Another chance for big dance

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Columnist

The sign on the corner of Cedar and Shaw avenues proclaims, "California State University, Fresno," but in the world of college basketball, the place has become infamous as "Second Chance U."

Thanks to coach Jerry Tarkanian's liberal revolving door policy, a willingness to take in players who have had problems elsewhere — motto: If you're not behind bars, you can be one of ours, the Bulldogs have become known for giving those with above-average jump shots second chances.

And, sometimes, thirds, fourths ...

Today, in the hub of the San Joaquin Valley it is a group without so much as a rap sheet among it, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, that arrives in need of another opportunity.

These Rainbows want — and, indeed, need — a victory in this final regular-season Western Athletic Conference game. A win that would assure them of the conference regular-season title and a whole lot more.

They need to make good on this second and last stop of the two-game road trip. This is a team that needs a 24th victory of the season and, after the events of Thursday night in Reno, needs to have it come here and now.

When the 23-4 (14-2) Rainbows left home, the cheers of a near-sellout Senior Night crowd still in their ears, it was with the knowledge that they probably required a split on this final road trip to clinch their season-long goal of an NCAA Tournament berth.

Split with Nevada and Fresno and they'd be all but certain of an NCAA Tournament bid no matter what happened in the WAC Tournament in Tulsa next week. For no team that had won the WAC regular-season title outright had been left out.

But that split is proving easier said than done. The 10-point loss at Reno has rendered this one today as must-win as any game the Rainbows have played this season, suddenly dwarfing even the Tulsa game. The back injury suffered by leading scorer Predrag Savovic has given this meeting a chilling element of drama the Rainbows and their fans really don't relish.

To lose in Fresno, amid the screaming hoards at Selland Arena on the Bulldogs' Senior Night in what might also be Tarkanian's finale, would not only hand the Rainbows their only two-game losing streak in 13 months, it would set up a do-or-else WAC Tournament next week. The Rainbows, for whom all seemed bright entering this roadtrip, would probably need to at least get to the final of the WAC Tournament, if not win it, to be in line for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Against a school known for granting second chances, the Rainbows need to make the most of theirs tonight. Because unlike some of the players Tarkanian has put on the floor over the years, there might not be a third or fourth opportunity for UH.

Advertiser columnist Ferd Lewis can be reached at 525-8044 or flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com.