Hawai'i getting national notice
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is already in the Western Athletic Conference championship race.
Now, the Rainbow Warriors want to get some national attention, and the next two weeks could be crucial to their profile.
The 'Bows are slowly gaining recognition in the national polls, and as head coach Riley Wallace put it: "The only way to keep moving up is to keep winning."
The 'Bows are not quite ready to break into the Top 25, but they received season-highs in the two national polls released yesterday. They got 23 points in the Associated Press Top 25, and 11 in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25.
"We don't want individual stars," Wallace said. "But we do want the team recognition. That kind of stuff like the rankings is good because it gets the program noticed."
Hawai'i is 16-4 overall and alone in first place in the conference at 8-2.
The 'Bows will play two WAC home games this week — Thursday against Louisiana Tech, and then Saturday against Southern Methodist.
Derek Inouchi, the UH basketball media relations director, started an e-mail campaign this week to inform the national media about the 'Bows' success. If Hawai'i can sweep its homestand this week, he said he will send a flyer to the voting media members in the AP Top 25.
Next week, Hawai'i will play at Southern Illinois in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday. The Salukis broke into the Top 25 polls yesterday for the first time this season. They are No. 23 in AP, and No. 24 in USA Today/ESPN.
The last time Hawai'i played a nationally ranked team was at the end of the 2001-02 season when it took on No. 22 Xavier in the NCAA Tournament.
"I personally think we should be ranked higher," UH sophomore Julian Sensley said. "Teams might have better individual players than us, but we play as a team."
Rebounding this week: The 'Bows are coming off a 56-55 victory over San Jose State on Saturday. They are in first place in the WAC, and are at home this week, where they have been close to unbeatable during the past three seasons.
Yet, the 'Bows will need to rebound when they take on Louisiana Tech on Thursday.
"Some nights, we're a good rebounding team; other nights, we're average," Wallace said.
The 'Bows will probably need to be better than average against the Bulldogs, who lead the WAC in rebounding behind Paul Millsap.
Louisiana Tech is averaging 41.0 rebounds per game. Millsap, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound true freshman, leads the nation with 12.8 boards per game.
"I'm not sure how good they are as a team, but when you got one guy getting you 13 every night, that's a good start," Wallace said.
Millsap has reached double-figures in rebounds in 16 games this season, including 15 in a 67-60 loss to Hawai'i at Ruston, La.
"He's not that physical, but he's real athletic," Sensley said. "He's got quick hops and he goes up and gets everything with those long arms."
AC Night: Former UH star Anthony Carter will be honored during Thursday's game.
He averaged 18.4 points and 6.9 assists during his two seasons at Hawai'i. He went on to play four seasons with the NBA's Miami Heat. He signed with the San Antonio Spurs this season, but is no longer with the team because of a knee injury.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
