Kuebler selected to All-WAC first team

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

FRESNO, Calif. — Just as he has most of this season on the court, Michael Kuebler carried the University of Hawai'i in the all-conference awards announced yesterday.

Michael Kuebler had 84 3-pointers for UH this year. Advertiser library photo

"It just makes me feel like all the hard work I did in the offseason paid off," said Kuebler, a 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard. "I'd much rather the team win the WAC championship, but this is something I'm proud of also."

Kuebler finished the regular season ranked second in the conference in scoring with 18.1 points per game. He led the WAC with 84 3-pointers, which is five short of the Hawai'i school record set by Carl English last season.

"He deserved it because he was the best shooter in the league," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "The thing I like is that he worked on his game in the offseason. He came into this season and was more of a threat offensively. If his (outside) shot wasn't there, he could take it to the basket. He didn't have that last year."

Kuebler is the 13th player in UH history to make the All-WAC first team.

"None of that has hit me yet," Kuebler said. "I'm sure someday I'll look back and appreciate it even more."

Also selected to the first team were Aaron Haynes of Boise State, Michael Harris of Rice, Filiberto Rivera of Texas-El Paso and Kirk Snyder of Nevada.

Snyder, a 6-6 guard, was named the Player of the Year. He led the conference with 18.8 points per game, and also contributed 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while leading the Wolf Pack to the regular-season championship.

The WAC also announced its All-Defensive and All-Newcomer teams. Among the snubs from Hawai'i were senior forward Phil Martin for the Defensive team, and sophomore forward Julian Sensley for the Newcomer team.

"I thought for sure, Julian would make it," Kuebler said. "And Phil always has to guard the best player from the other team. I think they both should be there."

Wallace, however, said there was a simple explanation. "Too inconsistent," he said. "Both those guys could have made it, but they had too many ups and downs."

Louisiana Tech's freshman phenom Paul Millsap was named the Newcomer of the Year. He leads the nation with 12.3 rebounds per game, and was also named to the All-WAC second team.

Billy Gillispie of UTEP was named the Don Haskins Coach of the Year for leading the Miners to one of the greatest turnarounds in WAC history. After finishing 6-24 and last in the conference last season, the Miners are 22-6 this season, and tied with Nevada for the regular-season WAC title.

"I have no complaints," Wallace said. "I thought all the picks were pretty much the right ones."

• Day of rest: The 'Bows had the day to themselves yesterday, and most of the players chose to rest in their hotel rooms. They will resume practice today at Fresno City College.

Hawai'i will play Rice in a quarterfinal game of the WAC Tournament on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (Hawai'i time) at the Save Mart Center.

"We needed some time off to rest, so I told the guys this day is theirs for themselves," Wallace said. "But (today) we get back to work."

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

2004 McCaffrey WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
Tomorrow's games, HST

Game 1—Tulsa vs. SMU, 4 p.m.
G2—San Jose State vs. Louisiana Tech, 2:30 p.m.

Thursday's games
Quarterfinals

G3—Winner G1 vs. Nevada, 10 a.m.
G4—Hawai'i vs. Rice, 12:30 p.m. (KFVE)
G5—Winner G2 vs. UTEP, 4:00 p.m. G6—Boise State vs. Fresno State, 6:30 p.m.

Friday's games
Semifinals

G7—Winner G3 vs. Winner G4, 4 p.m.
G8—Winner G5 vs. Winner G6, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday's game
Championship

G9—Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)