Warriors practice at Rogers Arena
The Hawaii basketball team arrived safely in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Thursday night, and got its first look at the Rogers Arena on Friday afternoon.
The Warriors will play nationally-ranked Gonzaga in the Rogers Arena on Saturday. The arena – which is the home of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, and former home of the NBA’s Grizzlies franchise – has a capacity of 19,000 and game officials are expecting 10,000 to show up for the “neutral” game between the Warriors and No. 22 Bulldogs.
“It’s huge – they say it seats about 19,000 and it’s pretty neat walking in here to a former NBA arena,” Hawaii head coach Gib Arnold said. “The guys are excited. It’s going to be fun.”
The basketball court for Saturday’s game was placed atop the ice rink, so the condensation made for some slippery – and chilly – conditions during Friday’s two-hour practice.
“It’s a little different, we’re going to get used to it though,” freshman point guard Shaquille Stokes said. “It’s cold but we just got to adjust to it. We can’t make no excuses when the game comes.”
I hope the weather don’t affect the players too much. This place looks cold. Go get ‘um Warriors!