Warrior Insider

The Inside Source for Hawaii Men's Basketball
Search

UPDATED: Joyous victory for Warriors over Colorado

Celebrate1_Flores

Bruised and battered but far from beaten, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team rallied past Colorado, 69-66, Thursday afternoon to take third place in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

A spirited Christmas Day crowd of 7,817 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Isaac Fleming come off the bench to score 18 points, grab six rebounds, dish out five assists and make two steals, and Garrett Nevels add 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks as the Rainbow Warriors achieved their highest Diamond Head Classic finish to date and improved to 10-4. Colorado fell to 7-5.

UH’s victory came less than 48 hours after a heartbreaking 80-79 overtime loss to No. 11-ranked Wichita State in the semifinals and less than 72 hours after a hard-fought 66-58 first-round victory over Nebraska.

“I feel better,” Rainbow Warriors coach Benjy Taylor said. “To play Nebraska, Wichita State and Colorado in three days is a tall order for a program like us, but it’s really gonna help us down road.”

Trailing 66-63 at the 2:33 mark with top scorer and rebounder Aaron Valdes fouled out, starting point guard Roderick Bobbitt sporting nine stitches on his face after catching a first-half elbow and starting shooting guard Nevels playing with a heavily taped right (shooting) thumb, Hawai’i rose to the challenge.

After Fleming scored on a putback to close it to 66-65 with 1:11 remaining, UH regained possession with Nevels’ rebound and called timeout with 32 seconds left. Negus Webster-Chan then drained an eight-foot floater from the center of the paint to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead, 67-66, with 22.6 showing on the clock.

Fleming1_Flores

“We set a play up (during the timeout),” Taylor said. “In our motion offense — with the 1-4 high (formation) — we have a lot of reads and options off of that. We just put in a little wrinkle.”

Bobbitt then made a steal at the other end of the court, was immediately fouled and then converted both ends of a one-and-one bonus to make it 69-66 with 17.2 ticks left.

Colorado coach Tad Boyle said he did not want to take a timeout after Webster-Chan’s go-ahead basket, but also did not expect his best player (Askia Booker) to get the ball stolen from behind by Bobbitt.

“The last turnover of the game came right from behind,” Boyle said. “I like to try and attack before the defense is set, I don’t like calling a timeout in that situation. But, when you turn it over, you second guess yourself as a coach that you should have called a timeout. I just believe philosophically when the defense isn’t set, get the ball where you want to get it and make plays, and if you get stuck in a difficult situation, then you can call a timeout. Our team right now, it’s above the neck, it’s between the ears, that’s where our issues are and we have to get better.”

Xavier Johnson then air-balled a 27-foot attempt on the Buffaloes’ ensuing possession, and Fleming was fouled with 5 seconds remaining after grabbing the rebound. He missed the front end of the ensuing one-and-one, and Colorado grabbed the rebound. After a timeout with 2.1 seconds left, however, the Buffaloes could only manage a desperation halfcourt shot by Askia Booker that failed to hit the rim.

“We just had to dig down deep at the end — make key steals, grab key rebounds,” Nevels said. “That loss the other night (to Wichita State) hurt, but we weren’t gonna let that happen again.”

Taylor said he was particularly pleased with how his team limited Colorado to zero field goals and just four free throws in the final 4:38.

Nevels3_Flores

“I liked how we executed on defense in the last four minutes of the game,” Taylor said. “We defended them differently off the ball screen, and that got them on the back of their heels a bit. If we can get them thinking instead of playing, then that’s a good thing.”

UH overcame a 33-32 halftime deficit to take a 35-34 lead on Webster-Chan’s free throw 90 seconds into the second half, and eventually extended it to 56-49 with 9:41 remaining after an 11-5 surge capped by Bobbitt’s fast-break layup off of Nevels’ blocked shot.

After a Colorado free throw, Stefan Jovanovic scored on a nice up-and-under post move to give Hawai’i a 58-50 lead. But the Buffaloes answered with a 12-0 run culminating in two free throws by Johnson to make it 62-58 with 4:38 left.

Following a shot clock violation by Colorado three minutes later, Fleming scored on a putback of Stefan Jankovic’s miss to cut it to 66-65 with 1:11 remaining, setting the stage for Webster-Chan’s go-ahead basket.

Colorado out-rebounded the Rainbow Warriors 25-13 in the first half, but Hawai’i matched the Buffaloes with 16 boards after halftime.

“In the first half, we didn’t really come out ready, and they got us early on off the boards,” Nevels said. “But we fixed it and took care of it in the second half. We really wanted first place, but I’m proud of how we handled our business today.”

The Rainbow Warriors did it despite Bobbitt catching the elbow and leaving the game with 6:55 remaining in the first half (he returned two minutes into the second half); Webster-Chan tweaking an almost-healed ankle sprain with 11 minutes left in the game, Nevels injuring his thumb at about the 8-minute mark and Valdes (16.7 points, 7.1 rebounds per game) playing just 12 minutes and fouling out with 2:33 remaining.

