Zivanovic will get start against Rice
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
HOUSTON — Vowing to start anew, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will unveil a new starting center today.
Milos Zivanovic, a 6-foot-11 freshman, will make the first start of his UH career today when the Rainbow Warriors play a Western Athletic Conference game at Rice.
Tip-off is scheduled for noon (Hawai'i time) at Autry Court, and the game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net.
"I'm excited," said Zivanovic, who is from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. "This is why I came here — to play basketball and be a starter."
His start, however, comes under unfortunate circumstances. Starting center Haim Shimonovich was diagnosed with a grade-2 sprain of his right ankle yesterday, and he will not be able to play or practice for at least one week.
Shimonovich, the team's leading rebounder and shot-blocker, suffered the injury early in a 76-51 loss at Tulsa on Thursday. He has been hobbling around with his ankle placed in a soft cast ever since then.
"You could say it's a bad time for us because we're like a wounded lion," Zivanovic said. "But we're not going to surrender just because Haim is hurt. We will still come out and fight."
The 'Bows were blown away by the Golden Hurricane, but because of Shimonovich's injury — and at least six cases of flu-like symptoms — they refused to acknowledge the game yesterday.
"There's nothing to say about it," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "We're leaving that game in Tulsa."
The 'Bows arrived in Houston yesterday afternoon, and Zivanovic practiced with the first team during a two-hour workout on the Rice campus.
Wallace said he is starting Zivanovic to keep the playing rotation intact. Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan will still be Hawai'i's first reserve off the bench.
According to Wallace, Zivanovic, Akpan and Phil Martin will rotate into the two "big man" positions for UH.
"Tony got nervous and uptight the last time we started him," Wallace said. "But I like his energy off the bench better anyway. If Milos gets in foul trouble, or whatever, Tony can come right in and we know what he can do."
On the other hand, Zivanovic is somewhat of a mystery. He has seen limited action this season, averaging less than one point and less than one rebound per game. He has never played more than 11 minutes in any game this season, and has a total of 10 points and 14 rebounds in the 17 games he has played.
A spleen injury forced Zivanovic to redshirt last season, but he said it is fully healed.
"Milos actually has a lot of basketball savvy," Wallace said. "He just needs strength. He might even surprise some people with his offense."
Actually, both Rice and Hawai'i have been surprising this season, but in different ways.
The Owls are 17-8 overall and tied for third place in the WAC at 9-6. They were expected to finish in the bottom half of the conference.
"This is the first year they've been healthy," Wallace said. "In the past, it seemed like they always had key injuries that cost them."
This season, it appears the roles are reversed. Hawai'i, which was expected to contend for the WAC title, is 15-9 overall and in seventh place at 7-8.
With or without Shimonovich, the 'Bows need a strong finish to avoid the "play-in" games for the WAC Tournament, which is scheduled for March 11-15 at Tulsa, Okla. Wallace figures Hawai'i needs to win at least two of its three final regular-season games to even have a chance to climb out of seventh place.
If UH is still in seventh place at the end of the regular season, it will have to play against the 10th- place team on the opening day of the WAC Tournament. The top six teams in the standings receive byes into the quarterfinals.
"It's real important to get out of that (play-in) game," Wallace said. "But we've got our work cut out for us."
Warming up: The 'Bows left freezing temperatures and snowfall in Tulsa yesterday. They had a 90-minute flight to Houston, where it was a balmy 48 degrees last night.
Feeling better: Carl English returned to practice yesterday, although he had to run off the court twice to vomit into a garbage can.
English has been suffering from flu-like symptoms all week, and it nearly kept him out of Thursday's game at Tulsa. It affected his performance, as he finished with just seven points — 13 below his average.
"I'm OK," English said after yesterday's practice. "Still can't keep stuff down, but I'm a lot better than I was (Thursday)."
Counting the days: Yesterday was the 10th day of UH's current 12-day road trip. The trip started with a flight out of Honolulu on Feb. 19. The 'Bows are scheduled to return tomorrow.
The media in Ohio and Oklahoma — where UH played at Kent State and Tulsa, respectively — have done stories on Hawai'i's travel challenges.
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Today's lineups
Hawai'i (15-9 overall, 7-8 WAC)
Head coach—Riley Wallace (258-213, 16th season at UH)
Notes: The Rainbow Warriors are coming off a 76-51 loss at Tulsa on Thursday. It was Hawai'i's worst loss in more than two years. ... Phil Martin led the 'Bows with 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss. ... Hawai'i is 13-1 at home this season and 2-8 on the road. ... Carl English was suffering from flu-like symptoms against Tulsa and finished with just seven points. He now ranks second in the WAC in scoring, behind SMU's Quinton Ross (19.9). ... Mark Campbell leads all WAC players and ranks 22nd in NCAA Division I with 6.1 assists per game. He is also two assists shy of 300 for his career. Only seven other players in UH history have reached that mark. ... Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, a 6-8 sophomore forward, is Hawai'i's top reserve with averages of 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. ... Hawai'i has won eight of the last nine meetings with Rice, including an 85-70 victory in the Stan Sheriff Center on Jan. 30. English scored 30 points and recorded the 1,000th point of his career in that game.
Rice (17-8 overall, 9-6 WAC)
Head coach—Willis Wilson (145-162, 11th season at Rice)
Notes: The Owls are coming off a 65-52 home victory over San Jose State on Thursday. Yamar Diene scored a career-high 16 points in the win. Diene ranks second in the WAC with 39 blocked shots, and is already Rice's career leader with 88 blocked shots. ... Omar-Seli Mance ranks fifth in the WAC in scoring and leads all WAC players with 72 3-pointers. ... Rice is having its best season since joining the WAC in 1996-97. ... Rashid Smith ranks third in the WAC with 4.3 assists per game. ... Michael Harris, a 6-6 sophomore forward, is the best sixth man in the conference. He is averaging 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game off the bench. He also leads the WAC with a .619 field goal percentage. ... The Owls rank second in the WAC with 74.5 points per game. They lead the conference with a .383 team percentage from 3-point range. ... Rice is 11-2 at Autry Court this season. ... The Owls are tied for third place in the WAC this season; they finished in eighth place each of the three previous seasons.
