UH basketball picked to finish second in WAC
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WAC preseason basketball coaches' poll
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The basketball coaches in the Western Athletic Conference are apparently well aware of Hawai'i's potential this season.
Advertiser library photo • March 10, 2001
The UH men's team was picked to finish second in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll released yesterday. Fresno State, which is expected to be a top 25 team, was picked first. The conference's 10 coaches voted, but they could not vote for their own team.
The UH men's basketball team came on strong at the end of last season, winning the WAC Tournament and the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament berth. The Warriors celebrated (above) after their 78-72 overtime victory over Tulsa in the WAC Tournament final. Conference coaches picked Hawai'i second, behind Fresno State, in the 2001-2002 preseason poll.
"It's nice recognition for the program," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "But the thing is, the preseason poll is never accurate when you compare it to the (final standings), so you can't read too much into it."
Last season, the Rainbow Warriors were predicted to finish sixth, but wound up winning the WAC Tournament championship and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight players return from last season's 17-14 team, including leading scorer Predrag Savovic.
"I think a lot of the coaches liked what we did at the end of last season and they know we have a good group coming back," Wallace said. "But you can still use (the poll) as motivation. Unless you're picked first, you can always aim to finish higher than what you were picked."
Fresno State, which went 26-7 last season, received nine of the 10 first-place votes, including Wallace's. Hawai'i received the other. Tulsa was picked to finish third, and Texas-El Paso fourth.
"We're not going to change the way we play because of this," Savovic said. "We're still going to play hard like we did last year and try to keep it going from last year."
Fresno State center Melvin Ely was picked as the preseason Player of the Year. Savovic was selected to the preseason All-WAC first team along with Ely, Chris Jefferies of Fresno State, Damon Hancock of Southern Methodist and Kevin Johnson of Tulsa.
"It doesn't mean anything to me," said Savovic, who averaged 17.6 points per game last season. "It's nice to get the honor, but this is still a team game."
NOTE: After sitting out last week's Midnight 'Ohana because of an infection on his left forearm, senior forward Mindaugas Burneika returned to practice this week.
