UPDATED: Shocking putback by Shockers spoils Warriors’ upset bid
Rashard Kelly banked in a close-range putback from the left side of the paint with 3.8 seconds remaining in overtime Tuesday night to lift No. 11-ranked Wichita State to a pulsating 80-79 victory over Hawai’i in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
An electric crowd of about 7,140 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Aaron Valdes and Isaac Fleming each score 17 points and Stefan Jankovic add 12 points as the Rainbow Warriors fell to 9-4. The Shockers improved to 10-1.
UH will face Colorado (7-4) in Thursday’s nationally televised (ESPN2) third-place game at 1:30 p.m. Wichita State and George Washington will play for the tournament championship following the UH-Colorado game.
“We thought we should have won this, so we’ll come back even more hungry on Thursday,” said Fleming, who added five rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.
After Kelly’s go-ahead basket, Hawai’i point guard Roderick Bobbitt took the ensuing inbounds pass, raced up the court, jumped near the free throw line and quickly kicked the ball out of a double-team to Mike Thomas, whose running 15-footer from the left wing glanced off the rim as time expired.
“That one’s gonna sting for a long time,” Rainbow Warriors coach Benjy Taylor said. “That’s a program that we emulate, we want to be like them and win games like them and conduct ourselves on and off the court like them, and we had a chance to beat them. We did enough big things to win, but we didn’t do enough of the little things, the fundamental things down the stretch … and that’s what hurts.”
Jankovic’s 3-pointer from the top of the key gave UH a 75-74 lead with 3:11 remaining in overtime, and Thomas scored a layup off Bobbitt’s nifty driving assist in the lane to make it 77-74 with 2:14 left. Wichita State closed it to 77-75 on Darius Carter’s free throw with 53.9 seconds remaining, and Hawai’i immediately threw the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds.
Fred VanVleet then swished a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 32.7 seconds left to put the Shockers back in front, 78-77, but Thomas answered at the other end by scoring on a layup off an inbounds pass from Bobbitt with 17.7 ticks remaining.
During the ensuing timeout, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said he asked his team, “Do you believe in Santa Claus?”
Shortly after play resumed, VanVleet launched a 3-pointer from the right wing which glanced off the rim and Kelly grabbed the rebound between two defenders and converted the putback.
“Santa Claus came early for us,” Marshall said.
Valdes said he was in good position to secure the ball in front of Kelly.
“I thought I should have had that rebound, I feel like I let everybody down,” Valdes said. “We just wanted to come out with the victory, not just for us, but for all the fans. It’s disappointing, but it was a great game.”
Wichita State led at halftime, 34-33, but Webster-Chan broke a 36-36 tie early in the second half by swishing a 3-pointer, then drained another one a minute later to put the Rainbow Warriors up, 42-36, with 17:10 remaining. Hawai’i later pushed the lead to 49-42 after two free throws by Jankovic with 15:08 left, but the Shockers capitalized on a series of bad UH possessions and eventually tied it at 49-49 on Baker’s 3-pointer with 12:38 remaining.
After the teams traded baskets, Wichita State took the lead back at 53-51 on Rauno Nurger’s free throws with 10:18 left, then later extended it to 60-53 on Baker’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with eight minutes remaining.
“It wasn’t so much their (full-court) press, it was more us not being aware of where we needed to be, and mis-communicating,” Fleming said. “They’re a great defensive team, but I thought we held our own against them.”
This time the Rainbow Warriors answered, as Fleming’s 3-pointer from the right wing ignited a 9-3 run capped by Bobbitt’s driving layup which put Hawai’i up, 65-63, with 4:34 left. The Shockers closed it to 65-64 on Baker’s free throw 30 seconds later, then took a 66-65 lead after a pair of free throws by Zach Brown with 2:38 remaining.
