Wallace doesn't like arena, but Rainbows say it's fine
| • | UH, Minnesota teams have little in common |
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
MINNEAPOLIS — Not to sound like a bunch of pigs, but the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team wants to get its fill of victory in "The Barn" tonight.
The Rainbow Warriors practiced in Williams Arena — nicknamed The Barn because it looks like one from the outside — last night in preparation for tonight's second round National Invitation Tournament game against Minnesota.
The arena is 75 years old, making it the fifth-oldest facility in NCAA Division I basketball.
"I don't like it; I don't like old gyms," UH head coach Riley Wallace said. "I'm sure they have to sell the idea of nostalgia, but if you have a chance between this and a nice, new modern arena, I think anybody would take the new one."
However, Williams Arena has been renovated several times over the years and so it does not look its age. Inside the arena, for example, there is a modern-day Jumbotron scoreboard and an exclusive level for luxury boxes.
Perhaps most important, the UH players seemed to like it.
"I think it's a great shooting gym," UH leading scorer Carl English said. "I don't know what it is, but you seem to get a good look at the rim on every shot. This is our first day in here, but I like shooting in here already."
The court is actually raised about three feet off the ground, so the team benches look like baseball dugouts.
"It's got a different look to it, that's for sure," UH junior Michael Kuebler said. "It's kind of a bouncy floor, which is good. It's better than some of the hard floors that we've played on."
NOTES: Williams Arena has a capacity of 14,625, but a much smaller crowd is expected today. The Gophers averaged more than 13,000 per home game this season, but the campus was shut down all last week for spring break. The athletic department is encouraging students to attend the game by offering free tickets to the first 1,000. ... The 'Bows visited the Mall of America yesterday. With more than 500 stores and an amusement park all under one roof, the Mall is considered the largest enclosed retail complex in the United States. ... Riley Wallace and Dan Monson were also opposing head coaches five years ago in the second round of the NIT when UH beat Gonzaga. "I think what makes Riley such a good coach is he adjusts to his personnel," Monson said. "They're quite a bit different team than when we played them at Gonzaga." ... Minnesota forward Rick Rickert said he did a double-take when he found out the Gophers would be playing Hawai'i. "In the NIT, they usually try to play you against teams close by," Rickert said. "But it's nice, something different."
