UH's Savovic eligible for NABC All-America team
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Predrag Savovic might just be lucky and good.
Savovic, the leading scorer on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC)/Pontiac District 13 First Team yesterday.
Savovic was one of 10 players selected to the all-district team, but one of only five on the first team. As a result, he is now one of 150 players eligible for NABC All-America honors.
"It's a great honor," Savovic said. "But I would trade that for five wins right now."
The 'Bows have five regular-season games remaining, starting with Saturday's Western Athletic Conference matchup against San Jose State at 7:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Hawai'i is 20-4 overall and tied for first place in the WAC with Tulsa at 11-2. Savovic, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, has been a key factor in the success.
He is averaging 20.5 points per game, and also leads the team with 51 3-pointers and a .402 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
"He deserves it," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "He's worked hard and he's put up the numbers."
Ironically, Savovic was absent from practice yesterday because of a conflicting class schedule.
That was his luck.
A day before Valentine's Day, Wallace wasn't exactly dishing out the love to his team. After two days off, the 'Bows returned to a grueling practice yesterday with Wallace at his drill-sergeant best.
"We know we can't take anything for granted anymore," Wallace said. "And they had a couple days of rest, so I wanted to make sure they got after it."
Hawai'i is coming off a 61-57 loss at Louisiana Tech last Saturday.
"Coach knows what we need to work on better than anybody," UH point guard Mark Campbell said. "He's just trying to send the message to us so we don't make the same mistakes."
Post players Phil Martin and Haim Shimonovich received the bulk of the "instructions," as the 'Bows made a conscious effort to work the ball back into the middle during yesterday's practice.
"Some of the stuff he says hurts, but it works," Martin said. "I know it gets me upset and makes me want to do better."
Wallace said the 'Bows were becoming too reliant on 3-point shots, and could have used more low-post production against Louisiana Tech.
"Part of it is Phil and Haim need to be more aggressive in getting the ball," Wallace said. "The 3 has been our bread and butter and we're not going to get away from it. We just need to make sure we have something inside as well."
• Hurricane watch: Without playing a game, the 'Bows could either take over sole possession of first place or drop to second today.
Tulsa, which is tied with UH atop the WAC at 11-2, is scheduled to play host to Southern Methodist.
• Savo in the second: According to a 2002 mock draft on nbadraft.net, Savovic would be a second-round pick (54th overall) of the New Jersey Nets. The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26.
• Valentine's wish: Mark Campbell's fiancee, Ashley Smith, insists she mailed a Valentine's Day gift to him from her home in Oregon City, Ore. But just in case of a late arrival, she offered this:
My Valentine's wish for Mark would be a dozen Rainbow victories
Candy and flowers are not what he needs; what Mark really wants is a tournament seed