“Everybody stayed positive, stayed together, and that’s why I love this group,” Taylor said. “Rod came back with nine stitches, Negus turned his ankle … and Garrett hurt his thumb — he couldn’t pass, dribble or shoot with his right hand. But he said, ‘I wanna stay in and play defense.’ ”

Benjy1_Flores

Fleming had the best game of his young freshman season, as the 18 points and five assists were both season highs for him. He was one of five players named to the All-Tournament Team after leading Hawai’i with 45 points in three games.

Taylor also got some strong low-post contributions from the 6-foot-11 “Stefans” – reserves Jankovic (4 points, five rebounds, two blocks) and Jovanovic (8 points, four boards, one block), who were together on the court for the first time this season.

“That was our miniature version of ‘Twin Towers’ — we took a look, and I liked it,” Taylor said. “We looked big out there. I’m excited now about the different things we can do.”

The third place finish was the best showing by a Hawai’i team in the six-year history of the Diamond Head Classic. Its previous best was fourth place in 2009.

UH’s next game is at 7 p.m. Monday against Southern at the Stan Sheriff Center.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW BOXSCORE

FlemingTourney_Flores

Thursday’s Results
Championship: George Washington 60, Wichita State 53
Third place: Hawai’i 69, Colorado 66
Fifth place: Nebraska 71, Ohio 58
Seventh place: Loyola Marymount 72, DePaul 69

All-Tournament Team
Isaac Fleming (Hawai’i)
Askia Booker (Colorado)
Ron Baker (Wichita State)
Fred VanVleet (Wichita State)
MVP – Kevin Larsen (George Washington)

(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FACEBOOK PHOTO GALLERY

41 Comments

  1. What a Christmas present for the fans of Hawaii! Winning 2 out of 3 with the likes of Nebraska, Wichita State, and Colorado in a span of 4 days is some feat. And we nearly came out 3 for 3. These were all tough games. We came out pretty banged up but in the end the Warriors that they are prevailed. This team has few weaknesses and getting fewer as the days roll by. We got on ball defense, we got off ball defense, we got zone defense, we got athleticism at every position, we got spot up shooters, we got bounce shooters, we got mid-range shooters, we got long range shooters, we got slashers, we got rim protectors. And most of all we got the hearts of champions. Congratulations to the players and coaches for a week Hawaii will always remember. Next year we bring home the trophy.

  2. There were four times the UH defense caused Colorado to not get off a shot before the 35 second shot clock expired.

    Benji, just a little old country boy from North Carolina . . .

  3. This whole state can be so proud of this team. They are overachieving and proving everybody wrong game after game. Channel 2 News just put the story of this team as the lead report on Christmas Day! That means more people are noticing, and not just the die hard fans like us here on this site.

    I am so, so, so happy that I gave up a Christmas lunch party to go to this game. The arena was rocking again!

    Isaac Fleming is turning into a star right before our eyes. Garrett Nevels is giving the senior leadership this team needs. Aaron Valdes is the highlight man and worth the price of admission even though the refs took him out today. Rod Bobbitt is the real deal, a defensive demon and keeping the offense running strong. NWC and Janks the Canadians are super talents. Mike Thomas playing his role and others too like Quincy and Stefan Jovanovic. Everybody doing their part!

    As the Channel 2 News report said, this team has got the people in this state buzzing!

  4. Boys buying into “Benjy Ball”…he and team over next 7 games go 6-1 …overall record 16-5..uh admin. Foolish not to sign him to 2 year deal 2015-17…would not be too expensive…autry great X + O’s coach, Que recruiter, guys close to, and develops players, coach loyd discipline. UCLA player and hs al lamerican 3 ball shooter lives in hawaii already….make sure guys do well in class, great secretary, student assistants and hopefully to seal the deal jamie smith hopefully granted long ter visa..uh admin..staring you right in the face..complete team, potential recruits ready to sign and hawaii loves this team..

    Fans.. sign benjy up soon..such a shining light for hawaii sports fans and entire state
    the fantastic fourteen..save money on expensive search firm..not portnoy or wheeler..ha, ha. Haaaah!!

    Right warriorhaw and Eagle and thousands of uh mbb fans?
    Team very, very special!!
    🙂
    Go Bows!!

  5. Taylor is looking like a pretty savvy coach. Knows when to do what. Calls good time outs, switches defense at the right time, knows how to use his players and their skills. Also, has great personal skills–obviously well-liked by players and fans. Knowledgeable, experienced, dedicated, humble, focused. What’s not to like about him? It’s getting to be pretty obvious he should be the next permanent head coach.

