UPDATED: High Point rallies past Hawai’i for Classic title
The witching hour eventually haunted the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team early Tuesday morning, as High Point rallied past the Warriors, 62-54, for the 50th Annual Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Rainbow Classic championship.
A spirited “ESPN College Hoops Tip-off Marathon” crowd of 5,805 at the Stan Sheriff Center and a national TV audience on ESPN2 stayed up for the 11:59 p.m. tip-off and watched John Brown score a game-high 19 points and grab six rebounds to lead the Panthers, who return four starters from a team that earned a National Invitational Tournament bid last season.
Sophomore forward Mike Thomas led the Rainbow Warriors (2-1) with 14 points – all in the first half — and freshman guard Isaac Fleming added 11 points, including nine in the second half. Negus Webster-Chan and Aaron Valdes each grabbed seven rebounds, but were a combined 0 for 13 from the field.
Overall, UH shot just 31.4 percent (16 of 51) from the field, including 3 of 17 from 3-point range.
“I sensed that we had some mental and physical fatigue,” said Hawai’i coach Benjy Taylor, whose team played three games in four days with a primary rotation of eight players. “But we’ll grow from this game, we’ll get better.”
High Point opened the second half with a 10-1 run to overtake Hawai’i for a 37-32 lead with 15:43 remaining, but Fleming drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to ignite a 16-2 run which put the Rainbow Warriors ahead, 48-39, after Quincy Smith’s stunning baseline drive and slam dunk with eight minutes on the clock.
But the Panthers roared back with a 9-0 run capped by Devante Wallace’s 3-pointer from the left corner to tie it at 51-51 with 3:52 left. Things looked gloomier for UH when starting point guard Roderick Bobbitt fouled out 30 seconds later, and Anthony Lindauer’s two free throws gave High Point a 53-51 lead.
Fleming’s layup tied it again at 53-53 with 2:16 remaining, but Adam Weary converted a three-point play to put the Panthers ahead, 56-53, with 1:41 left, and free throws by Brian Richardson and Tarique Thompson stretched the lead to 59-53 with 46.3 seconds on the clock. Smith sank one of two free throws nine seconds later to cut it to 59-54, but Wallace answered with two more free throws to make it 61-54 with 34 seconds remaining, and Austin White’s free throw effectively sealed the victory with 17.2 seconds left.
“I think a lot of it was being too comfortable with the lead,” Fleming said. “We started to settle for stuff we don’t normally settle for — we didn’t do the things that got us the lead to begin with. I think we were overly excited, we were going for the home run instead of the simple layup.”
Hawai’i led, 31-27, at halftime thanks largely to 13-of-14 free throw shooting, led by Thomas’ 6-for-6. High Point used an early 8-0 run to go up, 11-5, five minutes into the game, but Stefan Jovanovich’s putback two minutes later capped a 7-0 surge by the Rainbow Warriors for a 12-11 lead. A 3-pointer by White later put the Panthers ahead, 16-12, but Bobbitt answered with his own 3-pointer to start UH on a 9-0 run to make it 21-16 with 9:04 remaining in the half.
The Rainbow Warriors later went up, 29-23, on two free throws by Webster-Chan with 3:49 left, but Brown later dropped a baseline fadeaway to close it to 31-27 with 1:03 remaining, and that is where the score stood at the break.
Hawai’i led despite shooting only 8 of 27 (29.6 percent) from the field. High Point was only a little better at 11 for 30 (36.7 percent), including only 1 for 9 from beyond the arc.
Thomas, who had only one field goal and three points in the first two games of the season, was 4 for 6 from the field and had a career-high 14 points in the first half.
“My teammates got me the ball, and I was able to finish,” Thomas said. “I wasn’t able to finish the other two nights.”
Thomas picked up his third foul just 40 seconds into the second half, and ended up playing only five minutes after intermission.
“It was a little tough to get the rhythm going again (in the second half),” Thomas said. “We gave up a rebound here or there, and I think we got a little tired.”
Freshman forward Sammis Reyes – who rejoined the team last week – was in uniform but did not play. Taylor said Reyes is still not ready for game action after missing nearly three weeks while contemplating a possible transfer.
The Rainbow Warriors will not get much more rest soon, as they play host to UH-Hilo at 7 p.m. Wednesday, then head to Maui to play Pittsburgh on Friday.
