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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 7, 2003

Rainbows hope to improve on defense

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

In defense of its Western Athletic Conference championship, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is focusing on defense this week.

According to UH head coach Riley Wallace, the Rainbow Warriors played "absolutely horrible" defense in a 65-63 loss at Boise State last Saturday.

That loss dropped UH to 8-2 overall and 1-1 in the WAC.

"Now we can't afford any more slip ups," Wallace said. "The first thing other teams are going to notice about that game is how easy it is to penetrate against our defense. Well, we have to figure out a way to stop teams from doing that."

So yesterday, the 'Bows experimented with several new defensive alignments, including various zone schemes. In the 10 previous games this season, the 'Bows stayed exclusively with a man-to-man defense.

"We're just looking to improve and give ourselves some other options," Wallace said. "We're still a man-to-man (defensive) team. We just need to have other things ready for when we get in trouble like we did at Boise."

Against the Broncos, several UH defenders got caught in picks or simply got beat off the dribble. After that, the other UH defenders never seemed to find the proper rotation to help out.

"We'd help the first guy, but then we'd get killed on the second or third rotation," senior captain Mark Campbell said. "It's just something that's going to come as we grow and mature as a team."

Looking ahead: The 'Bows will start a rare three-game WAC homestand at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday.

UH will host Southern Methodist and Louisiana Tech on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, and then Fresno State on Monday. That game was originally scheduled for Feb. 22, but was moved up after both teams were invited to participate in the ESPN Bracket Busters Saturday on that date.

The 'Bows are on a 19-game home winning streak.

New guys: Two players have transferred to UH and are expected to join the team as walk-ons, although they will not be eligible to play in any of the remaining games this season.

Eli Carlone, a 6-foot-4 guard/forward from Ontario, Canada, attended practice yesterday, but must pass a physical examination before he can begin participating in drills.

He played two seasons at Brock University in Ontario, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds as a sophomore. He also played on several Canadian all-star teams with current 'Bows Carl English and Phil Martin.

"It wasn't working out for me (at Brock), and I knew Carl and Phil were out here, so I thought I'd give it a shot," Carlone said.

He will become eligible in late December 2003, and will have two seasons of eligibility.

Anze Sagadin, a 6-5 guard/forward from Slovenia, is also expected to join the 'Bows this week. He is transferring from IUPUI, where he did not see any game action.

He is a former member of Slovenia's junior national team, and will have four seasons of eligibility.