  6. According to Dave it sounds like UH won’t be making a move to hire a bbhc until a new AD comes onboard. Like always, UH is on Hawaiian time and not willing to make a move when they should. Of all the bad hires UH made with ample time for the Board/Panel to discuss and choose a President/AD/etc. yet coming up on the short end and firing those hires. Do we taxpayers really need them to think for us? Just hire Benjy! if not, start doing Benjy’s background check and get the ball rolling. Don’t they notice the fans are coming out to the bb games, the coaches/team have brought back some excitment to UHbb games, the team is playing good after all the turmoil before the season start and that tells you something, Benjy is the right man for UH’s bbhc’ing job, well, at least for 2-3 years. IMUA, get it going UH

  7. Thank you Warriors for delivering the win on Christmas day. Nevels took his game to the next level and showed that senior leadership. Always humble and showed that he’s a grown man. Also happy to see Negus bounce back with the go ahead bucket. Love it!!

  8. Well, I didn’t get a lot for Christmas but this win totally made my day. Kudos to the all the coaches and players for setting the new bar for the DHC. And to be one point away from going 3 – 0…so close! We’ll get ‘um next year.

    I do want to get one thing off my chest…the reffing….atrocious…inconsistent…ridiculous…anyone else agree? Somehow an elbow to the face that results in 8 stitches is considered ‘clean’, while a clean block on the other end of the court is a file. The entire tournament, the reffing was terrible. If you look at the FTA’s, one might have the impression that any team BUT Hawaii was the host. The ref’s tried to stop the Warriors from succeeding, but they failed. They took Valdes almost completely out of the 3rd game, but that still wasn’t enough to stop this time from getting the W. True Warriors fight ’til the end and come out victorious!

    Don’t get me wrong, Hawaii did have a few ‘whoops’-y moments, for example getting the defensive rebound then letting it fall out of bounds, so the other team gets it back then sinks a 3. That happened twice! Also, a few wide open layups that were blown, however our PG’s just keep making plays. I can’t say how much I’m impressed with our 2 baller/shot-caller maestro’s. Amazing, it’s all I can say. Fleming carried the team through the tournament. If the ref’s hadn’t taken him out of game 2, I have no doubt we wouldv’e came out w/the W.

    Overall, I’d say this team is really coming into its own. We’re going to wreak some serious havoc when conference play starts! Just a few adjectives for this team: fearless, athletic, stout defense, shooters, just to say a few. I have a good feeling about the rest of this year and I have no doubt this team will be playing in some post-season tournament somewhere. How many previous UH teams could boast wins over ACC (Pitt), Big Ten (Nebraska) And PAC12 (Colorado) teams by mid-season? Also, how many previous UH teams have averaged a 1:1 assist to TO ratio?? (UH is averaging 13ast/13TO’s per game this season). And 9 steals a game…amazing. Already looking forward to Monday. Let’s GO BOWS!!!!!!

  9. Pocho:

    That is about the Best article about MBB , the team and Coach Taylor that Dave Reardon has written up in a long time. Thankyou Mr Reardon, something a lot of fans on this forum know already. This Coach, his staff, and the team and their ohana, very, very special. They are tough, together, and have tenacity…A Victory already? NOT ONE OF THE 14 MBB roster members have been put on academic suspension, They All did well.. Great sign. Sad, real sad, when Benjy at post media conference interviews, the question comes out about his status, interim or HC for next couple years? He is honest, No givens, however a lot, media, ESPN announcers, Pitt, Nebraska, Colorado, those teams from P5 conferences will say, Benjy and team doing awesome job.. They will fight you and are winners.
    What more could we want from a NEW HC…Pocho…Hawaiian time, old boy time.. Benjy does well first say 8 games into BWC.. maybe 6-2.. and UH is at 18-6 overall, this is by Feb mid..if UH admin has any sense, sign Benjy and his staff up for At least 2 more years.. Saves money, current guys and their families reassured, and 3 potential(just guessing but NOT)will probably sign, March through May, A New AD await till JUNE? and The that AD picks another Coach? Start from scratch.The MBB fanbase, the Shining light is already in place.. UH admin, might as keep the Positive going.. think that if AD Jay Has “Power that be” he should sign Benjy up.. UH admin.. who will they look for? And do that expensive $90,000.00 independent search committee team for AD and new HC, that is crazy. What is NOT CRAZY… our UH MBB team they are Crazy Great Good. Sehr Guht very good !!
    🙂

  10. What a great Christmas present! Congratulations to the team! You guys did amazing on the transitions of all change ups of rotations. And two Stefans on the court! Awesome! I enjoy that we can continue to surprise the other team on who is and who isn’t on the court.

    A shout out to the men who didn’t get court time. Although all the excitement is on those who have minutes on the court in the last couple of games, every player on the team is the TEAM! Thank you for your excitement, your high 5s, and your fist bumps! Your energy flows through so everyone feels and enjoys the win together.

    Merry Christmas to the fans and the families of our UH Men. 10 wins baby! YES!

  11. I woke up this morning and wanted to relive the game all over again! This win and this team is like a great Christmas present that you want to keep enjoying and talking about to all your friends.

    I can watch that highlight of Nevels block over and over. You can see him timing his steps right before he goes up super high and get that clean swat. It is amazing that this game had at least two unreal defensive plays that us die hard fans can put up there with history. The block by Nevels and the steal by Bobbitt at the end to save the game!

