Knee injury keeps UH's Shimonovich at home

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will be traveling lighter today, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

"I knew something was wrong," Haim Shimonovich said about Saturday's game. "But I didn't want to ask for a sub. I wanted to finish the game."

He will miss Wednesday's game against Boise State for sure, and could be out for the remainder of the season if the injury is severe enough.

The 6-foot-10, 275-pound senior will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) today to determine the extent of the injury.

"We're not going to worry about it," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "He's been out before and we have guys who can fill in."

Shimonovich said he injured his knee late in the second half while coming down with a rebound in a 62-59 victory over Southern Methodist on Saturday.

"I knew something was wrong," he said. "But I didn't want to ask for a sub. I wanted to finish the game."

Shimonovich had 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, eight rebounds and four assists against SMU. He also blocked two potential game-tying shots in the closing seconds.

"Obviously, I want to be with the team," he said. "But I can't help the team when I'm injured."

Shimonovich was prepared to practice yesterday, but stopped after about 30 minutes. He was walking on his own after practice, although his knee was wrapped in a brace.

Wallace said he is still hoping that Shimonovich will be able to join the team for either the ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday game at Southern Illinois, or for next Monday's Western Athletic Conference game at Texas-El Paso.

"The flight can make the swelling worse, so we don't want to take any chances," Wallace said. "We'll have the doctors take care of him here, and wait for them to decide when he's ready to join us."

Wallace said Jeff Blackett will probably start in Shimonovich's place on Wednesday, and Milos Zivanovic and Paul Jesinskis will have to play key reserve roles.

"Haim is a big factor for us," said senior forward and co-captain Phil Martin. "He's such a big presence inside and we don't have that when he's not there. I know I'll have to play a bigger role now and all the other big guys, too."

Shimonovich is averaging 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, and leads the team with a .545 field-goal percentage. He leads the WAC with 35 blocked shots.

Shimonovich missed three games last season with an ankle injury, and was hampered earlier this season with an Achilles injury.

"It's frustrating," he said. "But I want to see what the doctors say. Hopefully I'll be back soon."

The rest of the team is scheduled to depart Honolulu this morning for a three-game trip that will last nine days and cover more than 8,500 miles.

Hawai'i is 17-5 overall and tied for first place in the WAC at 9-3.

"I remember when we were on the road for a month (two seasons ago)," Martin said. "So this one doesn't seem so bad when you compare it to that."

But Wallace said the timing could be better, especially for the last two games of the trip.

The Bracket Buster game at Southern Illinois will tip off at 11 p.m. (Central time). After that game, the 'Bows will get about three hours of sleep before departing for El Paso, Texas.

"There's really not enough time to prepare for that game (against UTEP) because of the travel and everything," Wallace said. "But (UTEP) couldn't fit us in anywhere else in their schedule, so that's what we have to go with."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.