Basketball 'Bows learn benefits of strength, speed

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Training camp for the Hawai'i men's basketball team isn't all about points and rebounds.

Predrag Savovic led the Rainbows in a recently timed mile in 5 minutes, 5 seconds. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

Sure, Predrag Savovic can light up a scoreboard on the basketball court. But did you know that he is also light on his feet? Savovic, a 6-foot-6 senior from Yugoslavia, can run a 5-minute mile, something no other UH male athlete can match.

While Mike McIntyre's ability to drain 3-point shots is impressive, so is his football-lineman strength in the squat (600 pounds) and leg-press (1,200 pounds).

"That's the stuff that's going to help them in the long run," head coach Riley Wallace said. "It comes down to what you can do on the court, but what you do away from it to improve your game can only help."

Team practices started last weekend, and in addition to the daily dribbling, passing and shooting, each Rainbow Warrior is being required to lift weights at least twice a week this season.

"It's something you need throughout the season," McIntyre said. "It's when you're tired at the end of games and at the end of the season, when you have to gut it out, that's where all the weightlifting comes into play."

To be sure, strength coordinator Tommy Heffernan recently conducted a series of tests to determine where each player stood in various exercises. The results:

• 1-mile run: Savovic completed the mile in 5 minutes, 5 seconds, although he considered that an "average" time for him. He claims to have a personal best of 4:50, and that no teammate has come close to catching him in his four years at UH (including a redshirt season).

"I run a lot on my own during the summer," he said. "I want to be first in everything, so I don't let anybody come close to me."

Carl English was second at 5:18.

• Bench press: In the ultimate test of upper-body strength, a mere five pounds proved to be like an agonizing missed shot at the buzzer.

Savovic, McIntyre and center Haim Shimonovich each "maxed out" at 295 pounds.

"I know I can do 300," McIntyre said. "But, I don't know, I guess I lost it on that day."

However, at 205 pounds, McIntyre can be considered the strongest among those three, pound-for-pound. Savovic is listed at 225 pounds, Shimonovich 245.

Shimonovich is the most improved, increasing his bench press by nearly 50 pounds since last year. The most impressive might be 148-pound Lance Takaki, who lifted 275 pounds.

• "Cleans": In the Olympic-style lift that required players to hoist the barbell off the ground and up to their shoulders in one motion, freshman Tony Akpan was the strongest.

The 242-pound forward did three repetitions of 216 pounds. "And that's all baby strength," McIntyre said. "He's going to be way stronger in a couple of years."

McIntyre, Savovic and Phil Martin were next at 211.

• "Squats": When it comes to leg strength, no player approaches McIntyre. On the testing day, he stopped at five repetitions of 545 pounds. No other player reached 500.

"My legs is my strength," he said. "That's where you get your help defensively. When you're tired, you can rely on your legs to keep you in it."

English and Martin were next at 485.

• Vertical jump: Countering the notion that white men can't jump, point guard Mark Campbell leaped 33 inches off the ground from a standing position.

Luc-Arthur Vebobe, the team's slam-dunk champion, also reached 33.

"A lot of people don't know that about me because I don't really like to dunk — that's not part of my game," said the 6-4 Campbell. "But if I get a breakaway all by myself, I might do one."

Notes: Senior forward Mindaugas Burneika could be sidelined anywhere from one to three weeks with a grade-two strain of the peroneal tendon in his left ankle. He suffered the injury during Wednesday's practice. ... In a separate incident during Thursday's practice, Vebobe bruised his right knee. He is listed as day-to-day.

2001-02 schedule

November
11—California All-Stars (exhibition).
16 and 18—Nike Tip-Off Tournament (Hawai'i, Drake, Sam Houston and Norfolk State).
23-25—at Big Island Invitational (Hawai'i, Hawai'i-Hilo, Colorado State, LSU, Mercer, Pepperdine, Weber State and Wisconsin).
27—Northwestern State.

December
10—Alcorn State.
14—San Diego State.
19-22—Outrigger Rainbow Classic (Hawai'i, Arkansas State, Boston College, Georgia, Holy Cross, Iona, Miami (Ohio) and Portland).
27—Fresno State*.
29—Nevada*.

January
3—at Texas-El Paso*.
5—at Boise State*.
10—Louisiana Tech*.
12—SMU*.
19—at San Jose State*.
24—at Rice*.
26—at Tulsa*.
31—Boise State*.

February
2—Texas-El Paso.
7—at SMU*.
9—at Louisiana Tech*.
16—San Jose State*.
21—Tulsa*.
23—Rice*.
28—at Nevada*.

March
2—at Fresno State*.
6-9—at Western Athletic Conference Tournament (Tulsa, Okla.).

*WAC game