But Taylor said he is pleased overall with his team’s performance in the Rainbow Classic, especially considering the tumultuous turn of events in the previous three weeks.
“I’m very proud of them, and now that we’ve had some adversity, I’d like to see who comes back with a good attitude,” Taylor said.
Fleming said the Rainbow Warriors are committed to facing whatever challenges await together.
“We came together as a team in the summer, we worked hard together, and still stayed on as a team after everything that happened,” Fleming said, referring to the dismissal of head coach Gib Arnold and assistant coach Brandyn Akana, and the departure of top returnee Isaac Fotu. “We’ll stay together, because we’re the ones representing the University of Hawai’i.”
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Rainbow Classic
Final Standings
High Point 3-0
Hawai’i 2-1
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1-2
Bakersfield 0-3
All-Tournament Team
Aly Ahmed, Bakersfield
Marcel Mosley, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Devonte Wallace, High Point
Negus Webster-Chan, Hawai’i
Garrett Nevels, Hawai’i
MVP – John Brown, High Point
(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)
Good game and interview video .
Oh man, that was a tough loss. Meltdown at the end but I think you can chalk that up to the youth and depth issues for this team. As they said they will learn from this and get better in the future.
I mentioned in a previous comment that High Point could be one of those teams we hear from again at NCAA Tournament time and I believe it even more. They are a experienced team that stays composed.
We really need Sammis and Jawato to get in the rotation and help out ASAP. Jankovic will be a huge help next month too. I think this team will be dangerous as the season goes along because they play with such heart and hustle. There will no doubt be some bumps along the way with such young players but once they get it all together this could be a special team.
Mike and Benjy said they were tired or fatigued . As pointed out by others, they will have played 8 games in 13 days. Upcoming are 5 games in 8 days, including the long trip to Florida.
Based on this game, I would take a 3-2 record for the next five games. That means they would come back from Florida with a record of 5-3 which is not bad for a young team that lost a head coach two weeks before the season started. Hopefully they can win all 5 but that would be asking a lot. As said, there will be growing pains with these guys but watch out when they put it all together!
akuhead2:
Kind of shaking my head, did not know what happened, the defense yes, they struggled on offense, when Bobbitt went out , kind of took the wind out of their sails. Plus NWC could not hit, and MT had great first half, however, his hands must be really bothering him.
Oh, well, don’t have to get to upset, UH still 2-1, and must get win against Hilo, and then on to Maui for some Maui magic, huge game against Pitt, then the long flight to Florida..
akuhead2, one thing, Sammis should be ready, can toughen up that inside, and eventually Jawato, then Jankovich, then Team will be complete…Just have to go back to drawing board, and work on their offense, taking care of the ball, and closing out game, They WERE ahead by 9 points going into final minutes of game.. you are right , gassed, and High Point, just had the extra fuel in tank..
UH still give a lot of effort.. they will win a lot of games at SSC, and have a shot on the road, because the defend so well, and when their complete team is shooting well, they can be very good.
Hey, akuhead2, .. still has 29 more games before BWC tournament.. ton of games, to have winning season.. Still Very Early.. Coach and team , they are learning, they will bounce back..
If we play just 2 more minutes of winning basketball then,
will cracked that Cherry North Carolina team; Our UCLA assisted came-up short just once!
Every result has its causes; Know what they are, resolved them all to be all winners.
Each game on the remaining schedule will be a test of your improved performances.
You are talented and capable, let’s made them count positively
Here’s something to chew on: Bobby C said he’s been to practices and UH does not have a go to shooter and they are not a good shooting team .
The kind of shooter that if left alone, will knock it down. He cites like in the past Ruffin, Kubler, Zane Johnson, etc. I think Zane was kind of off in his last season.
Do you agree with Bobby ?
We had a go-to scorers last year in Standhardinger and Fotu.
Portnoy said it’s a fun team to watch though.
Can’t judge the team on just one game. Like BT said fatigue using just 8 players. Hopefully when Reyes and Jankovic come on line we should have more bodies to prevent end of game burnout. Fleming continues to be a bright spot for this relatively young team. It’s a learning curve for this team. Again to early to judge. And don’t forget the brutal early season schedule. We’ll see what this team is made of in the coming games.
