UH needs boost to climb poll

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer

It is becoming fashionable among some University of Hawai'i basketball fans these days to refer to the Rainbows as, "the best team that isn't ranked."

Or, the "team the polls forgot."

It is said as if it should be a point of button-bursting pride.

Well, it shouldn't be.

UH shouldn't accept it anymore than the Rainbows should. If they believe the team is deserving — and, really, there shouldn't be any doubt it belongs somewhere above its current stations in life, 35th in the Associated Press (writers and broadcasters) poll and 34th in the USA Today/CNN (coaches) version, then maybe it is time to do something about it.

It is disappointing that, at 15-2 overall and 6-0 in the Western Athletic Conference, the Rainbows aren't getting more mention. Nobody's saying they should displace No. 1 Duke — or maybe even No. 22 Boston College — but there should be a place for them somewhere better than 34th.

Especially when one of their victims, Georgia, is 20th in one poll (AP) and 23rd in the other.

Particularly when the majority of the points they are garnering come from, according to people familiar with the situation, a handful of voters. A very small handful.

There are 72 media members who cast AP ballots and 31 coaches who vote in the USA Today poll, but if you take away The Advertiser's vote (which had UH in the Top 20 this week) and a certain Midwest coaching buddy of Riley Wallace, who is said to have done likewise, the Rainbows drop another 10 spots. Until this week they might have barely appeared at all.

We bring this up because, for too long and too often in these matters the tendency has been to mumble some frustration but, basically, do little about it.

But, what has it gotten UH? A football team that finished 9-3 and not only didn't go to a bowl but didn't even crack the Top 25. And now a basketball team that has won nine games in a row and could go 20-2 before making a dent.

You can cite the familiar arguments that geography and time zones have placed the Rainbows out of sight and out of mind. That the Rainbows are the easiest team among the 300-something that play Division I basketball to overlook. And you would be right.

But that doesn't mean that it has to be accepted with a meek shrug of the shoulders. Teams like this year's have been few and, usually, far between at UH and there are a bunch of reasons, including recruiting and marketing, to be proactive while you can.

If voters aren't going to ferret out the Rainbows on their own, it behooves UH to find the voters and grab their attention. Lean on ESPN to get them on TV. Send postcards, posters to voters, whatever it takes.

Be aggressive, be creative.

Just don't be forgotten, again.