The Rainbow Warriors grabbed the lead back at 67-66 on Valdes’ layup in traffic with 1:09 left, but Wichita State answered with VanVleet’s driving layup 19 seconds later to make it 68-67. Valdes then swished a 3-pointer from the left wing to put UH ahead, 70-68, with 43.4 seconds remaining.
Baker’s two free throws tied it at 70-70 with 27.5 ticks on the clock, and after Webster-Chan’s mid-range jumper was partially blocked with under 10 seconds left, the Shockers recovered a loose ball and Baker’s halfcourt shot glanced off the rim, sending the game into overtime.
This time around, the Shockers were able to withstand the Rainbow Warriors’ huge upset bid.
“I thought we played 45 minutes of good basketball, but if you make mistakes, they’ll make you pay and that’s what happened,” Taylor said.
Still, Marshall came away impressed with UH.
“Tonight was a big one,” Marshall said. “To beat a quality team in their barn, the crowd was great, and now we get to play for a championship. But I’ll tell you what, that (UH) is a pretty good basketball team. I mean Valdes, and Bobbitt, and Fleming … those guys are good. And Jankovic is getting better. I don’t want to play them again — I wouldn’t want to play them even in (Wichita’s) Koch Arena.”
Bobbitt finished with eight points, 10 assists, five rebounds and one steal. Webster-Chan contributed nine points, nine rebounds and one steal.
Baker led the Shockers with 17 points, VanVleet added 13 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals, and Kelly ended up with 12 points and six rebounds.
(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)
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Tuesday’s Results
Ohio 99, DePaul 78
George Washington 53, Colorado 50
Wichita State 80, Hawai’i 79 (OT)
Nebraska 50, Loyola Marymount 42 (OT)
Thursday’s Schedule
8:30 a.m. – DePaul vs. Loyola Marymount for seventh place
11 a.m. – Ohio vs. Nebraska for fifth place
1:30 p.m. – Hawai’i vs. Colorado for third place
3:30 p.m. – George Washington vs. Wichita State for championship
Thursday’s Game Info
Who: Hawai’i (9-4, 0-0 Big West) vs. Colorado (7-4, 0-0 Pac-12)
When: Thursday, Dec. 25, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) – Honolulu
Television: ESPN2 (Oceanic channels 224/1224)
Streaming Video: WatchESPN.com
Radio: Live on ESPN 1420 AM. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona and KTOH on Kaua’i.
Audio Webcast: Live audio streaming on espn1420am.com
Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at HawaiiAthletics.com
Ticket Information: $26 (lower) and $18 (upper) for evening session. $10 (general admission) for day sessions.
Absolutely Great Overall Game…
Made Play After Made Play…
Might ‘Look Like’ UH Mistakes
But Some are Simply Amazing Wichita State Plays…
Van Vleet’s One-Man Inbounds Shut-Down, Steal and Basket
Baker’s Speeding 10 feet and Interception of a Dish-Pass
Hitting a Key Three, even when previously not attempted All Night
All with the Game on the Line….
All-American-Type Plays
Reminded me of when WE had a First-Team All-American…
Artifacts of Going 35-0: Coach of the Year, All-American Backcourt (“Maybe #1 Returning B/Court?)
And Those Hawai’i Guys Hung with ‘Em Play-by-Play ALL NIGHT
Just Like The FIVE Returning NEBRASKA Starters the Night Before
Earlier in the Year, High-Experience Returning Teams
like High Point (All Five Starters) or USF (3) or BYU (4) could pull away…
BUT UH Improves Seemingly EVERY Game, Almost Minute-by-Minute
All New ‘Starters’ Jankovic, Negus, Aaron, Isaac, Thomas, even Roderick improving Night-by-Night
GO ‘BOWS! “CALENDAR”
Merrier Christmas?!
#1 Show Resilience!
Finish One More Play Stronger! OR Better…
2-1 Versus 1-2 DHC [10-4 Good Buddy >> 9-5 Blue Collar?]
Beat the Buffaloes in The Relative Quiet and Obscurity of The Early Afternoon
———-
WIN TWO MORE…
CAP 2014!