Too bad they had this game. They gave it away yea don’t have a shooter right now maybe jawato if he ever comes back
It’s hard to run any type of offense when you don’t have an experienced leader at PG. So far Quincy has had TO problems and Bobbitt is still new to the program so I’m sure he’s still learning about his teammates and where they want to operate with the ball. If we can ever get some inside scoring and develop a PG we should be able to steady the ship.
It just didn’t seem like the guys were executing the plays. I’ll expand…. After 2-3 passes we have given up on the sewn up play by either someone not moving correctly or a not so great pass. High point looked like they were running plays, we looked like we were just running. It seems like coach Benji does not have trust in Stephan for some reason? Negas seemed like TH only person able to get a pass in to him. What I’m trying to say is we need some type of inside outside game or our guards will end up being cover deeper past the 3 point line. On the thought of not having a go to shooter how many shots did Nevels take from the free throw area? Did we try to get Negas the ball on the block at all? We need more plays tighter execution, and learn how to rub screen / chip better, can’t do that screen arround the three point line or along the base line. I’m not trying to hate i like this team but they probably need a little more structure.
After last night’s loss, I’m wondering if this team will end up even having a winning season. It reminded me of when Bob Nash was coach…lots of raw talent but poor coaching, bad decisions, dumb shot choices, unnecessary fouls, etc. The reffing wasn’t much help either. I’m hoping last night was an anomalous result due to tired legs and late hours. If not, we’re in for a long season :-O I will say this, I have no doubt in my mind we would have won if Gib was still the HC.
I know Benjy wants to put his stamp on the program, but he may be teaching too many new things. Keep most of what Gib installed and just tweak it a little to his philosophy so they are not learning the whole playbook 1 week before the season. The team will improve but so will every other team in America. It will be interesting how we do against Pitt. I’ll take a L with a 10pt or less margin.
Uh-Oh, the sky is falling after one loss!!!!! UH is gonna lose out the season…
Just relax. It’s early in the year, tip-off time was unusual, it was the their 3rd game in 4 days. It’s not surprising that UH shot poorly. Given all the ridiculousness of the last month, it’s going to take several weeks before this team gels together and looks like a cohesive unit. High Point returned all 5 starters from last year, so they are dealing with a lot fewer variables UH is dealing with now.
—
UH held High Point to 37% shooting (17% from 3pt). In fact, UH has held all three opponents under 39% shooting, which is an outstanding number. While the offense finds its way, the defense will keep UH in every ball game they play.
I do echo the sentiments of FUHA…everyone loses their first game and then the next.
Think about it, Sammis Reyes rejoins the team last Friday…they have not had one practice sinse then that would teach him anything yet because of the 3 games in 4 days and coach did right by giving them Sunday off.
They are so far behind on coachable moments right now because of what has transpired that they only know one man to man offense, the 1-4 pro set. Everything is stemming from what the PG does and if you have even one guy who does not know what to do, it ends up in a “I’ll create my own shot” type of offense. Luckily for us, our home court advantage and better talent won the first two games. Let’s give our Maniacs an assist, as well.
I am impressed with Bobbitt, he really shut down Wallace last night while he was in there as he did with his other two opponents. The other players are feeling his vibe and doing the same. Defense is what has kept us in these early games along with the points in transition.
Coach will most likely have a light practice for tomorrow’s game and on Thursday, but then it’s on the road for the next 7 days. I doubt that they will get any real coaching until after Thanksgiving. Lucky for us, we will finally get a reasonable schedule by then.
December will be the time this whole team learns what most all other teams have already got under their belt. Having said that, we are loaded with talented athletes and when someone is having an off night, we have the athletes to come in for them. The TO’s will diminish as they learn to play with one another.
I like this team and I think we will make some noise come conference time. We will be a dangerous team to have to match up with. Time heals all.
GO BOWZ
Very ugly. Probably won’t win 12 games. Oh well. We should forfeit the Pitt game. People that believe Reyes will make a big difference are delusional in my opinion. He can’t shoot either.
As Benjy said on the post-game radio interview … “we have to trust our bigs.” I’m guessing the scout on High Point was to work inside-out, which they did early in the game for the most part.
Most, or all, of Thomas’ 14 points came as a result of working the ball inside; the same with Jovanovic. (The “bigs” combined to shoot 6 for 11 and 8 for 9 on free throws). But they got away from that in the second half, electing to pop from the perimeter.
