Young Rainbow Wahine will run at opponents in waves

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

April Atuaia is the only senior on this year's Rainbow Wahine team. Advertiser library photo

China's players, in the midst of preparing for Olympic qualifiers, average 21 years of age. Hawai'i's players average 19 — fourth-youngest in NCAA Division I according to a poll by Loyola College.

Earlier in the year, UH coach Vince Goo, 56, was pondering retirement. Now he's starting his 17th season with seven new players and 11 underclassmen. April Atuaia is his only senior, and he's down three posts and a starting point guard from last season.

"It's the youngest team I've ever had," Goo says. "And they're playing for the oldest coach."

More precisely, they will be running for him. Goo is going back a decade to dust off his "platoon" playbook. He swears he doesn't know who will start tonight and "it doesn't matter."

The 'Bows, who advanced to the last four WNITs with a deliberate offense and exasperating half-court defense, are suddenly going to run until their sneakers melt at both ends. Youth allows it. Depth, and a dearth of marquee players, demands it.

"This group has a lot of energy," Goo says. "The younger players don't back off and they're pushing the returnees. They're young, but they have a lot of basketball experience, a lot of savvy for freshmen. And they all battle hard. I like that."

So much that he is thinking of ordering knee pads to help cut down on a spate of recent floor burns.

This team is picked to finish fourth in the Western Athletic Conference, where 12th-ranked Louisiana Tech remains the undisputed champion.

Aside from Atuaia and Jade Abele, no Rainbow Wahine has proven she can consistently hit a jump shot in college.

Last year's Rainbow Wahine led the country in fewest fouls and committed the 11th-fewest turnovers. This team could be in the top 12 at the other end of the spectrum.

"We used to close all the doors at practice because we lost five basketballs in the parking lot one day," Goo jokes. "We're getting a little better at taking care of the ball."

He promises these 'Bows will run fast breaks forever — "It's not the Run and Shoot, it's the Run and Shoot and Don't Miss" — and start full-court pressure from the moment the referee picks up the basketball. Practices are conducted at warp speed with time off only for jumping rope, spot shooting and short technical talks.

It worked in the 1991-'92 season, when Hawai'i platooned its way to 25-7 and into the championship game of the then-NWIT. That team thrived because no one was unhappy about playing time, and it constantly buried opponents in the second half.

That team was also much more experienced, but who isn't, aside from Wofford (S.C.), Loyola (Md.) and Utah State — the only DI teams younger than UH?

These Rainbow Wahine will need time to develop, but time and history are on their side, and they sure will be hard to scout. Chances are, no one will average double digits in anything except minutes played — and that might be everyone.

Hawai'i opens its regular season next Saturday against Lipscomb (Tenn.), in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic

OVER AND BACK: Season tickets are on sale at the Stan Sheriff Box Office, at $75 for adults and $60 for senior citizens. ... Tickets for individual games go on sale Monday. Admission is $7 for adults and $6 for senior citizens. Rainbow Wahine Classic games are $1 more. ... Students are free at at Rainbow Wahine games. ... China, considered one of the Top 10 women's teams in the world, beat Oregon State, 74-73, Wednesday.

Reach Ann Miller at amiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8043.