Vegas bound
So it’s come to this. If the Hawaii men’s basketball team wants to entertain thoughts of any postseason at this point (and we’re talking the CIT, too) the Rainbow Warriors basically must run the table in the WAC tournament this week in Las Vegas.
There might be an off chance to qualify for Riley Wallace’s pay-for-play tournament if UH gets to the WAC final, but a five-game losing streak has put a serious damper on that kind of optimism.
Getting past the first opponent, Idaho, will be a monumental task unto itself. Consider that the Vandals spanked the ‘Bows by 19 in Honolulu on Thursday, and Don Verlin’s team is riding some serious momentum (wins in last seven of eight) going into the tourney.
Then there’s UH’s own issues of fatigue and desire at this late stage. We saw the ‘Bows play with more heart against USU on senior night, but late-game execution was average at best and the Aggies made UH pay.
And yet, if all three of its top three scorers (Vander Joaquim, Zane Johnson, and Joston Thomas) come to play at the same time — granted, this hasn’t happened since the first half of WAC — they have the capacity to be one of the better teams in the league. Getting one win means UH won’t have a losing season overall.
They’ve been written off by many. Championed by few. But maybe, just maybe, the roll of the die will go UH’s way for a day or two in the City of Sin.
Plez don’t come up with all these lame excuses e.g. travel, hit the wall, fatigue etc. blah..blah…this was a pathetically “JUNK” team from the start and it was only a matter of time before their true colors came out in their ability.
Yeah, yeah, bring on all your criticisms….just face up to reality…and plez don’t give me this garbage that I’m not a true supporter etc…….to even think about playing in Riley Wallace’s “buy in tournament” is an exhibition of a tournament for losers. That tournament is a joke!!
Sure,sure the bows did not play well, but lets not play to NOT LOSE. As one local talk show guy says “what are the odds of getting a offensive rebound, on a free throw”, dont take a chance of fouling out another player. My answer to that is let the players play and most famous, “thats why the game is played on the field or floor” anything can happen, play to win. Seriously, Saturday’s game, Utah State, were having “turn over problems”, a little pressure might have caused a mistake, and for sure it would have run some clock (only 37 seconds left), even if Utah State scored quickly(2 pointer okay), we would have time to call a Percentage play, for a score or foul. Sorry to say, same scene as San Francisco game last year, same result. Call it like it is, not the refs, da coaching decision not to be on the rebounding lanes, and we cried about the effort on the rebounding.
Hopefully coaching staff learns from this past game. Monumental effort needed thursday, on rebounding, defense, getting the ball inside to Vander and Joston , making foul shots,and a hot Zane Johnson !
At this point, micro-analyzing from a distance can and will stifle heart. What the team members need from the fans now and throughout the tournament is support. It may be easy and tempting to pick apart the USU game or any of the other recent games — but as fans the question to ask ourselves is, is this productive at THIS moment?
What is the highest and best use, at this moment, of the fans’ voices? Support. And that means holding back on planting any seeds of doubt in abilities or leadership. I’m sure the players and the coaches are asking themselves tough questions; let that be enough for the moment.
there appears to be something very wrong with this team. it was going good for the first half of the WAC season, then suddenly, it seems like it got slow, the players appeared tired, the defense was gone. can’t really say what happened, but maybe it might come out after the season is over, it could be that there are some behavioral problems. hopefully, next year they can regroup and come back strong, but it will be in another conference.
Tips for Gib for the ‘tourney:
• Have ball handling (except for dribbling) limited to only one or two practice until the tournament. MAKE THESE GUYS RUN. Get that cardio’ in.
• Have those who: 1) want to play; and 2) are producing start. And keep them starting.
• Watch the fouls! SO avoidable; getting more running in, means more refined breathing, and more refined breathing, means more concentration, which means less fouling and more shots hitting.
• Time to start being open to new ideas.
Tips for b-ball Warriors:
• Don’t fight n the court: work together.
• Good chemistry can happen as easily as you guys let it happen; but good wiring is even better. Start with the former to achieve the latter and you guys might find yourselves as the team no one bet on getting into the final four!
• Look up and pray the St. Jude prayer.
Let’s. Go. WARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS
Brian, do you know if Zane left today with the team? There’s a guy on the scout.com forum saying that he didn’t go to Vegas due to lingering effects of his illness.
Yeah from what I can tell, that is accurate. He is definitely not on the flight with his teammates, and is ruled out for the tournament. I just posted a breaking news item on it HERE.
His struggles in the second half of the season notwithstanding, this is a huge blow for any chances UH had to make a spirited run.
the biggest problem with this team is not the players but the coach. To begin with he tried to recruit players that were not eligible. He left himself with holes that he simply couldn’t
fill because of that i.e. point guard to help Miah. Temper tantrums on the floor on TV. Maybe coach thinks he is another Bobby Knight, not. To me acting the way he does gives his players the green light to act the way he does. Grumble sulk and break things if the game is not going their way.
You gotta want it bad.