————–
? Happy 2015 ?
Take Care of Kansas Business?
(Gotta Do A Little Better…)
————–
Then Take Care of BWC Business
Not Like a DHC Sweep…Did the BWC Notice?…
Power Ratings STILL “Suggest” a #5 Finish @ 8-8…
Here Come a Bunch of Wins…MORE Than 8? 10? 12?
How Much Higher Than #5?
Will There Be A FIRST Gib-Era Post-Season Run?
All-Conference? Aaron Valdés? Jankovic? Fleming?
Newcomers of the Year? Jankovic? Negus? Isaac ?
Non-Stat ‘ANCHORS’ (Winners): Garrett, Bobbitt, Thomas
S-O-O-O CLOSE! WICHITA STATE KNOWS THAT THEY WERE DAMN LUCKY TO HAVE ESCAPED A LOSS AGAINST A VERY TALENTED (AND STILL IMPROVING!) UHMBB OHANA!
The recent addition of JANKO (he will be even more awesome once he gets his legs in game-shape!), and the continued improvement of the rest of the UHMBB OHANA (BOBBITT, FLEMING, VALDES. NEGUS, THOMAS, NEVELS, QUINCY, STEFAN, JAWATO, DYRBE, & NIKO) will make them a WELL-RESPECTED T-E-A-M by conference time!
A LOT OF KUDOS TO COACH BENJY & THE REST OF THE COACHES FOR DOING A GREAT JOB IN DEVELOPING THE TEAM!
Come back with a VICTORY OVER ANOTHER GOOD TEAM IN COLORADO and more of the doubters and on-the-fence fans will soon be filling the seats like the FAB FIVE days!
GO BOWS! 😊😊😊
I admit it that I went to bed mad and depressed after the loss because of all the mistakes but after waking up this morning I now feel different. I am so proud of the effort and courage these Warriors showed to even be in position to pull off an upset for the ages. These guys never give up and they make the game so exciting. This game truly was an instant classic but just not the finish we UH fans wanted.
Now that my glass is half full and not half empty, I see that all the great plays these guys made put them right there to take one of the top programs in the country to the final buzzer in OT. So what about the mistakes because thats part of the game.
Super classy comments from Wichita State coach about the Warriors and they don’t want to play them again not even in Wichita.
As much as I would have loved a win, you can’t get much better than the effort the bows put out. Never count these guys out and rotating guys in and out shows what great depth we have. Great work on part of the coach. This was there best effort of the season and I was glad to be there cheering them on. Big West BEWARE. This dog bites.
I didn’t go to sleep mad, I thought these guys played their hearts out, I wish the ball had bounced a little bit differently and we won the game but we didn’t. I think that if there was a do over game our warriors would win it. I do believe that the referees in a whole did an ok job, but we had a ton of touch fouls called against Hawaii that were not called against the shockers.
Warriors bounce back and get ready for the next battle: would have could have should have’s are all in the past the real message that I see is this team is so much fun to watch!!! THE BRILLIANT THING ABOUT IT IS THAT THERE IS SO MUCH ROOM FOR THEM TO GROW.
I don’t feel that Our team played there best game every and we came up short. Usually for a team of this caliber your players need To be playing there best games of the season for there to be a chance to win.
The awesome thing is that our players don’t play for the one they play for the team. I WANT THEM TO CHANGE THAT ON THE GAME AGAINST COLORADO AND PLAY FOR THE ONE… play for Benji!!! Help him get the contract that he deserves.
Merry Christmas to everyone
Good effort Bows! Loved the atmosphere last night. The SSC was rockin! Gotta keep your heads up (Negus), get that swag back, and keep making us proud!
anderpops,
when negus webster chan and mike thomas came off the bench in OT, i overheard a nebraska fan say to another ‘those two guys are good.’ the other replied ‘yeah, the difference between us (nebraska) and them (hawaii) is that they got ten guys that can can really play’.
really wish nwc hadn’t made that bad pass to bobbitt in the final seconds of the game. it brought back memories of shamburger’s bad pass during the final seconds of the BWC tourney game against Northridge. hopefully negus can shrug it off and learn from it when such mistakes really matter … in the BWC tourney.
