Tulsa to take in tourist spot before taking on UH
By Clayton Bellamy
Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. — Some coaches taking their teams to Hawai'i employ an all-work and no-play approach to keep their players' minds on football and off the sun, sand and palm trees of Waikiki.
Michael Wyke | Associated Press
But Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe, who's always stressing that his program is about more than football, will bus his players straight from the Honolulu airport to Pearl Harbor.
Running back Uril Parrish and his Tulsa teammates will mix pleasure with business while in Hawai'i, says coach Steve Kragthorpe.
"It's vitally important," Kragthorpe said. "I think I would do a disservice to our football team if I don't do that."
The second-year coach acknowledges the business at hand, but he always says he wants his players to develop as people as much as they do as players. And many of the Texans and Oklahomans playing for Tulsa may not ever get another chance to travel to the Islands.
"We would not be going to Hawai'i if we weren't playing the University of Hawai'i in Honolulu," Kragthorpe said. "But again, when you look at something that has shaped our country the way that it has ... I'd be cheating our players as people and I would be remiss as a football coach in my role, the way I observe it and play it out, if I don't take our team there."
The Golden Hurricane (1-2) open Western Athletic Conference play Saturday against the Warriors (0-2) at Aloha Stadium.
Tulsa is coming off a 49-7 rout of Division I-AA Southwest Missouri State, a game that finally saw some life from a Golden Hurricane offense that was mighty last season but had been mild this year.
"I thought we played more efficiently," Kragthorpe said. "I thought we took advantage of some opportunities, made some big plays on both the defensive side of the football and on special teams."
It will be Tulsa's third road game this season, but a trip unlike their previous jaunts to Lawrence, Kan., and Stillwater, Okla.
The Golden Hurricane leave early tomorrow morning on a charter flight to Phoenix and then fly commercial to Honolulu. First order of business: Pearl Harbor.
"You guys know me well enough now to know it's not always about football with me," Kragthorpe told reporters.
The travel means Tulsa's practice schedule is entirely off-kilter. The team practiced on its usual off-day, Sunday, and will take tomorrow off in Hawai'i.
Kragthorpe hopes the jet lag will wear off by the 6 p.m. kickoff (11 p.m. Tulsa time).
"We're going to play a very good Hawai'i team that is explosive on offense with Timmy Chang as their quarterback and a stable full of quality, fast, athletic receivers," Kragthorpe said.