What an astute assessment by the freshman Fleming: “We didn’t do the things that got us the lead … we were going for the home run instead of a simple layup.” (Stats can be deceiving, but when a team comes in averaging 17 assists … albeit against weaker opponents … then gets on 5, well, that says a lot).
Up by nine with 6 and half minutes left, the team imploded as its inexperience showed, committing 6 of its 12 turnovers and hoisting five errant 3-pointers in that stretch. Meanwhile, the more experienced High Point got all the 50-50 balls as Benjy said and rode the momentum that was partially credited to UH’s poor decisions.
All in all, I still like their energy and effort, and I think they’ll do fine if they stick together and learn to work with one another. They have the skill set and desire. Hopefully, the team will bond in the next week when they’re on the road to Maui and Florida. I think this upcoming stretch will be critical to the team’s success.
Isaac it’s all about competeing to say forfeit a game give me a break all they have to do is trust each other on the court and they will be alright it’s know I in team and I predict them to get to the BWC championship
Isaac…Did you expect perfection at this stage of the season? This team has been through alot of adversity. They only lose one game and you are so critical about the team? This team is a work in progress but I like the overall energy and athleticism. I love the determination and attitude of the our team. There will be growing pains but I stand behind the team and coaches I hope you will too. Your negativity does not help. It would be good for the team to play Pitt as they will grow from it. Go Bows!!!
Right big daddy. They look like BWC champions. Obviously I wasn’t serious about actually forfeiting but just as obvious we don’t have one player that would make their rotation. Losing Fotu is a lot to overcome. Plus Bobbitt must stop pouting if he is to lead. Why do we make excuses about time of the games, etc….I’m pretty certain all of that was even worse on High Point. Weren’t they playing at 5am their time? Or something like that.
Big daddy….it should read “no I in team”‘ Not “know I in team”
Looking deeper in the box scores… the biggest difference from last night was the points off turnovers. During the first two wins, UH cashed in 24 and 26 points off of forced turnovers. Vs High Point, they only got 8 points off turnovers.
High Point took a little better care of the ball (perfectly explainable with their 5 returning starters), but UH still forced 12 turnovers, which isn’t bad.
Playing Pitt will be a good measuring stick for the team. If they keep their defensive intensity up, it’ll be a close game.
Playing tough defense and forcing turnovers can make up for below average shooting. Obviously it can’t make up for 31% FG and 3-17 from 3pt range.
Also, I highly doubt Valdes and NWC combine for 0 FGs again.
We really need NWC to generate some offense. I think NWC and Flemings are the two guys who can generate their own offense in end of shot clock situations. Against Pitt Valdes is going to have some trouble since most of his game is based off of athleticism and Pitt will have the horses who are just as athletic or in some cases more athletic with size. Hopefully Reyes is back by then b/c we will have no answer if our bigs get in foul trouble. This will obviously be a good measuring stick game and tough test on a semi neutral court.
Isaac thanks for the correction lol
bigdaddy and Isaac: F
UHA agree ,, the sky is not falling and UH will win a lot of games. Benjy and hopefully full staff of 3 assistants, Sammis, Jawato and Jankovich help coming. will still be good.
I guess just being real.. all the comments have merit.. you know the common theme? UH MBB gets after it defensively outstandingly as FUHA and many state. Agreed. The fact that Thomas, and Jovanovich, were really FINALLY playing Big and causing damage on O and D for High Point, to me was The High Point of the game.. Trust Thomas and Jovanovich later, Sammis tomorrow, and Jankovich in December, Don’t start bombing, or trying to win game by themselves. that is why that low Assist total
Agree with FUHA.. have to get real fans, .. all the turmoil, UH MBB in past few weeks, however went down, definitely this Team WAS SET UP TO FAIL BIG TIME.. Benjy and the MBB team answered the call, they ain’t laying down for anybody… remember, it wasn’t until UH got gassed, and made error on Offense, that High Point , with their experience closed it out, and with 21 seconds, UH was still within 2 three pointers from tying the game..
