Hawai'i hopes for no letdown against Nevada

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Forget about that victory over Fresno State on Thursday.

•	Nevada vs. Hawai'i • When: 7 p.m. • Where: Stan Sheriff Center

OK, it's still early — way too early, actually — to be hyping a game as having championship implications. But the importance of tonight's game has not been lost among the Rainbow Warriors.

Both Hawai'i and Nevada opened the conference season with victories on Thursday. The 'Bows defeated preseason WAC favorite Fresno State, 83-73; the Wolf Pack beat San Jose State, 91-85 in overtime, at San Jose, Calif.

"The winner of (tonight's) game is 2-0 and the leader in the WAC," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "The wins all count the same, so (tonight) is as important as any."

Hawai'i was still riding high during practice yesterday after Thursday's impressive victory.

"It was a great practice," Wallace said. "You can see how much a win like that can mean, mentally."

It was especially uplifting for sophomore forward Carl English, who broke out of a shooting slump by draining a career-high five 3-pointers against Fresno State. His sharpshooting prowess continued during yesterday's practice, and Wallace even instructed English to take a break during a scrimmage drill because "I don't want him to use it all in practice."

Despite matching his season-high with 22 points against Fresno State, English said: "It's over. We won. Big deal. We have to worry about Nevada now."

Indeed, the Wolf Pack may be the WAC's most improved team this season. Of course, they had the most room for improvement after finishing last in the WAC last season with a conference record of 3-13.

"This is a very good ball club that's coming in," Wallace said. "They don't have the reputation like Fresno, but they're very good."

In its first season in the WAC last season, Nevada did not win a conference road game, finishing 0-8. It already broke that streak on Thursday with the victory over San Jose State.

"It was a win and it beats the alternative," Nevada head coach Trent Johnson said. "It was nice to open with a win, period, whether it be on the road or at home."

But Wallace said: "That road win is probably better than our home win."

The Wolf Pack relies primarily on three quick guards — 6-foot-3 Garry Hill-Thomas, 6-2 Terrance Green, and 5-11 Andre Hazel.

Bob Nash, the UH associate head coach who scouts opponents, said the three Nevada guards create "a cat and mouse game."

"If you play up close on them, they have the quickness to get right by you," Nash said. "But if you lay back, they'll hit jump shots on you."

What's more, post players Corey Jackson and Sean Paul are averaging 8.5 and 8.2 points per game, respectively, and Jackson leads the WAC with 10.9 rebounds per game. Also, 6-6 forward Kirk Snyder became eligible on Thursday and recorded 15 points and nine rebounds in his debut.

"The guards do all the running around on the perimeter, so sometimes you forget about the big guys and that's when they hurt you," Nash said.

For its part, Hawai'i is hoping to continue an offense that hit a season-high nine 3-pointers on Thursday. Four 'Bows scored in double-figures, led by Predrag Savovic's 23.

According to Nash, Nevada plays a variety of defenses, mixing between man-to-man and zones throughout games.

Savovic, a 6-6 senior, could play a vital role. He will likely be defended by a shorter player — either Green or Hill-Thomas.

Last season, Savovic scored 15 points in UH's 76-69 home victory over the Wolf Pack. In a 73-60 loss at Nevada, he scored a season-low six.

"We'll see what happens this time," Savovic said. "They are a very good team, very fast."

Savovic is also four points away from becoming the ninth player in UH history to score 1,000 points.

"I didn't even know," he said. "I don't think about those kinds of things."

Even Wallace said he doesn't want any special celebration for the achievement.

"We might congratulate him after the game, or something like that," Wallace said. "But it's not a big thing. It's just a number to (the media)."

After its victory on Thursday, Nevada arrived in Honolulu yesterday afternoon, and then practiced last night. However, Johnson said jet-lag will not be a factor.

"It's basketball, so I don't make a big deal out of travel," he said. "All the games are played indoors no matter where you go. The only problem with traveling to Hawai'i is that there's a very good basketball team waiting to beat you."