  12. ChuckCheese: As All long time MBB fans and even championship coaches know.. winning big games , going to post season, and winning championships, stems from great Team and Individual Defense, This UH team, though smaller in bulk and height at many spots, Their heart and desire, is translating to success.. They are creating much more fanbase, for rest of 10 home games at SSC this year, I hope at least 6000-7000 come out.. at minmum 6500 with Jamie Smith leading the Maniacs.. hopefully.

    This Team, one of the better ones, and ONLY going to get better.. they are focused and Together..

    Benjy for HC,.. sign him up.. and make UH MBB program solid, come what may.. The team, the MBB, program, and what they are doing is the Talk of the Sports and everyman woman in Hawaii.. sort of like how if FB does well, everyone feels better, UH MBB doing well.. everyone feels a little better.. hope they win the last 2 2014 games at SSC ,and go into 2 first BWC SSC home games, at 12-4, then the next 8 , go 6-2, then the last 8 going into BWC tourney they go 6-2, they would be 12-4 BWC play and 28-4 going into BWC tournament.. just hoops dream, however With This Team, Never count them out, they are only getting started.. No Predictions on final finish, just know they will have winning season, a Good one.. 12 great guys and two great RS’s cheering them on and helping with scout !!
    🙂

  13. Edit correction to above posts.. JUST super confident Benjy and team will finish north of 20 win season and probably have shot at BWC regular and tournament title. As Valerie Schmidt noted, real time, being at game.. This team, even the red shirts and those did not get into game, are cheering on team,.. the Team is United, Fleming maturing.. the Stefs 2.0, or Serbian Twin towers.. that is a good tandem, go big.. to battle the bigger teams.. wait, Dyrbe, Niko and Wato, will All be needed..

    Benjy don not shorten rotation.. lengthen, so guys not burned out at year end.,..add 10 or even 11, 12 to have even few minutes during quality time to ensure they are fresh ready to go.. sure All the Terrific Twelve, they are happy for the win.
    And like Jovanovich says in morning media interview, showing what he can do, when Benjy puts him in.. shows, he is deserving of PT on the court..he does what he does to help Team.. Janks and Jovanovich two 6’11” 240, guys they learn to work together.. that is another lineup that Benjy can use.. with the athletic perimeter 3 other guys on the court,,the Bigs anchor the paint, have to really box out too, the whole team.. They will win a lot of BWC games..
    Go Bows.

    and Mahalo for the past going on 5 years of WI MBB site support Valerie Schmidt, Ameriprise, and Pacific Risk Solutions and Schmidt Ohana !!
    Go Rainbow Warriors and Mid BB season HC of the year, one of the top Ten? Benjy Taylor and his Entire Staff.. good job Benjy, Que, Brandon Loyd and Coach Autry.. and good job on fall sessions finals guys !!

    🙂

  14. FIRST A WARNING; IT IS A TRAP … GAME….
    SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
    I Know We ASS/U/ME it’s Only Coach-Speak
    BUT Coach Benjy Points Out They ARE Well-Coached
    (Like UH, Re: Basketball IS The Ultimate TEAM Sport)
    AND They WON Their Conference — BETTER Than US
    AND These Two Games (Post-DHC) ARE OUR Traditional “Flat” Under-Performing Games
    Wichita Fans — WHO ARE Totally-Impressed with Hawai’i ‘Warned’
    “Yes, Easy to Get Up for These Big Games, BUT Even the 35-0 Shockers had
    Trouble Getting Up And Playing Well in The ‘Little Games’ …

    So GO ‘BOWS!
    Heal the Game Injuries… Garrett Told Coach he Couldn’t Even Shoot Free-Throws…”On the Court I’m Gonna Be Playing Defense The Whole Time” — Therefore, GREAT Defensive Plays; Bobbitt Stitches (should be Fine); Negus Ankle (Re-Injury?) Should Be Stronger; BENJY: Make Sure ‘All Heads’ Are Screwed On Properly (As You Usually Do) After LIGHTING OFF On Them Half-Time Versus Colorado [For The First Time…P.S. I Agree: They Were On The Verge Of Going 0-4 on Last Three Minutes Before Half OR End-Of-Game …]

    WIN ‘BOWS!

    So WIN TWO MORE for 2-0-1-4 ! …To Anagram 12 – 04

    ——————

    VERY GOOD SERIES, ‘BOWS!