Great comments fans.. You know why? This Team Definitely WILL STILL BE Good.. And clyde, I don’t know WHY Jeff Portnoy and Bobby Curran, saying they are being real,.. say there is No go to guys, no offensive punch, like a Zane, Vander, Standhardinger, that can just go and get baskets at will, Fotu too.. Nevels, is expending so much energy, and wants Sooooo Badly to win, same with Q, and freshman Fleming.. wow… that speed to the hole, UH MBB has not had an athletic guard on O and getting up and down the court, since probably Reggie Carter, McDonald AA, and NY Knick NBA pick the late Reggie Carter..
Giving UP fans.. No way…. Sammis tomorrow, Jawato, soooon, when healthy, and before DHC, Jankovich.. NWC.. he has bad ribs and is only now getting into shape, Nevels, don’t press to hard, and Bobbitt, he is still a great PG, Fleming, the best freshman in years. Jovanovich, is a VERY good Big, and MT coming out party.. Q what quicks and vert.. man..
I ain’t giving up, and I hope Bobby and Jeff, quit saying. UH is not good, or as good, without the takeover Offensive threat.. wait a minute.. Benjy will just tell team.. YOU KNOW WHAT MEDIA SAYING BOUT YOU BOYS AGAIN.. /Bobby and Jeff, say , don’t expect much, because you guys are not that much of BB athletes like in the past..
Hey Fans, super, super long season possible 32 games before Selection Sunday..UH can still win 20 plus, I am certain, and when the 3rd captain.. when healthy, even if not.. maybe Benjy should name Jawato captain, you know why , the guy never complains, great student and person, and had some tough health issue breaks,.. on schedule, really unusual for a 4 year student to finish his degree this May in 4 years.. Jawato, Reyes and Jankovich to the rescue
And FUHA.. I won’t listen to Bobby now.. even the morning show. how depressing for the team, even Jeff and hoopstalk.. sometimes good .. well UH MBB team, use it as You guys against the world, and Rock the Rock… You all going be alright. that Defensive greatness and when your team offensive, TRUSTING THE BIGS.. all the team.. UH will be burning hot, come DHC..
Hey.. 8 games before DHC.. UH at 2-1.. they go 6-2… over that period.. they be 8-3 heading into DHC.. I would say great… even if they are at 7-4…Awesome
UH will be better on O and D and trust, trust , trusting teammates.. TEam are together. I sound like coach now.. They will get their legs, tough, tough, schedule, Hilo at SSC, Pitt at Maui, the straight to Florida for Gulf Coast Showcase.. they come out 3-2 in that stretch, would be unreal.. no , correction Would Be Really Good..
Go Bows
🙂
And AV? The rotation of eight,,.. Aaron, has to use athleticism and get after if on O and D, a one man wrecking crew.. Team very young..
When AV, MT, SJovan, NWC. Bobbitt, Q, Fleming, Sammis,.. all on board. will be fun..
Hilo will be ready, they will bomb 3’s and try to run on UH.. smallish.. UH no let down.. go get em!!
Isn’t this fun.. We all talking about a UH MBB team that was supposed to be destroyed the program, and the departures.. HOWEVER they are 2-1, and definitely smart with ball on offense, take care the ball, and trust teammates.. they should be 3-0.. What a great week if UH gets Hilo W, and upsets Pitt on Maui.. then UH would be 4-1 heading to Florida
Come on Sammis, bring some energy and rebounding , D and putbacks to Hawaii’s frontline.. maybe pull back on jacking some 3’s , go to rim, or drive and dish.. MT and Stef really impressed, they Are Playing at a high level and only getting better. Jovanovich, is a Good BWC big..
Too bad Pittsburgh’s Dixon didn’t want to play UH at SSC. They always have a lot of talent, so why be scared of UH in Honolulu ? I think Gib had to compromise and schedule to play them on Maui.
Josh Ko of Kalaheo is on the Pitt roster . Look like he’s played 2 minutes so far in two games.
Yes you can judge the team on one game. And, Not that great an interview.
First, I don’t accept the proposition that the guys were tired or fatigued. We have too many good players. An advantage !! They couldn’t all be tired ! Play the ones who are hot. MT was hot.
This is all on the Coach and the Coaching staff.
Coach Benjy, take a note from a fan of the Fabulous Five, referencing that great article noted by Islandman. We say, ‘let em play’, it kind of means let em play, but you must realize the difference between this team and the Fabulous Five. There were just five. Basically, just five. It was a state of mind. Just five. It’s all on ‘these five’. The sense of the ‘go to’ guy was different. Freeman! knew who the hot hand was.
