Warriors open regular season on Friday
The Hawai’i basketball team had its test run last week. This week, the real race – otherwise known as the 2012-13 regular season – starts for the Warriors.
Hawai’i will open the regular season on Friday night, when it hosts Maryland-Eastern Shore. The game is scheduled to start around 7 p.m. as part of the opening night of the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center. Arkansas-Pine Bluff will face Houston Baptist in the opener at 4:30 p.m.
“We’re just trying to fine tune a few things on both ends of the floor, get a solid rotation,” associate coach Benjy Taylor said. “Just find out what defense works best with different lineups.”
The Warriors defeated NCAA Division II neighbor Hawai’i Pacific, 75-67, last Friday. Hawai’i led from start to finish, although the Sea Warriors made it interesting with a late run.
“We were able to see the flaws we need to work on,” senior Hauns Brereton said. “Make sure we hit somebody on the box out every time, make sure somebody is there to give defensive help, we were able to see individually what we need to improve. We each have our different goals to improve on and hopefully we can put that forward to the next game.”
Eleven of the 13 Warriors in unform saw action against HPU. Associate coach Taylor said the coaches “experimented” with several different lineups in the exhibition game, but will likely be more selective with the rotations this weekend.
Senior center Vander Joaquim – the leading scorer and rebounder last season – was not in uniform for the exhibition due to a knee injury. His status for this week remains questionable.
Maryland-Eastern Shore is somewhat of an unknown opponent for the Warriors. The Hawks finished with a 7-23 record last season, and are picked 12th (out of 13 teams) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll.
“They’re a brand new team for the most part, but they’re really big,” Taylor said. “Their inside guys are like 6-10 and 6-11. They’re long and athletic … don’t know much about them so we’ll just have to prepare for anything and everything. It’s the first game of the year so both teams will be going in blind.”
It will be the first of three games in four nights of the Rainbow Classic to open the season for the Warriors.
“I don’t think it makes a difference,” junior guard Garrett Jefferson said. “We’ve all played AAU basketball and you play three games in a day.”
Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic Schedule
Friday, Nov. 9
Houston Baptist vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 4:30 p.m.
Hawai’i vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 11
Houston Baptist vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, 2:30 p.m.
Hawai’i vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 5:00 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 12
Maryland-Eastern Shore vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 4:00 p.m.
Hawai’i vs. Houston Baptist, 11:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Hawai’i vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore
Game Facts
When: Friday, Nov. 9, 7:00 p.m. HT
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) – Honolulu, HI
Television: Live statewide on OCSports – Channels 16 (SD) and 1016 (HD).
Internet: Live video streaming is available on ocsports.tv; live audio streaming on espn1420.com
Radio: ESPN 1420 AM will carry the game live. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, and KTOH on Kaua’i.
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket Information: $26 (lower); $18 (upper-adult); $16 (upper-sr. citizen); $5 (upper-youth, ages 4-HS); UH Manoa students free with validated ID. Parking $6.
Promotions: Outrigger Hotels and Resorts will distribute 1,000 reusable tote bags and award up to $2,000 in the “Shoot for Loot” halftime promotion at each UH game. It’s a “Blackout” on Monday and fans are encouraged to wear black shirts during its nationally televised game vs. Houston Baptist. All seats are general admission that night.
From Auckland to Croatia, Australia to Canada, Kapalama Heights to Ohio, Cali to Memphis, Tenn., Germany to Latvia, ,,the UH MBB team is ready, might be rough start…
My take, Gib is a 3rd year coach with assistant with him for most of his tenure..by now, he has the X and O’s down..The guys, 1 through 14 are ready to work hard , smart and together, they want to win..