    THREE SOLID Games Against The Best TRIO of Competition All Year…
    THREE of The Top Five Opponents
    Overcoming BOTH Very Good Teams AND Very Poor Officiating
    (We Ought to be able to Hire Better Refs…)
    NICE Tourney-Simulation For Big-West Tourney
    Note: I Think THIS (Tourney) ia a Big Part Of The Tourney-Winning Teams (2-1, Only Loss in O.T., To Me IS WINNING) Doing Well in Post-Season
    KEEP Improvin’ ‘Bows
    Treat ALL Opposition with Respect
    Play Hard, Keep Climbing

    This Week’s Efforts:
    Elevated Hawai’i from #194 to #149
    From Season-Beginning LOW of #241 to now Top 150…
    From Predicted Fifth Place Big West Up To TIE for THIRD (And Climbing…)
    Except for Some Dropback with Wichita’s Loss to George Washington…
    DOWN To 154 & BWC TIE for Fifth/SIXTH]
    O.K. — Let’s PLAN on Challenging and WINNING Next DHC…
    ESPN: Maybe Hawai’i HAS Earned a True #1 or #2 Home-Court Advantaged Seeding

    Some OBVIOUS But…
    ISAAC FLEMING IS Best UH True Freshman in a LONG Time
    IMPACT PLAYER Improving Game By Game
    Such a Big-Time Player Against The BEST Competition…
    He’s the ‘Brightest Star’ of the “Three-Star” Players (SO Far)
    He’s Got a Four-Star Heart…

    Jankovic and Negus Next UP
    Can Hardly Wait for THE Mike Thomas ‘Explosion’
    Q’s ‘Next Step Up’ may involve a Few More Threes
    Yes, i think it’s Valuable to Have ALL FIVE or 4 of 5 Proving All Able to Hit 33%-Plus
    In Addition to ‘Always-On’ Green Light for G, N & J,…
    BTW Negus & Janks: WHO’s “The Next” AA/Toronto-to-UH Invitee?
    With THIS UH ADMIN, Coaches NEED Help Recruiting…
    Once We Know HC, ISAAC R-U-Bringing Your Friends? You ARE a LEADER

    GARRETT NEVELS & Whole Backcourt SHOWING Their ABILITIES CAN SURPASS
    The Back-to-Back Night of All-Americans-Candidates…
    EVEN With One Hand Tied Behind His Back…

    NEGUS NOT BACKING Down From TAKING the GAME-Winning Shot
    TRUE Mark of a COMPETITOR — Most So-Called “Players” Don’t Even Want the Ball in their hands –Playing Keep Away Hot Potato– Much Less Take — And MAKE — The Shot — i’m “Betting” He’s Money — Better Than 55-45 On Game-Winning Shots.

    Might Comment MORE LATER…BUT US Pie-In-Sky Types
    [WE Could Build Awesome Projectile Launchers — Tee-Shirts? — IF Took the Time…]
    Blog About OUR HIGH-IQ TEAM… SO To Balance With Some CONCRETE Examples…
    1- Colorado Coach: “OUR Problem IS Mostly Between the Ears” [RE; JOSTEN & Co. — We LOVE You ALL, Too]
    2- Bobbitt and Negus Crawling, Pulling themselves Back to Their ‘Foxholes’, Out-of-Site Into The Tunnels – Like TRUE WARRIORS NOT Showing ANY Injury OR Weakness (maybe even a Towel over the Head…) — THEN ALSO ALL RETURNING To PLAY-THROUGH INJURIES & Contributing TO WIN
    3- Part of ISAAC’S Meteoric Rise – Better Assists, Fewer Turnovers, Dominant Play IS:
    4- Because He’s Gettimg 24/7 Assist/Coaching from One of the Best Point Guards: Rod Bobbitt; AND
    5- His Teammates Are Smart And Mature Enough to SUPPORT The Freshman **STARRING** And Developing
    6-(They CAN Make Their Shots, TOO)
    7- THESE Players Are ALL WILLING AND Smart Enough to Play and BE EFFECTIVE Playing Out Of Their Best or Natural Positions [EX: Contrast to Buffalo #40 Scott when away from the key)
    8- BENJY: “They REALLY Can Understand AND EXECUTE Whatever i Ask them To…”
    9-THAT Really makes A Coach Look Smarter/Better…

    10 – More… Way More…

    GO ‘BOWS!

  15. It truly was a fun and exciting tournament! To beat Nebraska and Colorado, and coming so close to getting the win over Wichita State was awesome. I like the experiment with getting Jovanovic into the rotation. He has some good skills, can provide needed rest for the starters, and will give the Coach more options and different looks as we get into the conference games. I hope Jovanovic remains in the rotation going forward.

  16. Bernie: Welcome aboard.. your astute comments very much welcome, join the UH MBB team bound for glory… the state of Hawaii, coming off of 3 years of losing, and regressing FB program, and not advancing WBB and WVB teams.. and Men VB and Baseball teams.. what a breathe of fresh Air.. we have a great atitude, Warrior team, under the Rainbow of Beautiful Manoa.

    Bernie, if you can, with friends or families, or as a student, go to the last 10 SSC home games starting this monday december 29 2014 700pm SSC, and tuesday december 30 2014 700 pm SSC.. final for 2014, then in Jan 2015, the first 5 BWC games ARE AT THE SSC !! Hope, it would be a shame if 6000 could not come out to every game, the poor guys, the noise gets louder, they play better than Kentucky.. same drive, same push and same winning ways.. Green Grass vs Blue Grass. Kentucky in Dec 2015 at the SSC.. I would pick UH, with two more athletic rim protector, right fit, JC bigs 6-9″ and 6-11″ 255 to help protect the paint, and like G Money, able to block shot with one hand, carom the ball start the break and Throw down, young man , throw it Down

    Bernie Welcome to WI MBB fandon.. We love the Bows !!