I suggest, this one decision, ‘ who has the hot hand’, be taken out of the hands of the head coach. He is just too close to the team and it creates an ‘arms length’ static coaching decision, black and white, an easy, clear decision, that most importantly can be communicated clearly and easily. Let Brandon Loyd make that decision, because he brings some UCLA magic with him. Or let Senque Carey make that decision, because he might know the players better. Or by a committee of Brandon Loyd and Senque Carey, just because they together can keep Benjy honest, and clearly out of that decision.
Call the hot hand. Play to the hot hand. Keep the hot hand part of our game. No guessing. Let the assistant coaches have that decision ‘who has the hot hand’. There can be two ! It could be anyone, it could be two. But it is clear, since we have more than five players, and so many are point type players, that clarity can only be found by making that decision and communicating it. This clarity is distinctive to this particular group of guys. Freeman knew ! Freeman called it ! Coach Rocha did not call it ! Freeman was the coach on the floor, with respect to this aspect of the game. With Bobbitt out, these young players weren’t sure. Short discussion between assistant coaches and point guard or team. Clarity, out of the hands of the head coach. And the head coach just focuses on the game. Players don’t trust the coaches, they trust the players on the floor, and they take the coaching and play to it. You don’t want 6 guys on the floor, it is too complicated. This is simplicity.
This one was ALL ON THE COACHING STAFF. The call for simplicity, clarity, SOLVED (one solution at least): by having a hot hand strategy, by taking the calling of the hot hand OUT OF THE HANDS of the head coach, and have the head coach focus on the game.
Not trying to recreate the Fabulous Five, but the chemistry of the team. It was team chemistry that was missing last night, and the APPROACH to team chemistry. The Hot Hand Strategy is an APPROACH to team chemistry. I think the hot hand strategy could pull this team together. But the head coach CAN’T call it. Can’t participate. The coaching of the team is independent of it. He calls the defenses, calls out the weakness in the other team, and watches the clock. But it is important that the point players all know and all have the same mind set. Who is the hot hand, now.
akuhead2:
Yes, the Fabulous Five, basically just those five, and Rocha trusted, them and they went off on that magical 2 year run. Hard to duplicate. The skillset of the athletes nowadays, is really great. .. The interview and comments by Isaac Fleming.. I say.. it was great, just like a coach talking.
FUHA says, and I agree, NWC and AV.. who were among first 2 games scoring stars, basically shut out.. so someone else steps up.. Jovanovich, becoming really solid and Mike Thomas, it seems like that abrasion on his hand, shooting from the moped accident bother him.. However..
akuhead2, remember.. ? We All in This together.? Fans, the mamas and the papas of the team and the student Athletes. Coach Taylor first time HC in years time, he is learning too, and that UH Admin, better speed up the process for him to get One More Good Assistant, Que, Loyd and that connection, at moments notice, to come over, will help Coaching too.
Hey akuhead2, I give Benjy a lot of credit for staying the course for the team., if He left, or was implicated, … team fall apart.. by he being acting/interim.. helped team to Bond.. akuhead2, just relax.. UH go get Hilo, who will be ready.. then battle Pitt in Maui.. we see how Coach and the guys respond.. No this is NOT 40 years ago with the Fab Five, this is 2014-15, with great student athletes, who are not giving up!!
Good NEWS !!? Sammis Reyes and Jawato(hooray !!)
be on the court ready for UH MBB team tomorrow against UH Hilo.. and that will help tremendously.
Remember Akuhead2, this team a few weeks ago, was down in the dumps, doldrums.. We ain’t giving up on Coach Taylor Staff and the team. .. Hey even mighty Duke can have off shooting nights or not make it to final four.. UH MBB team will be fine.. Ton of games. some 35 more before March Madness !!
Go Bows. Rainbow Warriors !!
🙂
OMG! As they say. One game. Young team. New members . New system. Can we allow a bit more than two games for them to mesh smoothly. relax folks. Did you thin this team was going undefeated? Take a TO and enjoy the ride
Keepitreal:
Fellow Fan you are spot on… Give the guys and HC time, they will be okay.. take time, new team, and the ordeal.. for them they are One Ohana and will learn.. Lot of games to play, so much of season, tough stretch, however.. take the lessons, get better, and be ready for BWC .. Keep Positive, and thanks Keepitreal.. You Are Keeping it Real !
