'Bows on fast-break schedule
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
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A whirlwind opening week of the season continued for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team yesterday as it spent Thanksgiving afternoon practicing in steamy Gym II.
The Rainbow Warriors could only take a half-holiday because their schedule is full this week.
"We have to take what ever we can get when it comes to scheduling," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "Hawai'i is not like anybody else in the country. We have a hard enough time getting teams to come out here, so if they tell us they can only play us on a certain day, we try to fit it in."
The 'Bows will host Saint Louis in a non-conference game tomorrow at the Stan Sheriff Center. It will be Hawai'i's third game in an eight-day span.
Here is what the 'Bows have gone through so far:
"If you love basketball, you don't mind going through those things," senior co-captain Deonte Tatum said. "We still have time to eat and give thanks after practice."
After tomorrow's game, the 'Bows will not play again until they host UNLV in a rematch on Dec. 6.
"It's what we go through in the (Western Athletic) Conference, so it'll get us ready," Wallace said. "I don't feel too bad about this first week because two of the games are at home. If we had to play all three on the road, it would be different."
In any case, the 'Bows should not expect any sympathy from Saint Louis. The Billikens opened their season with a 69-45 home win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday. They arrived in Honolulu last night, and will leave on Sunday morning so they can play another home game on Wednesday against Southern Illinois.
"It really doesn't matter who we're playing (tomorrow) or what's going on around us," Tatum said. "We just want to go out and play again, and show that we're not the team that lost to UNLV."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.