Such an amazing atmosphere at the SSC. Absolutely loved it. Many of uS kept cheering even after final whistle. True fan spirit.
Benji recruited Fleming, he says in the video .
Negus had pretty good position for the last rebound, but looks like Kelly nudged him away and the ball bounced to where Negus was before, in the video.
Mike T maybe could have used a backboard shot, like Bill Walton used to use effectively, but his shot was close.
I think Isaac also had a turnover, passing the ball from out of bounds ? like Negus had. But they played hard, Negus had 9 rebounds, two more than Janks and Thomas combined.
This team is not only good but really exciting to watch. It’s great to see that when they start losing the lead against a good team that they still can come back to regain it.
We haven’t had exciting defensive backcourt play like this since AC and Alika. The difference is the whole team plays well defensively.
Islandman,good observation! I think if negus had boxed out aggressively he would have rebounded that miss and hawaii would have won the game. Valdes had said in the paper that it was his fault but i disagree.I was kinda disappointed in negus. He just doesn’t play with enough intensity.The physical tools are there!
fish1;
So should that have been a foul called on Kelly for shoving Negus’ rear end a bit with his lower body or legs or something ? But is wasn’t obvious to the officials, i think. Looks like Kelly jumped a little higher to get the rebound too.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.
Special thanks to the sponsors of this site.
I soooo agree with all the positive comments here. No worries Negus. This is a BB program loss. That includes us Fans. Hawaii lost to Wichita State. Not Negus. Heads up. We are so happy you are here. One Ohana baby!
I will notice though, we looked like we belonged on the court with a highly ranked team. Our boys were not intimidated one bit. We have that swagger.
Go Bows!!!
I was happy to open the sports page today to read only positive kudos to the team! Yes, positive effort was acknowledged in print! That was great to see. I also enjoyed reading the quotes from our players stating that they wished they could have done one more thing or rethinking their thoughts on how the game ended. For each player to turn inward to check themselves, that shows great tenacity and team-mindedness.
I was also proud of the fans. With a 4pm start time, everyone did a lot of rearranging to make sure they were in their seats for tip-off! It was loud and it felt united.
To the coaches and our UH men, rest your mind and your body. Enjoy the thoughts of the holidays. We look forward to our next present to be unwrapped on Christmas Day!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Totally, the Brains, the insider Leaker, the Media/Bor chair, They don’t know what ncaa letter, if they decide to even sen one. Maybe the damage to MBB has been done , with Gib and .Akana fired, Fotu chased off to pros, and Sammis irked and went home , no Gib..Recruiting ham strung.. for year..So… A gift from NCAA,…UH officed fax in the records , grades posted all B’s for Jankovich. He does a good job and gives glimpses of what he will do.. As advertised, would like to see Jovanovich in their too, to battle bigs and spread out fouls, and possibly have grabbed LAST KEY Defensive rebound, UH won.. oh well.. the Old Machine.. the old boys and girls, the political hacks, and mover and shakers.. tried very hard to have UH MBB at 3-9 or worse, and their future in high doubt.. Well those “Betterment of UH student Athletes” and we talking about, NOT WBB team, The Pride of Manoa for over 40 years, the Men’s Basketball Team, All 14 of them, the story, via exposure on national and global reporting, the game time color analysts and announcers,. told the whole world what happened to UH MBB over past 12 months.. you can hear and read of all the positive comments about Benjy his staff, the team, galvanized and proving the negaitve nancies, wrong, super wrong..UH are winners.
And UH admin.. chancellor.. do the right thing and soon… sign Benjy to a 2 year contract, through 2017, to at least be able to coach these great sophomores to NCAA and NIT tournaments until they Graduate !!