    MORE AND MORE commentators.. on the Positive expression site for UH MBB !!
    🙂

  17. Old Makule guy I am correction above to start of BWC regular season for UH MBB, the first 2 games at SSC, then one road game, then 2 back at SSC.. so 4 out of the 5 first games of the season are at home..

    Bernie, get the word out.. UH MBB has good team great effort.. fantastic coaches, and big time, if everyone makes NOISE.. a collegiate / pro Basketball atmosphere for sure!!

    Go Bows !!
    🙂

  18. Awesome win! These guys know how to get it done. They play with heart and lots of determination.
    Go Warriors!!!

  19. Sell outs coming!!! 10000 in the house!!! Win next 10 games then 20-4. Finish off with 9-1 then 29-5, top 25 ranking, talk of the sports world ESPN, fox sports, networks. Bows are back!!! Get those tickets now cuz they will be gone. Go bows!!! Better than Miracle on Ice

  20. Correction, no predictions though

  21. Jamie Smith should be coming back soon, per Benji .

  22. islandman …

    Welcome back Jamie Smith..Jimmy the Brit…

    Good news..hopefully completes 2015-18 MBB staff

    Go Bows !!
    🙂

  23. 10 Things (Big West Stats)…

    1. Hawaii ranks #1 in SCORING amongst Big West teams: 74.1 points per game

    2. Interestingly, Hawaii ALSO ranked #1 LAST YEAR… but we scored 80 points per game.

    3. Hawaii ranks #1 in OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS averaging 13.1 off. rebounds a game.

    4. Hawaii ranks #2 in TOTAL REBOUNDS per game: 37.1 (Only behind Santa Barbara and Alan Williams, who incidentally averages 11.8 rebounds a game).

    5. Hawaii ranks #2 in 3-point attempts per game with 19.9 per game (Only behind UC Davis at 20.3 per game)

    6. Unfortunately, Hawaii ranks #6 out of 9 with 3-pt percentage at 31% (UC Davis is first with 40%, which makes them pretty potent offensively).

    7. By far, Hawaii ranks #1 in STEALS per game at 8.6 per game (The next closest is UC Riverside with 6.9 steals per game).

    8. Hawaii ranks #2 in FREE THROW attempts at 22.2 per game (UC Fullerton is #1 at 22.5 per game).

    9. Unfortunately, Hawaii ranks #8 out of 9 with FREE THROW PERCENTAGE at 67.8%.

    10.Roderick Bobbitt, by far, ranks #1 in ASSISTS per game at 5.8 per game. The next closest is Landon Drew (Northridge) at 4 per game. Bobbitt ALSO leads the Big West in steals per game at 2.43 steals per game. The next closest is Corey Hawkins (UC Davis) at 1.7 steals per game.

    *** I would hate to think how Hawaii would cope if Bobbitt would miss any time ***

    Source: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/statistics/team/_/stat/scoring-per-game/year/2015/seasontype/2/id/9/big-west-conference

  24. njacinto; good stats above. UC Davis has the weakest SOS of the Big West schools listed below .

    RPI —— RPI — SOS
    Rank Rank
    55 Long Beach St. 4-8 0.5818 3 0.6488 Bigw
    75 Pittsburgh 8-3 0.5673 126 0.5171 Acc

    85 UC Davis 8-1 0.5576 311 0.4334 Bigw

    98 Colorado 7-5 0.5477 57 0.5561 Pac12

    118 UCSB 3-6 0.5329 14 0.5934 Bigw

    139 UC Irvine 5-5 0.5183 180 0.4954 Bigw

    148 Hawaii 8-4 0.5150 155 0.5072 Bigw

    http://realtimerpi.com/rpi_Men.html

  25. RPI
    Rank –School– Record–RPI——SOS

    55 Long Beach St. 4-8 –0.5818 —-3 —-0. 6488 Bigw
    139 UC Irvine ——5-5 –0.5183 –180— 0.4954 Bigw

    148 Hawaii ——– 8-4 –0.5150 –155 —0.5072 Bigw

  26. win or lose, this team is special.