I believe they can win 21 games, win the BWC tourney, and get invite to NCAA championship playoffs, first time since 2001…I really believe, the Coach, staff, trainer, student help, doctors, lei girl , secretaries, cheeleaders, band, dancers, students and saimin guys, and whole hard core 6000 plus in SSC everynite, will as “all in together”…the guys are going to do well..
this has to be the most excitement since the start of the UH Rainbows 1974-75 team, with Bruce O’Neil, as coach,and Rick Pitino as coach, they had 6’9″ 215 Jimmie Baker(from Philadelphia via UNLV
, Victor Tiny Kelly 5’6″ jet, great shooter. and FT shooter..great HS and JC player from NYC, Melton Werts 6’9″ or 6’10” 240 pound rebounding , shot blocking monster,6’3″ 175 HS first team McDonald’s AA. Reggie Carter, 17 pts. 7 assists, 2 steals and shot nearly 90% from the field- McDonald’s AA.
Henry Hollingsworth….from NY..great shooter pre 3 pt line, Geroge Lett 6’7″ athlete from NY, true freshman..and 6’8″ Ed Torres , physcial player from NY true freshman..Ron Fryson 6’4″ guard from NYC, and Paul Purnie JC transfer 6’8″ leaper…all inner, urban city kids..times have changed, any color, culture, Asia, Americas, Pacifica,
Africa, Europe, and USA…if you are working hard smart , united, no primma donnas, ego trippers, and together to get wins and for Hawaii and team..
they can have success..exciting ..can’t wait for jump ball this Fri Nov 9 2012 at SSC at 700pm!!
That team was loaded
GO WARRIORS!
Uhfanzonly1
Remember it well. I really thought that this was the best team ever put together by UH—potentially better than the Fabulous Five era. Believe they were 8-0 to start the season and ranked. Unfortunately as the season rolled the team began to unravel.
Hope this year’s team and fans will hang tight and believe. On paper we are loaded with raw talent. Now it is time to put the paper to the test and see what we’ve got. We will see who will rise to the occasion, who can compete with real bullets, whose got it, can dig deep, who has composure, confidence, and not afraid to take to the hole.
The game with HPU is at best an experimental one and should not be looked at as who the UH MBB team is all about. We were only testing our boosters. This week’s series will be a better gauge as we will have a full on launch. After 3 games in 3 days we should get a good feel as to what we have. I’m sure Gib will go deep to his bench to keep everyone fresh. We will begin to see the makings of the first team and what kind of bench we have.
My guess is Vander is good to go but will not start. As coach said he is out of shape and will need a little time to get to where he was. But Vander said he is 95% (healed?) and in my book that is a go. Great time for freshmen to step up and show what they got. I’m getting impatient over NCAA’s feet dragging over Valdes clearance.
Uhfanzonly1 – WAKE-UP! WAKE-UP! Not going to happen . . . at best 14 – 14, make the BW tourney as 4th seed and lose in first round! Sorry to wake you up and bring you back into reality. Forget X & O’s, not going to happen . . . but you can expect some mental melt-downs / suspensions and more departures at the end of the year! Save this post! Aloha!
Good to see the Rainbow Classic back from a one year hiatus (even if the quality of teams are down). It should be an especially great atmosphere for Monday’s late night game. We should be a solid favorite going into all three games. Out of our three opponents, Houston Baptist returns the most and will be the toughest game, but they still will have to handle the time difference of the late start time.
Dallan,
I remember Gib with his scramble and gamble few weeks of recruiting as a late hire…he put together a team, not of all stars, guys who bought into D and Team ..that team almost won 20 games, even having Amis and Hiram out for awhile with injuries..this year’s team is half upperclassmen and half freshman, skillset improved from 3 years ago..I think Gib going to coach em up and team buys in and the win that BWC..
If they don’t make it to post season, N.I.T. or NCAA by winning the BWC tourney then we can muse, until then, team is undefeated,and ceiling is very high, the guys and Gib want good year, 20 plus wins is doable…!
