As a result, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team appears to have an additional center to rely on this season.

Haim Shimonovich, UH's starting center the past two seasons, has yet to practice this season because of an Achilles injury.

Zivanovic has been a surprisingly effective replacement.

"I know that Haim is hurt and it's a big loss for us," said Zivanovic, a 6-foot-11 sophomore. "But it means that I have to go in there and do what I can to help the team and I'm ready for it."

He was one of the standouts during a 40-minute intrasquad scrimmage yesterday, scoring 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting, and grabbing five rebounds.

"Milos definitely improved from last year," head coach Riley Wallace said. "If Haim is out, somebody else has to step up and Milos is showing he wants to be one of those guys."

As a seldom-used redshirt freshman last season, Zivanovic averaged 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds per game.

During the summer, he went home to Belgrade, Serbia, to train with his father, Dusan, who is 6-8 and a former pro basketball player in European leagues.

"He's 53, but he's in good shape and he still has his shooting touch," Zivanovic said. "He was the one pushing me every day: shooting, running and lifting."

Zivanovic said he gained 20 pounds of muscle since last season, and now weighs around 235.

"Before, everybody could push me around," he said. "Now, I have more strength and that's helping me on offense and defense."

• Blackett's back: Junior Jeff Blackett showed yesterday that his recent foot and ankle injuries may have been a momentary setback. The 6-8 forward scored a scrimmage-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

"I didn't come here to spend time in the training room," said Blackett, who missed several days of practice during the week. "I'm already behind the other guys so I had some catching up to do."

• More statistics: Other standouts from the scrimmage included Vaidotas Peciukas (19 points), Logan Lee (12 points, five assists), Michael Kuebler (16 points, six assists) and Paul Jesinskis (11 points, nine rebounds).

"We'll score points," Wallace said. "My biggest concern right now is the defense."

The 'Bows are scheduled to open the season with an exhibition game against Brigham Young-Hawai'i on Nov. 17.