Thompson is WAC POW
Hawaii’s terrific start to the season was provided in large part by the only player to start throughout last year’s dismal 10-20 campaign.
Senior point guard Hiram Thompson was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week for career games against Montana State and Cal State Fullerton, both UH wins (77-59 and 84-70, respectively).
He averaged 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game and is shooting 66.7 percent from the field.
“I wish I could bottle that up and take it with me for the rest of my career,” UH coach Gib Arnold said yesterday of Thompson’s play.
Thompson looked great in Arnold’s new system. He weaved his way to the basket on numerous occasions, hit the floor hard under both baskets several times and generally looked like the floor leader the Rainbow Warriors will need to have a successful first season under their first-year head coach.
What do you guys think of Hiram’s play in these first two games, compared to at any other point of his UH career?
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Freshman shooting guard Bo Barnes‘ 10 3-pointers is tied for the most in the country through two games. Two other players have hit more than Barnes, but have done so in three games.
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Let’s see if Thompson, Barnes and Bill Amis (coming off a career-high 24-point night) can replicate their efforts tonight on ESPN against Central Michigan. Tipoff is at 11 p.m. It’s a “Blackout” game, so don’t forget to wear a black shirt.
I’m happy for Hiram and Bill. It seems as though both will continue to flourish under Coach Arnold’s system.
Hiram seems like a totally different player. I don’t want to speak negatively of the past but perhaps he was hamstrung in Nash’s system. I give him a pass on the almost airball free throw.
I like how any one of the players can step it up. Tonight I’m pulling for Kurtz to have a good game. I don’t know why but I’m a fan of his. Perhaps 8pts 5 reb?
Thompson, playing healthy for the first time in over a year, is showing what he is capable of doing. With the fine play of the freshman it certainly has taken the pressure off Hiram to play a ton of minutes which translates into his stellar performance down the stretch.
The team still has much work and growth to do as the quality of competition gets stiffer. The nice thing is the team should be very entertaining as they work on their game.
Please amend my previous post to:
Thompson, playing healthy for the first time in over a year, is showing what he is capable of doing. The fine play of the other guards has taken the pressure off Hiram to play a ton of minutes. This translates into having the energy for his stellar performance down the stretch.
The team still has much work and growth to do as the quality of competition gets stiffer. The nice thing is the team should be very entertaining as they work on their game.
congrats to hiram, a well deserved and long awaited pow for him. i remember when he first stepped on the court at the ssc, he exuded confidence and took charge right away. even when he faltered as many freshmen do, he never had a letdown.
good job!
while thus far, by the numbers it appears that hiram, bo, and amis are the key members of this squad. i say, this entire team has done really well.
thomas and johnson are both capable of huge nights at any given time. thomas has been a rock down low, consistent, and is such a fiery guy that leads by example. johnson we know will have many a twenty point game this year no doubt in my mind, but, as of now a key role for him has been to play the 3 when thomas goes to the 4 and sometimes 5 positions.
it is there ability to swing back and forth that has been a key point in our early success.
our bench has been amazing, all ten active players have risen to the task thus far. a lot of potential for a good season.
just a word of caution to all, this is early in the season and yes, we have looked pretty good for a new team. however, we haven’t played any good or great teams yet. that test is on the horizon in holiday tournament yet to come.
but, i do like our chances and potential.
Time for the big guys to step it up tonight.
once our centers get active and involved in the game we will be much better. also, when brumfield is back on the horse it will be interesting.
gibber, true to his word, has played the available personnel keeping us fresh and strong for the final run of the game. whereas, last year, we would be so gassed it was as if we went belly up every game in the last five minutes.
save for jordan coleman who will apparently redshirt this year, our freshmen have exceeded our expectations.
good times are on the horizon as we’ve already restocked the shelves with two early commits and whether or not it is the brazilian or not, this staff has proven that they will bring some legit talent to manoa. i.e. ronnie stevens, gerry blakes.
no one can deny what the gibber has done. it was nice to see papa frank arnold beaming with pride this past weekend. it is too bad the camera did not have the wherewithal to capture that moment on friday when father congratulated son.
it is a feel good story in itself. although frank did have a tough time here, he also came here with the cupboard very bare. and if memory serves me well, i believe he left very graciously and gentlemanly.
as this could be a “lifetime movie” someday, the frank and gibber story. a real feel good story no doubt.
On tv, i saw a tall gray haired man standing and holding a clipboard next to the bench during a timeout, but i couldn’t see his face. Was that Frank Arnold ?
Hiram was good last year too, but he was often overworked last year. The team may not have enough depth at forwards after Amis, Thomas & Wiseman and no scoring punch at center.
During the past three years the Bows lost the last five minutes of nearly every half. The most promising thing about this year so far is they have won the last five minutes of every half. That’s all I can tell from reading–I’m on the continent and have not seen them yet.
Congratulations to Hiram. He looks like a different player. I think everything previously mentioned has played into it. Maybe even his recent marriage. Whatever it is, keep it up. Looking forward to the late game tonight.
That tall gray haired guy is Fish , Steve Fisher , director of BB operations, he’s only in his forties and does not anywhere look to be in his 70’s , in great shape, very much a fitness buff.
Diehard, that grayhaired guy is director of bb operations, Steve Fisher, or Fish, he’s only in his early forties ! and is in great shape, rides his bike everywhere.
Scott Fisher
Mid-40’s
Hall of fame player in the Australian National Basketball League, and a 2 time Olympian.
Also former successful head coach in the Australian National Basketball League.
Has and will develop strong Australian talent ties, as the guy is a basketball legend in Australia.
It is a huge coup to get him on this staff as a Director of Basketball Ops.
JB, thanks for the answer, he did look kind of younger from the side. I just looked now at the Hawaii Athletics website and saw his picture under coaches – his name is Scott Fisher.
So Frank is sitting somewhere else, i guess.
Congratulations to Hiram Thompson for WAC POW! I’m glad he finally is flourishing in a system that actually does not stmy his style of play. On another note, i still cringe whenever Hiram falls to the floor. He’s a warrior though, getting back up even after all his bumps and bruises. Lets hope the Rainbow Warriors can pull off another win tonight!
Great Win tonight for the boys, playing in a tough game down to the wire with determination and the will to win all the way to the buzzer showed this team is on the rise for sure. I love how Coach Gib uses everyone and switches things up to give our boys the best chance to win. Glad we finally got some ballers out on the court too. With that being said, congratulations to Hiram Thompson. I may not be his biggest fan but I gotta give props where it’s due and this year he has risen his game to a whole new level. Seems he is finally playing within himself and with a lot more confidence. Maybe it was that crap flex/slow-motion Nash offense that hindered his ball playing moreso than him being hurt. It seems he has alot more ability to control the offense and move the ball around as well as pick his shots and take it to the rim. He is a key component to this years team as the Senior Captain and floor general. I think the comparison that the ESPN guy made about Hiram Thompson’s game being similar to Steve Nash in terms of getting to the basket and creating is on point.