Learning curve for UH, Reno not all that great
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
TULSA, Okla. — Given a chance to retake a road test, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team crammed last night.
The Rainbow Warriors are scheduled to play Nevada in today's semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Donald W. Reynolds Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Hawai'i time).
In yesterday's quarterfinals, No. 1 seed Hawai'i beat No. 9 San Jose State, 71-56, to improve to 25-5. No. 5 Nevada defeated No. 4 Southern Methodist, 72-66, to improve to 17-12.
"We'll look over some film and go over the things we need to correct," said UH associate head coach Bob Nash, who is the team's chief scout of opponents. "It's tough to have only one day to prepare, but it should be quick recall for us, having played them just last week."
Nevada was one of the few teams the 'Bows were not able to ace this season. Last Thursday at Reno, Nev., the Wolf Pack defeated Hawai'i, 79-69. It was UH's worst defeat of the season (its previous four losses were by a combined nine points).
"Nevada, I can't say enough about them," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "They turned their A-game out for us up there."
The 'Bows especially had problems with the quickness of the Wolf Pack. In particular, guards Terrance Green and Garry Hill-Thomas, and forward Kirk Snyder were able to penetrate with success against Hawai'i's normally stingy man-to-man defense.
"It was like we were playing in mud and they were as quick as any team we played this year," Wallace said. "(Nevada) felt it and really attacked us off the dribble."
Nash said it is a correctable problem. As proof, the 'Bows beat the Wolf Pack, 58-40, in Honolulu on Dec. 29. It was Nevada's lowest point total in 25 seasons.
"We're not going to stop their quickness," he said. "But we want to try and control it and force them into areas where we know we can help each other out."
Green and Hill-Thomas lead the Wolf Pack with 16.3 and 15.7 points per game, respectively. Forward Corey Jackson leads all WAC players with 11.4 rebounds per game.
Despite their convincing victory over Hawai'i last week, the Wolf Pack was still wary yesterday.
"I have to imagine that they're pretty upset at us," Nevada head coach Trent Johnson said. "They're the No. 1 team in the league. From start to finish, they play at a high level."
Added Green: "We're not itching to go home or anything like that. But we have a lot of respect for (Hawai'i). We're just going to go out there and give it our all."
In the loss at Nevada, the 'Bows played most of the second half without leading scorer Predrag Savovic, who suffered muscle spasms in his lower back. He finished with a season-low five points in just 22 minutes.
The 6 foot 6 senior, who is averaging 19.2 points per game, returned to the UH lineup yesterday and recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds.
"Both teams will make adjustments," Nash said. "It's not like we're playing each other for the first time. For the most part, both teams know what to expect."
• Wallace honored: Wallace was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 13 Coach of the Year yesterday.
As one of 15 district winners, Wallace is now eligible for the national coach of the year award from the NABC.
In his 15th season as head coach at UH, Wallace has guided the 'Bows to one of the most successful seasons in school history. Last week, they won the co-championship of the WAC regular season, and yesterday, they tied the school record for most victories in a season (25).
Wallace was also named the WAC Coach of the Year earlier this week.
• Early start: Hawai'i's quarterfinal game with San Jose State started at noon (Tulsa time) yesterday. It was the earliest the 'Bows have played all season.
"There's always obstacles," UH sophomore Carl English said after the game. "It feels like night right now, but we get the rest of the day to rest and get ready for (today), so it could turn out to be a good thing."
• Still rolling: Once again, eating at the Golden Corral provided the golden touch for Hawai'i.
Because of yesterday's early start, the 'Bows ate at the buffet restaurant Wednesday. Since the superstitious tradition started one year ago, Hawai'i is 9-1 when eating at the Golden Corral before a game.
The only loss came against Syracuse in last year's NCAA Tournament.
"It was Golden Corral again," Wallace said. "They haven't bought me a meal yet but we keep pumping it."