Go Bows
The Schmidt Ohana, thankyou for sponsoring the Positivie site for MBB.. the real Warrior Insider, and thanks to contirbutors and all the fans, families AND THE POTENTIAL FAMILIES AND 3 recruits, 2 bigs and a wing shooter waitin to sign with UH MBB !!
🙂
I love being at this forum… here is my little daily observations I’ll call “10 Things”
1. On Twitter last night, several Hawaii players tweeted to apologize for not coming through last night and personally accepted some responsibility for the loss.
*To me, this shows a growing maturity and sense of responsibility among the players. When you show trust, students learn responsibility.*
2. Stefan Jankovic looks like he will evolve into Hawaii’s #1 scoring option in Hawaii’s half court game. Although Aaron Valdes will continue being Hawaii’s #1 scorer, I believe posting up Jankovic will open up other players. Valdes thrives when he cuts to the basket and when he crashes the boards after misses.
3. Benjy Taylor MUST NOT forget about Stefan Jovanovich. He still remains Hawaii’s best rim protector and defensive rebounder. He needs minutes. I believe that if he was put in to defend Wichita’s last possession, he would have rebounded that missed shot and prevented that “putback” that beat Hawaii.
4. Negus still looks like he’s favoring his injured foot/ankle. He hasn’t moved fluidly these past 2 games… preventing him from being at 100%. He’ll be ready by conference play.
5. Garrett Nevels has greatly improved as a perimeter defender. He’s so underrated on defense.
6. Benjy Taylor was right when he said Hawaii made a lot of BIG PLAYS but missed several SMALL PLAYS… Big shots all night, from everybody… but little careless mistakes like turnovers added up all night.
7. Aaron Valdes is our best scorer without the ball… Isaac Fleming is our best scorer with the ball. When he’s on, Fleming is the best player we have who can create his own shot, with the ball in his hands… his game reminds me of James Harden.
8. Winning tomorrow (against Colorado) is more critical than people realize.
9. Hawaii’s defense, when it’s on, reminds me of VCU. Hawaii sure makes opponents play UGLY.
10. Good defense travels better than good offense. We WILL win on the road this year.
WANTED:
A SPORTS MANAGER TO REPRESENT A Dl INTERIM COACH.
Must not have any affiliation with the local old boy network nor be afraid to take the administration to court for disregard of their fiduciary responsibilities.
njacinto: Keep the comments coming, keeps the board / forum alive with great observations and insight of UH MBB. As I say, we love Laura Beeman and her WBB team, however, when UH MBB does well, they have 6000-8000 in attendance for these key BWC games, and battle not for 8th place, however for 1st or second, and I agree, with defense, the Team Rebounding, All guys have bought into, NOT JUST ONE guy wins, everyone has TO THINK smart, in small and Big parts of the 40 minute game. This Team is so cerebreal,, they will get it. Correct on statement, NWC, pretty bad ankle sprain, just not quite limber in shape yet, Plus remember at start of fall camp, since NO More Fotu and Sammis, he was and Does play the 4 spot.. he gets pretty good rebounds as a smallish SF/PF.. I think he go NINE…he taking responsiblity.. Fleming, Nevels, Smith, Valdes, Bobbitt, I mean the guys All Feel Bad, one that got away.. bet they will finish out close games… as JJ says.. Clear this loss, and go.. 24 hr or less rule, think about it, what mistakes, and what need to correct and win next game..
Remember negative nancies, and doomdayer dans, said, UH SOS and teams they play this year pre BWC? well for a mid major out in the mid pacific.., playing Pitt, BYU on the road, Chaminade an away game at Blaisdell, the killer 3 games in Florida of which they took 2 out of 3.. The Nebraska upset of a top 35 team, from the Big Ten, and a close loss to a top 10(probably if they win the DHC, hey might be as high as number 8 or 7…) and a good Colorado Team, of PAC12, who might make a run for CIT or NCAA too.. at least 8 of their first 12 games, 6 of their games so far played away from home confines of Stan Sheriff.. Good schedule and preparation for BWC.. stay healthy guys.. get off the matt, and just keep on getting better..
