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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 17, 2002

UH's 'ohana concept drove successful season

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

DALLAS — The Six Flags of America theme park here in Texas has nothing on the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

Xavier guard David Young tries to get the ball past Hawai'i's Predrag Savovic during the second half of their NCAA first-round game.

Associated Press

With seven flags of their own, the Rainbow Warriors took the state on a thrilling — and historic — ride that finally ended Friday.

A 70-58 loss to Xavier in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was certainly disappointing to a team that had the potential to become the first team in UH history to win an NCAA Tournament game.

Still, the greatness of this team can not be denied.

"This is my all-time special team," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "They worked hard from the start, they all got along like one family, they were great students academically ... what they did on the court completes the whole thing."

They were fabulous, too

Greatness can be difficult to measure, especially when comparing different eras. But Wallace believes this season's 'Bows have earned a place near, if not at, the top of all-time UH teams.

Based on records alone, only two teams can be a part of the debate: This season's 27-6 team, and the 24-3 "Fabulous Five" team of 1971-72.

"The Fab Five is tradition and needs to be remembered," Wallace said. "Love them, pass it down and let them be a great team. But let's remember this team as being great, too."

If statistics matter, this year's 'Bows leave little doubt.

Their 27 victories are the most in school history. The 'Bows also made 241 3-pointers, shattering the previous record by more than 60.

"The two most exciting things in basketball are the dunk and the 3-point shot," Wallace said. "We can't dunk, so we shoot the 3s. There was no team at UH that could shoot it like this one did."

Bob Nash, the only link between this season's team and the legendary Fabulous Five team, gave the nod to these 'Bows during an emotional speech before Friday's game.

Nash was a star forward on the Fabulous Five team, and is now the associate head coach of the 'Bows.

"I finally told them that they were the greatest UH team ever," Nash said. "I've given them a hard time all year that they weren't as good as we were, but this team has proved its mettle and deserves its credit."

The 1971-72 team also lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

"But we were in an era when college basketball was in its infancy stages and we became the darlings of Hawai'i," Nash said. "This team had to fight for respect and they finally got it. In that sense, it's a better team."

This season's 'Bows overcame player suspensions by the NCAA, player departures and nagging injuries.

"When you think about how much they had to go through mentally, and to still come out and have the kind of year they did, it's unbelievable," Wallace said.

Hawai'i's united nations

All season long, Wallace has preached the importance of team unity, and the 'Bows practiced it. On the road, they visited shopping malls together, and often gathered in one hotel room to watch pay-per-view movies. As a result, they became the best road team in UH history, finishing with a record 11 victories away from home.

Nikki Spadavecchia, 13, of Kailua, got an autograph from Hawai‘i guard Predrag Savovic at Honolulu Airport last night as the Rainbow Warriors returned from their trip to the NCAA Tournament in Dallas.

Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

At home, they would make team plans after practice, or hang out in one dorm room to play video games. As a result, they went 16-1 in the Stan Sheriff Center.

"You better believe that makes a difference on the court," Wallace said. "If I had guys like this every year, I'd coach until I was 100."

Those "guys" came from seven different countries. They each brought a different skill to the court, and somehow blended it together to become the first team in UH history to win both the regular-season and tournament championships of the Western Athletic Conference.

Predrag Savovic, the 6-foot-6 senior guard from Yugoslavia, brought uncanny offensive skills. He led the team with 20.3 points per game, the fourth-best scoring average in school history.

In three seasons at Hawai'i, Savovic compiled 1,414 points, also the fourth best in school history. He led the team with 75 3-pointers, and leaves as the all-time leader in that category with 178.

Last week, he was an honorable mention All-America selection by the Associated Press, becoming just the fourth player in UH history to make that list.

"I'm not satisfied because in my mind, I thought we could do better than this," Savovic said. "But it was still a great season and nobody can take that away from us."

Carl English, a 6-5 sophomore from Newfoundland, Canada, brought tireless energy and an offensive game that should replace Savovic's over the next two seasons. He finished second on the team in scoring (15.5), rebounding (5.1) and assists (3.3).

"Everybody stepped up when they had to," English said. "We were like brothers and the coaches were like our fathers. We all looked out for each other."

Senior tri-captains Mike McIntyre and Mindaugas Burneika provided leadership and unselfishly accepted reserve roles from the beginning of the season.

McIntyre, a 6-3 guard from Long Beach, Calif., still finished third on the team with 10.0 points per game, and second with 63 3-pointers. Burneika, a 6-7 forward from Lithuania, wasn't far behind with 9.0 points per game and 34 3-pointers.

"We lose only three seniors, but they're going to be very difficult to replace," Wallace said. "All three guys could light it up, and they were all big, strong guys. That's hard to find."

Sophomores Haim Shimonovich and Phil Martin emerged as an effective tandem in the low post, even if they often went unnoticed.

Shimonovich, a 6-10 center from Israel, was the power. He averaged 7.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and his 62 blocked shots was the fourth best total in school history.

Martin, a 6-8 forward from Ontario, Canada, was the finesse. He averaged 9.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, and was arguably UH's best defensive player.

"We can totally take pride in the way this season went," Martin said. "Hopefully, we'll be remembered for all the good we did, and not just the way it ended."

Mark Campbell, a 6-4 junior from Mt. Vernon, Wash., brought much-needed consistency to the point guard position, even if he was never spectacular. He averaged 3.7 points, 4.6 assists, and just 1.8 turnovers per game.

"You have to be a basketball purist to understand how much Mark meant to this team," Wallace said. "He took care of the ball and found the shooters. And his defense was as good as any point guard I've had."

Forwards Tony Akpan and Paul Jesinskis saw limited action, but should become factors next season. Akpan, a 6-8 freshman from Nigeria, has unlimited potential; Jesinskis, a 6-8 junior from South Africa, has an inside-out game, and could become next season's Burneika.

Walk-ons Lance Takaki and Ryne Holliday brought late-game excitement as the crowd favorites, even though they combined for a total of 31 minutes all season. Both will be seniors next season.

Good foundation for next year

"We've got a good group back for next year," Wallace said. "We need to recruit a couple of scorers, but other than that, we'll be OK."

Starters Campbell, English, Martin and Shimonovich all return, along with reserves Akpan and Jesinskis. What's more, 6-11 Milos Zivanovic from Yugoslavia redshirted this season and should contribute as a freshman next season.

Regardless of the new recruits, this act will be tough to follow.

"This is one of those years that people will talk about for years," Martin said. "We're No. 1 in our minds, and I hope the people of Hawai'i feel that way about us, too."

Added Savovic: "Whether we're the best ever at UH, I don't know. I just know we had a great year, we won a lot of games, broke a lot of records and had a lot of fun. And I think we made a lot of people happy. That should count for something."

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