Posted on: Tuesday, March 1, 2005

March Malaise haunts UH

By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

A University of Hawai'i men's basketball team that had, "... no heart, basically?"

A Rainbow Warrior team where it "feel(s) like some guys are ready to give up?"

Wow! These are not things we are used to hearing about the 'Bows come March, when history tells us UH has usually been its prime-time, gritty best under head coach Riley Wallace.

What makes the comments so damning is that they aren't from some chat room on the Internet or some loudmouth in the stands, they are straight from the court and center Chris Botez.

Since the game wasn't on television — and what is with that? — we'll have to take Botez's word for it. But it hardly seemed like a tall tale from the biggest 'Bow, the 7-foot Botez.

For the scary part is that what Botez told The Advertiser's Dayton Morinaga after the game in Houston reaffirmed what anybody who caught the radio account of Sunday's 80-61 loss to Rice had begun to suspect already: That after too many tough, close games that haven't gone their way, it sure seemed like the 'Bows put a stamp on this one and mailed it in before they got to Autry Court.

After suffering five losses in the six games preceding Rice, you sensed the malaise that Botez talked about when he said: "We had no heart, basically. They took everything from us inside and we gave it to them without a fight."

Clearly, this is a season that has gone south for the 'Bows unlike any other in a long time. When UH began 8-0 with dreams of a national rating, nobody expected a streak the likes of No. 1 Illinois. But, who was ready for a 6-11 slide, either?

Now, at 14-11 (6-10 in the Western Athletic Conference) with at least three games to play, the ' Bows are in danger of ending the longest streak of postseason appearances — four seasons — in the program's history.

But that would not be the worst of their disappointments. Being known as the team that meekly folded up the tent down the stretch would be a shame far worse.

Especially when previous UH teams have traditionally saved their best for last. The NCAA-cracking turnarounds wrought by the 1993-'94 and 2000-'01 'Bows were triumphs of spirit as much as anything.

Even in Wallace's first — and worst — season as UH head coach, 1987-'88, when the 'Bows went 4-25, they played with some fire at the end, winning two of their final four games and, very nearly, becoming the surprise team of the WAC Tournament.

Whether he meant to, Botez has, in effect, confronted some of his teammates with the facts and called them out with his quotes. He has challenged them to finish this season, however it is to end, with a roar, not a whimper.

Somebody, at least, is willing to stand up for this team and the season. It will be interesting to see how many line up with him Thursday night against Nevada.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.