Writing my own personal journal of the Team UH admin, and others wanted to destroy, they rise form the ashes and end up in the elite of the NCAA March Madness, tournament.. battling the likes of Louisville, U.Conn, Kentucky, Butler, Gonzaga,….would LOVE TO SEE them on Neutral court beat Wichita St in the NCAA tournament… that would be sweeeeet !!
njacinto.. keep the comments coming, and Lee, and others.. if you all just read, and you want to contribute constructive comments, critique or shout out to coaches team and family, PLUS Valerie Schmidt and her great Ohana for their Prime Sponsorship, of such a Fan, Family, Friend, UH student, young and old, here in the 808 , across the 48, and globally from Indonesia to Serbia.. Thankyou Valerie, your family and sponsoring Dayton sometimes on road trips..
Only MBB NCAA forum, that shows real Aloha !!
🙂
auto spell does not understand pidgin hawaiian I guess. or my bumb arthritic fingers push wrong keys !!
edit to above.. NWC still suffer from bruised deep rib injuries, plus recovering from ankle high sprain, will take time, however his 3 ball potential starting to shine. Plus I believe HE HAD Nine rebounds. tremendous for a guy not noted for rebounding!
NWC get well and into condition will be fine. Another guy that can jump the passing lanes and get steals, only observation. if 4 perimeter guys are jumping the lanes to get steals, make sure the man they were covering in zone or man, is covered by someone rotating over on defense.. in case they don’t get steal.. UH having 4 guys trapping and getting steals or disrupting opponents offense, what a pun intended , GAME CHANGER.. reminded me of the old Fabulous Five with Nash, a blocked shot, a steal from the front or sneak in behind, and off they were to finish at the cup for layin or mid range jumper.. same with Tom Henderson, game close, back and forth, pretty soon, Tom gets maybe 3 steals in a row, and goes coast to coast, fingerroll(no dunking in 1972)the ball into hoop. Savo, English, Puida, good quick hands to get steals, JC Carter quick hands and steals, and runout dunks at 5’10” if maybe.. and of course, Larry Littlle coached, Tony Webster, career leader in steals for UH.. whose single game record was broken by Rod Bobbitt this year with his triple double.
Fun team, Never say die, backs against the wall, stuck around, and will, and ARE the talk of the town.. Hope on Xmas day at 130pm HST at SSC, at least 5000+ will come out.. maybe 6500-8000 would be more deserving of this Great Team, best , in terms of heart , desire, BBIQ, friendship, love Hawaii, love coaches, the State and fan, in 20 years. at least…
Gib did recruit great young athletes.. Now Benjy making sure, THIS IS THE YEAR.. UH admin, going into first 2 weeks of BWC.. and Benjy and team have about 18 wins overall, or better, sign him up guaranteed contract with his assistants through 2016-17, it will actually Make you all look very Wise.. and it won’t cost too, much, NO NEED national search team that costs so much money., when OUR New HC and his young athletes can be here for next up to 3 years !!
Make Sense, Absoulutely!!
Go Rainbow Warriors !!
🙂
njacinto: You made some great points. I, too, hope Taylor doesn’t bury Jovanovic on the bench. He was beginning to play with more confidence, and gives you exactly what you expect of him — rebounding, interior defense, nice touch around the basket, and good FT shooting. Nothing less, nothing more. He plays within himself.
I was surprised that Jovanovic didn’t get any PT yesterday, but perhaps it was because Wichita State forces you to switch on defense with ball screens, and Taylor didn’t want Jovanovic defending on the perimeter. You’ll notice that it was Thomas who contested VanVleet’s last 3-point attempt that resulted in the winning putback.