See you at end of March then we see what kind of season they had…they probably still playing post season..reason Vander, Davis, Christian, Brandon S. , Garrett, RS Freshman Jawato, and Fotu, Clair, Ozi , maybe Caleb and Michael Harper…
season just begun, set goals high, not mediocre..strive to be the best, Hey Warriors, you read these posts..work hard, stay united, get stronger, play with heart and be smart, you will win championships and enter March Madness without question!!
Rainbow Classic Un-Leaded… MES, APB…
IF they CAN GO 3-0 the team and Fans Will Be in a Much Better Place (Young, Start-Up)
Than if we had imported the High-Octane Versions of Maryland, Arkansas and Houston
then gone 0-3….
Houston Baptist? 11 PM HST is like 3 or 4 am Houston Time…
On “Graveyard Shift” More “Errors” are made between 2 and 5 in the morning than any other time of the day …
Houston, you have a Problem … More than the Time Difference…
it should be dealing with “The Warriors” and their student-body heavy, lively “Midnight Black-Out Fans” —
Usually one of the better crowds of the year — and ESPN Televised noisy! …
i like that Gib has the players and coaches rallying upper campus, using their enthusiasm and [Aussie Mum borrowed term?] Boy-ish Good Looks to start filling the Stan Sheriff Center (SCC)…
The men’s VOLLEYBALL [Volleyball!?!?] team was able to do that — SELL-OUT 10,000 strong the SCC night after night with so many screaming girls it ‘literally Hurt Our Ears’ All Game Long …. but that WAS Undoubtedly the Biggest and Best Volleyball Crowd “In The World” … with so many International Players on That Team, (like This Team) the returning World-Traveling players still say there is No Other Crowd like that Any Where —
AND Basketball has also done it before in the “AC” Days…
DO IT Again …Here, ‘Now’, ‘Soon’…
Playing well this coming week can start to stoke those fires …
Got my season’s tickets thru Koa Anuenue. Lower level. Will wear my WarriorInsider T-shirt on Friday. Hoping for a very athletic team who play hard and create turnovers instead of making them.
Aologies to the late great Reggie Carter, he was a McDonald’s AA PG out of NYC, on the 1975-76 team not the 1974-75 team with Jimmie Baker, Mel Werts, Tommy Barker and Victor Tiny Kelly, which was a good team ..
The 1975-76 team with, Tommy Barker 6’10 1/2″ 230, and Melton Werts 6’9 1’2″ 230, Henry Hollingsworth, 5’11” , Paul Burnie 6’8″ 215, Ron Fryson 6’4″ 190 out of NYC, 6’7″ 180 George Lett out of NYC,Ed Torres 6’8″ 205 out of NY…lot of inner city and
urban players..remember Carter getting the rebound running the break, and out running the other guys, the Bigs were Big, pretty good , however very slow,..Those bigs Barker and Werts in concert or individually could get 18 to 20 rebounds in a game and maybe 6 or 7 blocks..Quite exciting group, under Bruce O’Neil in his 2nd year.
.Reggie Carter the AA from NYC HS was the cream of the crop,after some pilikia(some problems which led to UH MBB going under for a few years)…This team with Barker leading the way, defeated, Centenary and AA Robert Parish 7’0″ center coached by Larry Little…2 out of 3 times, 1 and 1 at the HIC arena, and 1 time on the road at Centenary La. that game we listened to on the radio, and Tommy Barker, was out running Parish on the
breaks..Barker had something like 20 pts, 17 rebounds, couple of steals. made his free throws..and helped beat Centenary at their gym in huge upset..Tommy Barker 6’10” 230 lb center/forward was a 4th round NBA draft pick in spring of 1976 by the Atlanta Hawks…He played for Atlanta, Houston and New York Knicks…for about parts of 3 years..he was a HS AA and JC AA…very good mid range shooter and defensive rebounder!!
Now differrent, not a lot of inner city kids, however after nearly 40 years, the skillset of all HS , eruo and JC players are very polished..Now UH diversity and Unity , hard smart and together…they can win…go warriors..well offically the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors!!