Training boosts basketball Rainbows' strength, stamina

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

With the season opener still one month away for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, junior Phil Martin is already in the record books.

"My focus this summer was to get stronger," said University of Hawai'i junior Phil Martin. Advertiser library photo • Oct. 12, 2002

"My focus this summer was to get stronger," said Martin, a 6-foot-8 forward. "So I was just happy to see the results. That was like the first step for me this season."

In the Olympic-style "clean" lift — where the athlete must hoist the barbell from the ground to above his shoulders in one motion — Martin did a team-record 254 pounds.

Mike Robinson, who last played for the 'Bows in 1998, held the previous mark of 243. Martin broke the record by increasing his clean lift by 43 pounds in just one year (last year he did 211).

"I might not look like I got bulkier," said Martin, who now weighs 235 pounds, an increase of 30 pounds in two years. "But I feel a lot stronger."

"It's like night and day from when I first got here (as a freshman in 1999)," he said. "My first year, I was benching 175. It's just something I kept working at."

In addition to the cleans, squats and bench-press lifts, players were timed in a one-mile run.

Junior guard Carl English completed the mile in 5 minutes, 4 seconds, which was two seconds off the team record set by former star Predrag Savovic.

"It's already helping us," English said. "We're in shape and so that allows us to work on other things in practice besides conditioning."

English also had a squat of 500 pounds and a bench-press of 235. As a freshman, he could bench only 145 pounds.

"I remember Savo tossing me around like a little toy every day in practice," he said. "Now, when I go to the (basket), I'm not getting pushed around."

Under the guidance of UH strength and conditioning coordinator Tommy Heffernan, the 'Bows endured six weeks of early-morning training before the final tests were administered. All of the training sessions were held prior to the start of UH's first official practice last week.

"That extra work is what makes and breaks teams," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "On this level, if you want to get better, you have to get stronger."

Wallace cited junior center Haim Shimonovich as one of the primary benefactors of weight training, saying: "He's improved so much in two years just by getting stronger."

Shimonovich had the team's top bench-press at 285 pounds.

In one of the biggest — actually, littlest — surprises, Lance Takaki had the second-best bench-press at 280 pounds.

"I was already lifting a lot at (Mid-Pacific) before I came here," said Takaki, who is 5 feet 4 and 150 pounds.

Teammates, however, are jokingly disputing the legitimacy of Takaki's lifts. As English said: "He's pushing the bar about five inches off his chest. The rest of us are lifting it two feet."

Takaki responded: "They're just jealous. All these huge guys and I'm lifting way more than them."

• Early injuries: Martin suffered an injury to his right ankle during a drill at last night's practice. He sat out the last half of the practice, but the injury did not appear to be a major one.

Also, freshman forward Dane Dmitrovic has sat out the last four days of practice with a groin injury.

Both players will be examined by doctors today to determine the extent of their injuries.

• Tip-Off Banquet: The annual Tip-Off Banquet for the UH Men's Basketball Booster Club is scheduled for Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Tickets are $50 per person (free for "Coach" and "Captain" level boosters). Reservations must be made by Nov. 8 through the UH basketball office at 956-6501.

In addition to a buffet dinner, guests can meet the UH coaches and players, and enter a raffle drawing for various prizes.