Still, I hope Taylor can find minutes for Jovanovic. There are gonna be games in which his interior presence will be critical.
clyde and njacinto: Who is the guy who really toughened up Jankovich before he was eligible? It was Jovanovich. Jovanovich, classic big, play his role, rim protect, take hard fouls, down from 12 feet to the rim, he can score get rebounds, hold ball high, strong with the ball, hardly ever gets stripped.. Having Both Jankovich,whom I assume, Benjy wanted him to immediately get his feet, game legs, in shape, and to think he was pretty good for first 2 games in over 1 year as RS…Jovanovich I can imagine in BWC,.. or post season, with the Big Big teams,,.. where Janks and Jovanovich can play along with Thomas, as large as they want, for those grind out, battle on the boards game, However, down low, Jovanovich, you notice great handoffs and outlet to the guards .. he knows the system.. Jankovich still getting in system.. Finally a 6’4″ 200 pd wing, Jawato, a 6”5″ 210 wing Valdes, SF hybrid NWC 6’7″ 205 and MT 6′ 7 1/2″ 220 , two 4/5’s Jankovich 6’11” about , I think 242, and Jovanovich probably the same about 6’11’ 240..
With all the great athletic perimeter guys. .. Benjy has some talent, 12 guys to use in different situations..if going nine or ten deep, situation.,. always will see Jawato,,still the guy has to relax and hit couple of threes or take to rim and get fouled. Niko… spell the other PG’s, and Dyrbe, who has to play defense, relax when he comes in , his job, hit that 25 foot 3 ball, money.
Love this team.. risen from the ashes.. MBB haters.. become lovers of a true Warrior MBB team !!
🙂
Looks like rotation set. Don’t think Jawato, Enos, niko will see much minutes unless they step up in practice and take minutes away from guys now playing major minutes. Not many teams other than Kenticky who can go ten deep with no fall off. Just means those guys need to be ready when situation calls for it.
1:30pm start tomorrow, after you open your presents , go down to the Stanley, we need it loud, we need some noise , we need the students , all fans ,come on down. Warriors vs Buffs
Good crowd 6000 doable…Colorado very good team, big time scorer..this team they ain’t afraid of any team however know they have to finish game strong…don’t turnover ball inbounding..clear loss and move on..
keepitreal..trud every coach tightens up rotation..when in conference or trying to win close games..
however if Benjy wants to keep guys fresh not burned out latd march 2015..he has to give even 4 or 5 min, to niko, dyrbe, jawato and especially..jovanovich..and guys can always get sick or hurt ( the first 9)
I think it will be same thing so far early this year..one guy tires or goes down..next man step up
that makes championship teams!!
🙂
I simply love this “team”
And NEGUS.. don’t worry, and Aaron, whole team, Clear Loss, lot of games to play, and to battle for BWC crowns NIT or NCAA prize ahead. You Are Winners.. In life after UH MBB, challenges will happen and joys, disappointments…. don’t worry , hold your head up high.. This team , I notice NO finger pointing, All One Team and One Ohana, get better, get well, and have a great game, a huge Victory over, listening Lauran Beeman and WBB team? A good Pac12 team , Colorado.. UH , you all get that win on ESPN national and global video live, will be a GOOD thing.
Negus, and Team, just keep on fighting, and relax have fun, the small things, you will fix up, and possibly end up with historic, wins, under duress. The UH fans, Valerie Schmidt Ohana, thousands, of young and old mature faithful fans, are enjoying the ride,…UH MBB vs Goliath,, NCAA teams around the country and West Coast..!
Go Bows Warriors !!
NWC you will be alright, take care of your ribs and ankles, you will have great impact along with the other Canadian Connection Jankovich.. ” it takes a Village to Raise a Child”.. well ” IT TAKES THE WHOLE UH MBB PROGRAM” To Raise the BWC regular and tournament titles !!
