Court Sense

The Hawaii men’s basketball team got to chilly Logan, Utah, this morning and prepared for tomorrow’s Western Athletic Conference opener vs. Utah State. UH flew to Salt Lake City then bused 2 hours to Logan. In the evening, they got in a 2-hour practice in one of the auxiliary gyms on the USU campus. ——— USU coach Stew Morrill is always a good quote, and he said some interesting things on a conference call with media this morning. He sounded […]

Hawaii coach Gib Arnold, like so many others, was shocked to hear of the sudden demise of former UH basketball star Chris Gaines. Gaines, the all-time leading scorer in UH history at 1,731 points, died of a heart attack on Christmas in Orlando, Fla. He was only 42. Arnold knew Gaines personally. Arnold was in Hawaii as a senior at Punahou the year Gaines came into the program under Gib’s father, then-UH coach Frank Arnold. The two are less than […]

Hawaii’s history against the Runnin’ Utes has been, shall we say, less than stellar. Last night’s 68-55 effort was only the Rainbow Warriors’ tenth all-time victory over its former WAC rival in 57 meetings. Yes, you read that correctly. Back when the schools used to meet on a yearly basis, Utah made a tradition of regular beatdowns of UH, especially in Salt Lake City. Of course, as the record will attest, they did so in Honolulu, too, with nine straight […]

The shorthanded Rainbow Warriors never quit last night against a sound Florida State team, firing away in the final moments of their Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic opener to make it a single-digit loss, 70-62. Postgame comments from coach Gib Arnold and players Joston Thomas and Zane Johnson reflected that. Gib Arnold: Opening statement: I thought the guys played hard, I thought the guys battled. You know, this team has never quit, they’re not going to. The team has got […]

Keep checking back to the breaking news section of the Star-Advertiser website for write-ups about today’s quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. So far, we’ve had two blowouts. Washington State outplayed Mississippi State soundly in the second half for an 83-57 win, and No. 15 Baylor thumped San Diego 83-50 in the second game. Don’t forget, UH (7-2) takes on Florida State (9-2) tonight at 8 p.m. in an ESPNU-televised game. KHON2 sports director Kanoa Leahey has the […]

That will be tough. Florida State offers Hawaii the best defense the Rainbow Warriors will probably see the all season. But remember this cool fact: UH coach Gib Arnold is unbeaten in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, having won it last year in his final season as USC assistant coach. It was the inaugural edition of Hawaii’s new eight-team tournament, which is run by ESPN Regional TV. An extremely physical USC team edged Western Michigan, knocked off Saint Mary’s […]

Senior forward Bill Amis and senior guard Hiram Thompson both sat out — or in Thompson’s case, stood and watched — during today’s Hawaii practice leading into the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Amis is still wearing a boot to recover from his stress fracture in his right foot, while Thompson is resting a balky back caused from a brutal fall on his side against Chicago State on Maui. UPDATE: Thompson’s MRI on his back, taken over the weekend, was […]

The Hawaii men’s basketball team returns from the Valley Isle today riding high from its largest victory margin of the season in the 86-57 win over Chicago State on Maui. However, the status of senior point guard Hiram Thompson is still unknown (he fell hard on his back going for a steal on a lofted inbounds pass). A team official said Thompson was scheduled to have an MRI today. If Thompson cannot play against Florida State to open the Hawaiian […]