  27. GO ‘BOWS!

    JUST The “Starting Point”
    ‘Bows BEAT THIS !
    “CREAM RISING”
    (So Much So that The Results Speak for Themselves…
    Aloha, & Mele Kalikimaka to bigdaddy & ‘Ohana – HUGE ‘Mahalo’)

    ————————– IFFY – BUT Hope Format Remains Readable… ———–

    CREDIT: REF: Subscriptions Available @ kenpom.com

    2015 Standings [POMEROY – Predicted Based On Results To Date]
    Data through games of Thursday, December 25
    Team Overall Conf Proj
    84-UC Santa Barbara 5-6 0-0 11-5
    109-Long Beach St. 5-8 0-0 10-6
    133-UC Irvine 6-5 0-0 9-7
    147-UC Davis 9-1 0-0 9-7
    154-Hawaii 10-4 0-0 8-8
    176-Cal Poly 6-5 0-0 8-8
    249-Cal St. Fullerton 6-7 0-0 6-10
    255-UC Riverside 6-5 0-0 6-10
    287-Cal St. Northridge 3-10 0-0 4-12

    Other Opponents:
    Wichita State 13
    BYU 45
    PITT 58
    COLORADO 69
    NEBRASKA 88
    San Francisco 128
    High Point 149

    G.Washington 39

    P.S. Dayton — ANY Chance of Getting Formattable Posting?

  28. EAGLE…

    Interesting data you got there… shows that Hawaii is still not getting much respect… but I can understand that disrespect… for the last 4 or so seasons, we’ve started out pretty good before conference play… and then something happens…

    2014: 10-4 (before Big West)

    2013: 11-3 / 9-7 (conference record with a loss in the first round)
    2012: 6-5 / 10-8 (conference record with a loss in the first round)
    2011: 8-6 (before WAC) / 6-8 (conference record)
    2010: 9-3 (before WAC) / 8-8 (conference record)

    Now, to show how devalued pre-BW records are, I’ll throw in another Big West team and show you what THEY did in comparison:

    2014: 6-5 (currently) / 2-4 (on the road)
    2013: 4-9 (before Big West play) / 6-10 (conference record)

    2013 Post season:
    *Beat Santa Barbara (Big West 1st round)
    *Beat UC Irvine (Big West Semifinals)
    *Beat Northridge (Big West Finals)
    *Beat Texas Southern (NCAA Tournament 1st round)
    *Lose to Wichita State (#1 seed)

    Who is this team? Cal Poly
    (…and they even did something Hawaii has never done in the NCAA’s before… win their first game)

  29. njacinto:

    Cal Poly SLO, the rallying cry for all mid major teams, get hot in the conference tournament, even with a losing record, a lot of losses before the BWC tourney, and you can still go to NCAA big dance.
    BWC, if teams do their scout, they pretty much know each and every opponent. Good thing about UH, pretty diverse, so many different guys played , and so many different starting fives. Plus, Benjy has not even run All of the Offensive and Defensive schemes. Should be exciting season. I believe, UH , once again , through the storm, what the other 8 BWC teams did not have to go through will surprise. They are still getting better, still fine tuning..should be great run in 2015.

  30. Good Points …
    i believe The Pomeroy “Ratings” Are PURE Mathematical
    Without Previous Years’ Results, Reputation or Scheduling Double-Count Biases
    And Seems to Predict Pretty well..

    Unlike those Introduced by RPI; i think Strength of Schedule of Opponents AND Opponents’ Opponents IS A Built-In Bias Giving “OLD Boys Networks” Double, Even Triple Credit for Hanging Out Together, and IS a Scheduling Bias that is sometimes/often exposed in a real playoff system;

    [OR i’m believing a Mid-Majors’ Myth — i think Shoji’s VB Team Exposes RPI Bias Almost Every Year…]

    Nebraska And Cal Poly Both Finished Last Season Strong

    The Conference Season probably is a Good Indicator of Relative coaching Ability for The Conference Coaches
    Two Rounds of Shared Sites & Opponents, Comparative Games & Strategies and every one dissected and studied

    Over the years The Assistants prepared All the Game Plans
    Benjy noted yesterday (on the radio) that SenQue is a Very Good Skills And Strategy Coach
    Would be interesting to see whose Analyses are most effective
    i don’t feel like i know our Assistant Coaches much at all

    Much Appreciated, Dayton(?)
    What a Great Site!
    Mahalo Dayton & Co., Contributors Valerie & The Schmidt ‘Ohana…

    Hopefully TWO Late-Open Christmas Presents This Week
    Still Building Up to THE Season…
    (Riley Used to Call it The Second Season AND His Teams Did Pretty Good In Conference)
    GO ‘BOWS!
    FINISH STRONG!

  31. I love following bball stats…it appears we have more than a few people on this site who are also stat akamai.

    Pomeroy rankings get more accurate as the season goes along but he too starts out with a premise based off of history of a program and expectations. Hawaii began at 164, if memory serves and we only had one team under 100 out of the Big West. After losing to High Point, which was no fluke, we shot up to 202.

    The Big West standings counts our Chaminade game as a Home Game…needs to be changed.

    We cannot look past Southern with all of this excitement from the DHC.

    This year’s Big West is no where close to its past competition and is totally under rated. Don’t let the stats fool you. Everyone knows about UCSB, Long Beach and Irvine but Cal Poly, Davis and even Northridge will be tough to beat this season.

    Cal Poly beat USF on the road, we lost to them on a neutral court. Davis has four guys in the top five stats for the BWC and have only dropped 1 game. Their BPI has them ranked 2nd in the BWC. Northridge got penalized to start the season by suspending 6 of their players…even though most of them were bench help. They come back in January. With Theus’ style of play, he needs those guys to sub out for his starters.

