Blakes official // Tech talk
Gib Arnold and Hawaii beat the buzzer on Morningside (Calif.) High guard Gerry Blakes. Blakes got his paperwork completed today, on the final day of the fall signing period.
Arnold was anxious to get him on board in the early period because Blakes, an under-the-radar player after missing much of his junior season with an injury, could explode on the national scene during his upcoming senior season.
UH has one scholarship remaining to fill for the 2011-12 season. Arnold said the team would go with “best player available” in the spring.
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Today the team did extensive press-breaker preparation for Friday’s opponent, Central Arkansas. Forty minutes of fullcourt pressure is expected from UCA, which is led by new coach Corliss Williamson.
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Point guard Hiram Thompson still couldn’t believe his technical foul assessment against Central Michigan in the finale of the Rainbow Classic, but was happy his teammates — particularly freshman point guard Bobby Miles — stepped up in his stead.
He had to be taken out of the game at a critical moment in the second half. The technical foul doubles as a personal foul, and it was Thompson’s fourth.
Shooting guard Zane Johnson, who had to be separated from CMU guard Trey Zeigler, didn’t receive a technical. Neither did Zeigler; his teammate Jalin Thomas was assessed a T.
The officials discussed the matter while viewing video replay for several minutes. First the call was on Thompson, then Johnson, then Thompson again.
“I was trying to be the mediator, trying to break things up, I don’t know if on tape I look like Zane or something,” Thompson said. “That’s the only thing I can think of. Things like that happen.”
“I don’t know (how it happened),” Johnson said. “I don’t think Hiram said anything to anybody on the other team this whole year.”
Ultimately, Thompson, who fouled out in the final minute, was just glad the team held on for a 65-62 victory.
Brian, thanks for following up on the phantom technical. I watched a DVR replay of the game, and did not see anything Thompson did that could merit a technical. He obviously was a peacemaker; did not exchange words or make body contact with any CMU player. He was very composed throughout. I, too, suspect they got Nos. 3 and 2 mixed up. I was surprised UH didn’t make a bigger protest over it, seeing as how it was his fourth foul and came at a critical time in the game. Riley would have likely picked up his own T in contesting the call!
One thing consistent about UH basketball and football officiating is that it is uniformly awful and inconsistent regardless of who the officiating is done by. All opponents who claim to have been “homered” in Hawaii are delusional because Hawaii is the one state where its athletic teams have no home-court or home-field advantage and are just as likely to be “ripped-off” as any opponent. I think Zane Johnson (taking into consideration he’s played at Arizona and has red-shirted last year) was an absolute idiot for going after that guy in a crucial and very close game. It was selfish and could’ve cost his teammates and coach the game.
Forgot to say in #2 that it cost Hiram being assessed for a tech and taken out of the game. Though it was nice to see Zane starting to get into a better rhythm in the last couple of games, bonehead decision-making that hurts the team and could affect the outcome of a game negatively aren’t needed. Luckily the team won despite his idiocy, but it easily could’ve gone the other way.
I don’t think Zane was intentionally trying to go after Zeigler, just give him a little love tap maybe for the cheap shot across the lane. A little physical play is fine but you could see some cheap shots if you were to watch the game closely being exchanged as well as a little chirping going on. The foul should have been called on the initial contact when Zane went to the floor coming across the middle. The second contact was over exaggerated by both players which caused the little fiasco. I didn’t see anything wrong as both teams were playing physical and giving it there all to try and win. Granted Zane should’ve just walked it off and shot some free throws but in the heat of the game it’s just reaction and adrenaline flowing. Regardless, it was unfortunate Hiram got called for the technical, maybe he said a little something un-Mormon like, who knows. I don’t think that play would’ve caused a lost moreso the inbounds play were Hiram lost the ball and luckily grabbed some jersey to stop an easy bucket. It’s all good to me and I’m glad Coach Gib has this team playing hard, with passion, and physical…cause that’s how Warrior Ball is played in any sport!
Also, it’s nice to see some actual legit ballers being recruited and signing early. Stevens and Blakes are both young and will be added to that young core of ballers Coach Gib is establishing. Having Stevens, Blakes, Barnes, Wiseman, and Miles-Serrano for the next 3-4yrs…plus we got Joston, Vander, Dominick, and Rozitis for another 2yrs as well after this season, looks like the JC recruiting days are over and we can focus on developing true-freshman ballers which is going to keep our team with a solid foundation from here on out…
I didn’t know “Big Nasty” was coaching Central Arkansas. He was one of my favorite players in college. I remember when they beat my Duke Blue Devils for the NCAA Championship and then the following year, lost to UCLA. He was the type of player I loved, big physical banger type that could also step out and knock down a 3 or midrange jumper. I think he’s one of the few guys to win a Championship at the high school, college, and NBA level?
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