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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, March 24, 2003

UH, Minnesota teams have little in common

 •  Wallace doesn't like arena, but Rainbows say it's fine

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — The men's basketball teams from Hawai'i and Minnesota are about as different as ... well, Hawai'i and Minnesota.

The contrasting styles were the focus of pregame talk yesterday as both teams went through final preparations for today's National Invitation Tournament second-round game.

The 19-11 Rainbow Warriors are playing the 17-12 Golden Gophers for the first time. Tipoff is 3 p.m. (Hawai'i time) at Williams Arena.

The bigger Gophers are concerned about Hawai'i's quickness and shooting ability; the smaller 'Bows are concerned about Minnesota's size and rebounding ability.

"As coaches you look at the strengths and weaknesses of the matchups," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "In our case, we feel like we have a size disadvantage, so that's what we're concerned about."

Minnesota head coach Dan Monson offered: "I think it's going to be a very difficult team for us to guard. We start three guys 6 feet 8 or above and somebody's going to have to get out on the perimeter and chase (Hawai'i's) guys around."

Basically, nobody knows what to expect because of the mismatches.

The Gophers start a front line featuring 6-10 Jerry Holman at center, 6-11 Rick Rickert at power forward and 6-8 Michael Bauer at small forward. Rickert, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, leads Minnesota in scoring (15.8 per game) and rebounding (6.2).

"We know we have a bigger presence inside," Rickert said. "We just have to make sure to use it to our advantage."

Hawai'i also has three big players available in 6-10 center Haim Shimonovich, and 6-8 forwards Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan and Phil Martin. However, Wallace said he does not plan to use all three at the same time during tonight's game.

In sticking with the recent rotation, Wallace said he will start Akpan and Martin in the low post, with Shimonovich providing relief for both.

"We've done it all season and we're not going to start trying anything different now," he said.

Because of that, 6-5 junior Carl English will likely have to defend Bauer in UH's man-to-man defensive scheme.

"It can't be that much different from anything else we've seen," English said. "I guarded a guy 6-10 from UNLV. The height on paper is one thing, but when you see the guy on the court, it's not that big of a difference."

Wallace hopes to compensate on the offensive end, where one of Minnesota's forwards will have to defend either English or Michael Kuebler. English leads the 'Bows with 19.6 points per game and 86 3-pointers; Kuebler is second with 12.0 points and 40 3-pointers.

"Minnesota's got the size with those three guys, but if we can extend them away from the basket and knock down shots, we'll be all right," Wallace said. "The key for us will be making the extra passes to force (Minnesota's) big guys to move around."

Wallace expects Minnesota to employ zone defenses tonight because of its height advantage inside. If so, Kuebler and English need to shoot as well as they did against Nevada-Las Vegas.

They combined for 41 points and six 3-pointers in Hawai'i's 85-68 victory in the first round of the NIT.

"I try not to get caught up in all the matchup stuff," Kuebler said. "If we play our game the way we're supposed to, it doesn't matter too much how big or small the other team is."

What's more, Wallace said the Minnesota backcourt can not be overlooked. Senior point guard Kevin Burleson is a four-year starter; sophomore Maurice Hargrow is second on the team with 13.2 points per game.

"They're very athletic," Wallace said. "If you focus too much on the big guys, those guards will knock down shots."

English, in typical fashion, did not appear concerned after yesterday's two-hour practice.

"Everybody's talking about how are we going to stop their big guys?" English said. "Well, I'd like to think, how are they going to stop us?"

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