Hawaii Warrior World

Formerly about Rainbow Warriors basketball, but now covering all University of Hawaii sports.

About the blog host

Brian McInnis has covered sports on Oahu full time since 2007, when he joined the Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff as a general reporter. He was the UH basketball beat writer from the 2008-09 season through 2017-18. Follow him on twitter @Brian_McInnis

Latest news

Raimo Reason: Lead through physicality

By Brian McInnis on October 30, 2018

After a recent weightlifting session, Zigmars Raimo laid out exactly how he was trying to help Hawaii’s young triad of 7-footers become Division I-ready players. Beat their okoles through sheer physicality. “I’m trying to do my best, because yeah, at first Gibson (Johnson) and Mike (Thomas) was beating my ass in the practice,” Raimo, a 6-7 junior, said of his freshman and sophomore seasons. “So I’m trying to do the same thing to Mate (Colina) and Dawson (Carper) and Owen […]

UH falls on senior day

By Brian McInnis on October 28, 2018

A very tough weekend for University of Hawaii sports ended the same way. After the UH football and volleyball teams had disappointing shortcomings — the Rainbow Warriors lost 50-20 at Fresno State for their third straight loss and the Rainbow Wahine were swept at home by UC Santa Barbara to put a severe damper on their postseason hopes — the UH soccer team had a chance to get one back for Manoa. Alas, it could not. With a festive crowd on hand […]

Football Throwbacks: Fresno State

By Brian McInnis on October 27, 2018

Fifty. Count ’em, 50 times the Hawaii football team has taken on rival Fresno State prior to today’s matchup at Bulldog Stadium. That’s the most of any Rainbow Warriors opponent, leaving us with the biggest selection from which to choose the “Football Throwbacks” game of the week. The teams first played in 1938 and also have the longest continuous series by year of any UH foe, having met for 26 straight years (27 including today) on a football field going […]

Wahine top Riverside 2-0 in crucial contest

By Brian McInnis on October 25, 2018

One more win and the Hawaii soccer team is in. With UH and UC Riverside mired scoreless for most of the night, the Rainbow Wahine broke out late with goals by seniors Sarah Lau and Raisa Strom-Okimoto for a key 2-0 win on Thursday night at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium. UH (9-6-1, 4-3 Big West) moved into fourth place in the conference standings with one game to play. It’s the most conference wins for Michele Nagamine’s team since it joined […]

‘Bows picked to finish 6th in Big West

By Brian McInnis on October 25, 2018

Coming off a sixth-place showing and the loss of its two best players from 2017-18, the Hawaii men’s basketball team was tabbed to finish sixth in the Big West preseason media poll released on Thursday morning. Defending regular-season champ UC Davis was tabbed to finish third, while defending Big West tournament champ Cal State Fullerton was predicted second. Annual contender UC Irvine was slotted first receiving 10 of the 24 first-place votes. UPDATE: UH coach Eran Ganot shared his thoughts […]

Wahine tabbed fifth, sixth in Big West

By Brian McInnis on October 24, 2018

The Hawaii women’s basketball team has some work to do to build its way back up to respectability around the Big West. UH, coming off an eighth-place season (12-18 overall, 5-11 BWC), was picked to finish fifth by the coaches and sixth by the media among nine teams in the league’s preseason polls announced Wednesday. “Based on last year and what we lost, yep, that’s about what I expected,” seventh-year coach Laura Beeman messaged Hawaii Warrior World. Defending regular-season champ […]

Allen, Thomas take shot at G League

By Brian McInnis on October 22, 2018

A couple of former Rainbow Warriors are attempting to take their games to the NBA G League. Forwards Noah Allen and Mike Thomas are on training camp rosters for two teams in the G League (formerly the D-League), the NBA’s up-and-coming minor league that now features 27 franchises. Allen, who played his lone season for UH in 2016-17 and was a first-team All-Big West player, was drafted 15th overall by the Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizards’ G League affiliate, […]

Strom-Okimoto honored again