Gameday: Utah Valley
In what’s considered a toss-up game, Hawaii has a hurdle to clear in the form of Utah Valley before it settles in for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
Utah Valley (7-4), a former junior college program that formerly went by Utah Valley State, has been in Division I for 15 years. The Wolverines have steadily been on the rise under third-year coach Mark Pope, who’s brought in a bevy of D-I and junior college transfers.
UVU doesn’t do a whole lot wrong. It shoots well, rebounds well, blocks shots. Its front line is imposing behind 7-foot double-double machine Akolda Manyang, an Oklahoma transfer who played UH in the 2015 Diamond Head Classic semifinals (winning 84-81) against the Rainbows.
UVU sophomore guard Mckay Johnson, the younger brother of UH’s Gibson Johnson, hasn’t played a whole lot this season. But he’s coming off a seven-point effort in a rout of NCCAA team Bethesda on Thursday.
UH (6-2) finally started hitting consistently from the outside in an 82-64 win over Hawaii Hilo on Dec. 9. The 10 3-pointers against the Vulcans easily represented a season high. Jack Purchase showed signs of snapping out of his weeks-long shooting slump, hitting a couple from long range for the first time since the season opener.
Point guard Drew Buggs has found his stride, scoring in double figures in each of the last three games. And Brocke Stepteau has been a revelation off the bench, shooting 65 percent from the field and settling in as the team’s third-leading scorer (9.4 ppg) behind Mike Thomas and Johnson.
I think Hawaii beat a team that’s better than them.
Good win.
What does Brocke have to do to prove he should be the starting point?
The inmates run the asylum.
This comment isn’t specific to Hawaii, but if I was Coach Ganot, I would take into consideration the ego of the contemporary athlete, who will transfer, rather than work hard to improve, should their playing status suddenly change.
For once, I would like to see all the players with remaining eligibility actually return.
I hope the incoming post players don’t encourage Ido and Zigmars to bail.
I go crazy when Flashier scores.
I saw some upside last night.
Beat Miami!