Gipson, a 6-foot-9 junior forward, once was recruited by SMU and its current head coach, Jimmy Tubbs.

Gipson is averaging 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in his first season at UH, and leads the team with a .493 field goal percentage.

"I know Coach Tubbs real well," Gipson said. "He recruited me when I was in high school, and then he moved on to Oklahoma when I was at Oklahoma. It'll be fun to see him again."

Tubbs was an assistant coach at SMU from 1990 through 2002. Gipson signed with Oklahoma out of Burkburnett High in Texas, and Tubbs became an assistant coach for the Sooners during the 2002-03 season.

Gipson left Oklahoma after that season, but said it had nothing to do with Tubbs.

"He ran a lot of our individual workouts," Gipson said. "So I got to know him pretty well."

Tubbs was hired as SMU's new head coach prior to this season.

He is the second opposing WAC coach to have ties to Gipson this season. Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes also was an assistant at Oklahoma when Gipson was a Sooner.

Gipson said he also knows some of the Texas-raised players on the SMU roster, including star point guard Bryan Hopkins.

"I played against him in AAU and in all-star games and stuff like that when we were growing up," Gipson said. "But I'm not worried about who it is or what ties I have to the other teams. When you step on the floor, it's time to compete, and I want to beat them as bad as I do any other team."

Flu bug keeps Sensley away from practice

Hawai'i junior forward Julian Sensley did not practice yesterday because he was suffering from flu-like symptoms.

As a precautionary measure, Sensley was not even allowed to watch yesterday's practice.

"We want to keep him away until they find out what kind of strain it is," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "We have to make sure it's not that contagious stuff that can affect the rest of the team."

Wallace said he hopes to have Sensley back for at least one practice before Thursday's game. The 6-9 forward leads the 'Bows in scoring (13.5 points per game,) rebounding (7.2), and assists (2.9).

"We have to treat him like anybody else," Wallace said. "If he's not ready to practice this week, then we have to put somebody else in there."

Senior Vaidotas Peciukas, who scored a team-high 13 points in Saturday's 71-45 victory over San Jose State, would likely start at small forward if Sensley is still ill on Thursday.

'Bows wary of experienced Mustangs

Wallace describes SMU as one of the WAC's most dangerous teams because it has four returning starters from last season.

Hopkins, shooting guard Justin Isham, forward Patrick Simpson and center Eric Castro have been starting together since the 2002-03 season.

"That's a good group; a lot of talent," Wallace said. "That means they'll know what to expect out of us."

As a result, the 'Bows went back to fundamentals yesterday, practicing the basic plays of their offense.

"We'll need to execute the best we can," Wallace said. "SMU has all that experience and they'll get in our stuff."

Discounts for UH students this week

UH students can attend Thursday's game for free with valid identification. The free tickets will be distributed around 6 p.m. on Thursday at Gate A only.

Also, all UH students at Thursday's game can enter to win a Neighbor Island trip for two.

UH students can also join the Manoa Maniacs section for $30 for the remaining eight WAC home games. That package is available at the Sheriff Center box office.