Mamma Valdes’ Letter; Just support the guys, wins ., loss, just support, MBB and they will enjoy the ride!!
Right On.
Go Bows !!
You are right, ONLY 3rd game !
🙂
Anybody know what is going on w/ Jawato ?????
It’s not the one game we loss. It’s the whole body of work for all the games so far. Remember we haven’t played even a decent team yet.
Bigdaddy. No problem. I AIN’T too good at much but decent at English.
I agree it’s not the end of the world.
Agreed. Only 12 wins isn’t the end of the world either……
Brad Autry is the new assistant coach per Benji on Call the Coach and also the newspaper. They had a good practice today.
McInnis says Sammis may have serious hand injury ? But Benji didn’t mention it on the show.
Also, Benji said Sammis had been doing extra workouts to learn the plays and get in condition.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/20141118_Autry_joins_Taylors_UH_basketball_staff.html?id=283144851
Wonder of all games this early season OC16 would do live broadcast from Maui vs. Pitt, know that they did live game UH vs. North Carolina A + T when Vander, Shaq and Joston Thomas were on team.
Lol Isaac. “Body of work” as in 3 games. I guess 30 point beat down of a “bad” team is not good enough. Does a 60 point margin translate to 15 wins. My goodness. No one will take you serious when you start talking about body of work in November. You have been watching too much ESPN. Team will improve as they meet stiffer competition. That is how you get better. Gotta play the best to improve your game. 12 wins? I haven’t seen enough yet to count wins. i am one of those who enjoy the game. Of course the goal is to win but it is also to compete. I will wait a bit before making any season forecasts. In the meantime, I will enjoy watching best game on the planet. That 4 OT game was GREAT no matter who the teams were. If that didn’t quicken your pulse the you better make a doctor appointment for a checkup. Go Bows!
We got 1 senior, two juniors, 5 sophomores, and 5 freshmen. At this stage in time you really can’t compare the fabulous five with this team. In their first year the fab 5 had 6 top players—1 senior, 4 juniors, and one sophomore. With the exception of Penebacker, the 4 other key players had two full seasons under their belts. Even the talented freshmen that Kentucky had last year made mistake after mistake at the start of the season. Everyone thought that they wouldn’t amount to much. But if you got talent sooner or later they will click which is exactly what happened as they completely turn their season around when the post season started. So give them some time and one day we could see the makings of another fab 5 II. It don’t matter how you start but how you finish.
The addition of Autry will give UH some recruiting connection to the Midwest so its a plus. Senque can take all of Calif while Autry and Lloyd can take the Midwest/south. Get plenty of good players in the Midwest that we can go after.
Apparently only phone calls to possible recruits, per Benji. Not much recruiting to be done due to too much on the coaches’ plate or something. He said he wants to invest time in his current players which includes only one senior.
He said something about a foreign tour or something next season.
Maybe wait and see approach to coach..Give credit to Benjy, Que, Loyd and Autry, and staff, they are proceeding to make MBB in good shape for several years to come. Vote of confidence? Hope so. Here is wishing that Benjy and the team, and fans/families enjoy a great season.. Wait until all the healthy guys and eligible guys on board December, then get ready to do the dance in Anaheim. not Disney short ride, the looooong. one home!!
Go Bows!!
🙂
Looks like Dayton will be cooking over these next couple of weeks. Big Mahalo Dayton. And also to all those responsible for WI.
Keepitreal. Trust me I don’t care if u take me serious. I know the game. I can tell when I see something with good, bad or average potential. We are lacking in lots of areas. Mainly shooting and rebounding. Last time I looked that is a really bad combo to lack in. Of course it means nothing to beat one really horrible team by a lot but it means a little more when you barely beat one bad team and lose to another bad team. Plus all on our home court.
My mistake Isaac. I defer to your knowledge of the game and insightful analysis. Good to know from someone who actually knows the game that winning means nothing. Now there is some food for thought.
Winning big against a terrible team, winning barely at home against a bad team and losing by folding in last 6 minutes at home against another bad team does mean something….that 12 wins will be hard to get but maybe not too hard since we play mostly bad teams. It suggests a 5th place finish or so in conference and early exit from conference tournament to me…..if you read a lot more than that in what we have seen so far then more power to you…..time will tell.