'Bows will dress as men in black
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team would like to see revenge come in the color of black tomorrow night.
The Rainbow Warriors will host Southern Illinois tomorrow in the first "Black-Out" at the Stan Sheriff Center.
All fans are encouraged to wear black, and the 'Bows will play in black jerseys for the first time.
"We've been talking about this ever since we saw the black uniforms," UH junior forward Julian Sensley said. "Hopefully, it'll look cool with all the people in black, too."
Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace wanted to unveil the black jerseys specifically for tomorrow's game because of what he saw when the 'Bows played at Southern Illinois last season.
"That atmosphere was really awesome and it helped them, no question about that," Wallace said. "That's why I want the crowd there. That's your revenge. They had a crowd to help their team, now let's give us a crowd to help our team."
The Salukis beat Hawai'i, 66-62, before 9,628 raucous fans in Carbondale, Ill., last season. It was televised nationally on ESPN as part of Bracket Buster Saturday, and most of the SIU fans were dressed in maroon.
Tomorrow is the mandatory "return" game for last season.
Hawai'i has staged four "White-Out" games since 2002, with fans dressed in white. Wallace said he wanted to try different colors this season based on the success of those previous games.
"Monday night is tough to sell (tickets)," Wallace said. "But I think it'll be fun to see what it looks like."
Sophomore guard Bobby Nash said he does not expect the black backdrop to cause any problems with the team's shooting.
"You just have to play like how you practice," Nash said. "It's always going to be different in a game because nobody's there when you're practicing. But practice is where you get your shot down to the point where it doesn't matter what color is in the background."
Wallace cherishing memorable 300th
Hawai'i's astonishing 72-65 victory over Coastal Carolina on Friday was the 300th win for Wallace as an NCAA Division I head coach.
"It's got to be up there because of how you won it, not who it is (against)," Wallace said.
The 'Bows overcame a 22-point second-half deficit — believed to be the greatest comeback in UH history (no official records are kept on that statistic).
Wallace won 15 games as head coach at Centenary from 1976-78, and now has 285 victories at Hawai'i. He is in his 18th season as head coach at UH.
Interestingly, Wallace said he does not keep track of his specific victories. He could not even recall the team he earned his first victory against.
"I guess I'm the true coach who only worries about the next one," he said.
One victory he does remember is a win over Hawai'i. On Jan. 11, 1978, his Centenary team beat Larry Little's Hawai'i team, 102-85, in Shreveport, La.
Wallace was fired the next day.
"I thought the world had come to an end," he said. "I was offered a job at Easter Seals; a State Farm guy called and offered me a job; a car dealer wanted me to sell cars. I had nothing going and out of the blue, Larry Little called and said he'd hire me (as an assistant coach)."
After his stint as a UH assistant, Wallace was the head coach at Seminole (Okla.) Junior College for three seasons (1984-87). He was hired as head coach of the 'Bows in May of 1987, replacing Frank Arnold.
Gipson an unexpected no-show at practice
Junior forward Matthew "Big Matt" Gipson had an unexcused absence from practice yesterday.
Gipson has missed several recent practices with an infection in his right foot. However, Wallace said Gipson did not tell any of the coaches or trainers that he would miss yesterday's workout.
Wallace said Gipson's status for tomorrow's game will be affected. "As to what, I don't know," Wallace said.
Wallace said he expects Gipson to attend today's practice.
Southern Illinois a winner in Las Vegas
Southern Illinois is expected to arrive in Honolulu late this afternoon after winning the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational last night.
The Salukis improved to 4-0 by defeating Western Athletic Conference member Texas-El Paso, 68-62, in the championship game of the tournament.
SIU has seven players back from last season's 25-5 team, including 6-3 guard Darren Brooks, who was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
The Salukis have a new head coach in Chris Lowery, but Wallace said he expects them to be similar to last season.
"They could be the best team we face all year," Wallace said. "They really get after you; they'll trap the ball and they have a lot of quickness."
In last season's 66-62 win over Hawai'i, SIU collected 21 steals — a UH opponent record. The 'Bows also shot 0 for 8 from 3-point range. It was the only game all season that Hawai'i did not make a 3-point shot.
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101.
