Savovic nursing injured pinky on shooting hand
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
DALLAS — At 25, Predrag Savovic is considered old for a college basketball player.
The aches and pains are starting to show.
Savovic, the leading scorer on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, practiced with a splint taped to his right (shooting) pinky finger yesterday.
The 6-foot-6 senior guard from Herceg Novi, Yugoslavia, jammed the finger during Saturday's Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game victory over Tulsa. Entering Friday's first-round NCAA Tournament game against Xavier, Savovic is averaging 20.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, and also leads the team with 71 3-pointers.
"It's much less swollen than it was on Sunday," Savovic said. "And we have a couple of more days, so I'll be fine."
Savovic wanted to practice without the splint yesterday, but Wallace instructed him to leave it on to help the healing process. Savovic struggled with his shooting touch early during yesterday's practice session, but heated up toward the end.
"He just has to get used to playing with it," Wallace said. "He's played hurt before, so I'm not worried about him."
Savovic played last week's WAC Tournament with pain in his lower back from muscle spasms. He still scored 74 points in three games and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
"It's just little things that are bothering me here and there," he said. "You just have to play through it."
His worth during this season did not go entirely unnoticed.
Savovic received honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America Team released yesterday. He is only the fourth UH player to make the AP list.
Tom Henderson was a third-team selection in 1974; Bob Nash (1972) and Anthony Carter (1997 and 1998) received honorable mention.
"It's good for the school to have that kind of recognition," Savovic said. "But I don't go out looking for those kinds of things. I don't even know what that means, honorable mention."
Xavier forward David West was named to the All-America second team. Fresno State center Melvin Ely received honorable mention, and was the only other WAC player listed.
AP All-America Team
First team
Jason Williams, Duke, 6-2, 195, junior (72 first-place votes, 360 total points).
Drew Gooden, Kansas, 6-10, 230, junior (70, 356).
Steve Logan, Cincinnati, 6-1, 198, senior (52, 313).
Juan Dixon, Maryland, 6-3, 164, senior (48, 301).
Dan Dickau, Gonzaga, 6-1, 189, senior (29, 248).
Second team
Mike Dunleavy, Duke, 6-9, 220, junior
Sam Clancy, Southern Cal, 6-7, 240, senior
Casey Jacobsen, Stanford, 6-6, 210, junior
David West, Xavier, 6-8, 232, junior
Jared Jeffries, Indiana, 6-10, 215, sophomore
Third team
Carlos Boozer, Duke, 6-9, 280, junior
Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 175, junior
Jason Gardner, Arizona, 5-10, 181, junior
Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky, 6-9, 215, senior
Erwin Dudley, Alabama, 6-8, 240, junior
Honorable mention
Tommy Adams, Hampton; Lubos Barton, Valparaiso; Lonny Baxter, Maryland; Troy Bell, Boston College; Steve Blake, Maryland; Brett Blizzard, N.C.-Wilmington; Matt Bonner, Florida; Curtis Borchardt, Stanford; Caron Butler, Connecticut; Nick Collison, Kansas; Jason Conley, VMI; Josh Davis, Wyoming; Patrick Doctor, American; Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois; Corsley Edwards, Central Connecticut State; Melvin Ely, Fresno State; Jason Erickson, Montana State; Reggie Evans, Iowa; T.J. Ford, Texas; Jerry Green, UC Irvine; Lynn Greer, Temple; Rod Grizzard, Alabama; Anthony Grundy, North Carolina State; Rylan Hainje, Butler; Udonis Haslem, Florida; Jarvis Hayes, Georgia; Paul Haynes, Grambling State; Kirk Hinrich, Kansas; Frederick Jones, Oregon; Jason Kapono, UCLA; Kyle Korver, Creighton; Greg Lewis, Winthrop; John Linehan, Providence; Chris Marcus, Western Kentucky; Keith McLeod, Bowling Green; Ugonna Onyekwe, Pennsylvania; Mario Porter, Rider; McEverett Powers, Texas-San Antonio; Hollis Price, Oklahoma; Luke Recker, Iowa; Luke Ridenour, Oregon; Hector Romero, New Orleans; Kareem Rush, Missouri; Predrag Savovic, Hawai'i; Preston Shumpert, Syracuse; Darius Songaila, Wake Forest; T.J. Sorrentine, Vermont; Thomas Terrell, Georgia State; Dwyane Wade, Marquette; Dajuan Wagner, Memphis; Luke Walton, Arizona; Frank Williams, Illinois.