    This year and last preseason play, our Bowz have exceeded my expectations…but have not faired as well in conference play…everyone knows your weaknesses. However, this season, we have so many talented players who could go off on any given night…we will be hard to prepare for. The other thing we have going for us is that we have the reversed schedule of last season’s terrible schedule in the BWC. UCSB is our last home game!

    Exciting times…keep it rolling… so much fun to see this kind of Dfense! Meanwhile we need to keep the pressure on our UH Admin to act!

    GO BOWZ

  32. Bruise Brothers inside – Jovanovic and Janks, they don’t back down from anybody, so far. Thomas tough too, but is more a quickness guy.

  33. That was one wild time we had Christmas day , if you weren’t there you all missed an awesome game, we hope all the students here can show up, an all the rest of fans make time this Monday and Tuesday, this team is exciting to watch, they never quit.

  34. RE: Jovanovic:

    At Least Some Feel/Think NOT Having the Strongest Rebounding/Defensive Team IN at the End of Wichita State Game
    might have Cost that Last WSU Rebound & Putback… [maybe]

    Clearly Jovanovic Wanted to And Did Make a Statement —
    HE Was More Focused, More Offensive And Defensive-Minded
    Really Stepping Up With a Sense of Urgency
    Only ‘So Many’ Minutes Available
    To SHOW Your Worth,
    Your On-Court Value

    Regular Rotation,
    ADD One

  35. Agree about Jovanovic….especially if Janks continues to lollygag back on defense.

    We have great options in all sizes…but most of all these kids have HEART! LOVE IT!

  36. The difference between this year and last is the fact that when our bench are on the floor the quality of play does not tank. I really think that to be successful in conference play you need to throw in a few wrinkles that the opposing team have not come across. So that means you don’t want to open your entire playbook from game 1. The element of surprise can really throw off opponents. That’s why even in the game of basketball (And especially Hawaii’s case) it’s not how you start but how you finish that matters most. It’s win the tournament or go home.

  37. Backbeat and Eagle – gotta admire ur objective analysis of conference and team. Eyes wide open and enjoying the ride. No more pulling tails now for me. Need more contributors like you (seriously). Go Bows for real!

  38. Team, so far Benjy incredible job with assistants, held team , who wanted to be here, together, Check mark 1….Coach Autry did the Nebraska? scout, team followed to the Tee, and go the Victory, Check mark 2.. Now time for Senque, to do scout of BWC teams, .. and Loyd, help the shooters.. and offense.. Check mark 3. …All coaches make sure guys finish strong spring semester, Check mark 4,.. finish top 1-3 .. Check mark 5, .. win that BWC regular season, Check mark 6= auto NIT bid.. win the BWC tournament … Check Mark 7 and going to NCAA Heaven Hoops style.. NCAA tourney..

    Coaches doing great, and team is really smart.. whatever , and whomever in there, getting job done.. I thought.. oh no, when Bobbitt got the 9 stiches in the head, and when NWC, and Garrett got hurt.. however, Jovanovich, Q, Fleming huge, Thomas, all the guys stepped up.

    Team, smart guys, BBIQ great.. agree Jovanovich is HUGE.. he can bang with the bigs, any BWC team.. as long as he can stay with them on the boards and double or impede them one on one. Janks, he will get there.. get in shape. he is so athletic, AND can block shots, he and Jovanovich. I call them Stef squared, or Stef x2, or Stef 2.0, Benjy will play Both of them with AV MT or NWC at the SF/.3 spot, and the 4 great guards going D wild ..

    BWC , a real shoot out… don’t know how good on D they are.. right now, I think UH defense is a top 35 leader in nation.. in many categories.. if their 3 ball, FG percentage, and FT percentage gets respectable.. Watch out.. UH can win the BWC regular and Tourney Title.

    agree jjay.. a lot of fans word of mouth now.. if that core 5000 come out , even school or work nite, however, school they are on winter break.. This team, the standing ovations, even in loss to Wichita St. Chicken skin or goose bump, chills down the spine and tears down the cheeks time…. Great work, Benjy, keep team together. and Go out, UH admin.. sheeetss.. Benjy and team just keep on track for 20 wins.. make it an easy decision for UH admin to lock you and your staff, into a good 3 year deal.. then the 3 guys on hold to sign, maybe, JMO..2 bigs,and a SF super shooter will LOI..

    go Bows !!
    🙂

  39. Bobbitt out sick from practice today and Garrett watching with right hand wrapped, per Brian M.

    Others will have to step up, if they can’t go on Monday.

  40. Bobbitt & Garrett are warriors come Monday they will be ready to go just precaution.

    BWC is ours to take now watch the show.

  41. bigdaddy ….

    showtime !!
    Warriors ready to rock !!
    Good to have you back !!
    🙂

Leave a Response

Login or fill in the fields below to comment. (New user? Register)

Supporters