🙂
And think about it…Nevels only senior on team. Only gets better from here
Hawaii moving on up… RESPECT.. at start of season.. they were close to 200-280’s, nice to know if UH MBB makes NCAA , since BWC is one bid league unless a team runs the table finishes regular season at say 32-0.. and loses the BWC tournamnet and finishes at 34-1, Eagle and those in the know, would ncaa , keep a 34-1 BigWest MBB team out of tourney as an at large even though they were close to perfect? I guess it all depends on SOS, RPI, BPI, Pomeroy, etc.. BWC sure enough, some teams, really upgraded their schedules.. a couple of top 30 teams mixed in with NAIA, and DII and DIII schools..
Probably does not mean too much, however fans think about it, even nationally what UH is doing, the Pitt win, willing to travel to play tough BYU team in Utah, The Florida swing and 2 out 3 wins, the win over a top 30 team in Nebraska, and the Almost win against High Mid Major number 11 Wichita St., Plus a good game against Colorado Pac12 post season team from last year. Huge if UH gets the win this afternoon. I am sure, they will come out firing on D and O.. and go for that 2-0 record.. win or lose,.. really, what we talking about, majority win and happy for all, This team is special.
and echo above post.. We Love Hawaii’s Team,,a feel good, never say die team, winning the hearts of an entire state.. 6000 or 7000+ on Xmas day? why not, after lunch.. and Beautiful, gorgeous weather. For those that can, well just go, take a friend or family and enjoy this team, in this configuration. with these coaches.. and true, as coach of Wichita St. said.. Benjy and team kept together, they beat Pitt, the beat Nebraska, His team the Shockers, very fortunate to escape with a win,they are ranked 11 and definitely could be top ten this sunday if they win DHC championship.. Wichita St. coach says, at 9-4(including that crazy Florida swing 2-1), what more does Benjy have to have on resume to be named as permanent HC.? I don’t see what esle.. UH Admin.. that is the only damper.. with all the pulbic stuff being thrown out there by ESPN every game UH plays, and how Benjy steadied the ship , and team, though very young have bought into that D minded exciting winning team.. Just hire Benjy this year.. Year One, roll over for 2 more season, that would be total of 3 years.. at a really negotiable amount. NO NEED FOR waste of money to have %90,000.00 search panel to look for an assistant coach, since Benjy was the assistant and then Associate HC for going on 5 years at Hawaii.., UH admin, chancellor, and BOR-controller Jeff P. …get it right and sign Benjy..sure, see how he does first 4 games into BWC play, if UH sitiing at 3-1 BWC play first 2 weeks, and 15-5 overall,.. sign him for 2 years more, will be not too expensive, he has his assitant staff on board, fully compliant, and team very young, except for Garrett Nevels should All Be Back.. Thinsk Forward ahead, chancellor and Jeff P. get it right.. Make things pono…
UH moving on up, getting love and respect from Mainland Polls,,, however UH just concentrate on last 3 games of 2014 and the win the BWC regular and tourney titles !! You guys can do it !!
BPI rank: 154
Pomeroy rankings: 162
ESPN RPI rank: 159
CBS Sports rank: 164
This team is a winner. And winners get more motivated to win and not be defeated due to one loss. In fact a winner takes it out on the next team. Colorado is the sacrificial lamb. No naysayers anymore. I remember the Pitt game and people said they would get blown out. Similar with Wichita State. But think now people are starting to believe. This team is for real and getting mo real each day. Great group of guys all pulling for each other whether they play or not. This is the best Christmas gift from they to all the fans in the State of Hawaii. Merry Christmas.
And getting closer to those 14 wins total that Jake predicted for the season. Anybody heard from Jake lately??? Gotta keep pushing to get into top 100 rip. Tough to move up once BWC play starts.
UH didn’t get to play George Washington, but they have a 6′ 8″ freshman who is a native of Japan, Yuta Watanabe. In their game vs. Colorado, he had 10 pts, 6 rebounds and 2 steals in 26 minutes; 3 for 6 FG, 1 for 3 three pt FG .