Rainbows return a confident squad
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team can give thanks to Maui this week.
Michael Conroy • Associated Press
The Rainbow Warriors left Lahaina, Maui, yesterday, without the championship trophy of the EA Sports Maui Invitational, but with a little better sense of self-worth.
Hawai'i's Logan Lee, left, pressured Dayton's Warren Williams in the title game. Lee played well at point guard.
"We're a much better ball club leaving here than we were when we came," UH head coach Riley Wallace said after the 'Bows placed second in the prestigious eight-team tournament.
It was only last Friday when the 'Bows appeared dazed and lethargic in a season-opening loss to UC Santa Barbara.
But after three inspired efforts in the Maui Invitational — all three played before a national television audience on ESPN2 — the 'Bows appear to have found their way out of that early season valley on the Valley Island.
"We definitely wanted to see our name up on the wall of past champions," senior guard Michael Kuebler said after UH's 82-72 loss to Dayton in the tournament championship Wednesday. "That would be something we can look back on our entire lives. But still, this will be a good memory and good experience. It was disappointing, but still happy."
The 'Bows might be only 2-2 to start the season, but there were some happy discoveries on Maui:
• Kuebler, who was the only UH player named to the all-tournament team, emerged as a scoring force. He led all players in the Maui Invitational with 67 points, shot 9 of 14 from 3-point range, and drew rave reviews from the national media covering the tournament.
• Haim Shimonovich showed he is ready to reclaim his starting role at center. The 6-foot-10, 275-pound senior pushed his weight around in the low post, finishing with 36 points and 26 rebounds for the tournament.
• Vaidotas Peciukas was a worthy choice as part of an "experiment" by Wallace with a smaller lineup. The 6-7 junior forward shot 9 of 14 from the field in the three games.
• Sophomore Logan Lee worked his way into more and more playing time, eventually getting the start at point guard in the championship game against Dayton. He scored only nine points in the three games, but in the most important categories for a point guard, he had 15 assists with only three turnovers.
"I feel like it was a good learning experience," Wallace said of UH's first appearance in the Maui Invitational. "We came in here and I thought we got better every night."
Now, the 'Bows will have to sit and wait to see how it affects the rest of the season.
After four games in six days to open the season, Hawai'i will not play a regular season game again until a home contest against Oregon State on Dec. 15. On Dec. 7, Hawai'i will play an exhibition game against the EA Sports All-Stars.
"We'll take some days off," Wallace said. "And then we'll try to maintain our conditioning and keep working."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
