entire team, including coaches, picked up trash around the Manoa campus. The idea for community service was ideal, even if the date was not.

"We have to do our part to help the school," Shimonovich said. "But I think we picked the wrong day to do it. I guess all the students were partying after the football game because we picked up a lot of trash — a lot of beer cans."

For the seventh consecutive game, the 'Bows will play without star guard Predrag Savovic, who remains under NCAA investigation for his past participation in a Yugoslavian league.