UPDATED: Warriors stop Nebraska; face No. 11 Wichita State next
Grinding out a hard-earned victory on another rough shooting night, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team held off Nebraska, 66-58, in Monday’s first round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
A spirited crowd of 8,448 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched Aaron Valdes score 15 points and grab six rebounds, Garrett Nevels add 10 points and seven boards and Isaac Fleming contribute 10 points and six rebounds off the bench as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 9-3. The Cornhuskers fell to 6-4.
Point guard Roderick Bobbitt finished with seven points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals.
UH will face No. 11-ranked Wichita State (9-1) in Tuesday’s semifinal bracket at 4 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN2.
It is the first time since the inaugural Diamond Head Classic in 2009 that the Warriors advanced to the semifinals. The last time Hawai’i played a team ranked as high as the Shockers was an upset victory over No. 4 Michigan State in 2005.
“They play the right way, they’re tough, they have a great point guard,” Taylor said of the Shockers, who routed Loyola Marymount, 80-53, last night. But Taylor could have also described his own team that way Monday.
Nevels’ 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining broke a 53-53 tie, and after Benny Parker narrowed it to 59-57 on an acrobatic reverse layup with 52.5 seconds left, the Rainbow Warriors closed it out by sinking six of seven free throws down the stretch following a crucial layup by Negus Webster-Chan that made it 61-57 with 32.3 seconds on the clock.
“I thought we pulled it out, although I also thought we didn’t play well,” Taylor said. “But as usual we played hard, we played together and we were unified. We gotta play a lot better (against Wichita State), but I loved the effort. We got big stops when we needed to, and we scored when we needed to.”
Nebraska trailed 34-23 at halftime but came out roaring after the break, scoring on its first three possessions to cut the lead to 34-29 after Shavon Shields’ layup with 18:39 remaining. Mike Thomas finally broke the string with a baseline jumper to make it 36-29, but Terran Petteway sank two free throws to start a 9-2 run capped by Walter Pitchford’s 3-pointer which tied it at 38-38 with 14:36 left.
“I think I got out-coached in the first four minutes of the second half,” Taylor said. “I’m sure at halftime they talked about how to break our press, so I probably should have switched it up. But it was working so well for us in the first half, I wanted to stick with it.”
Fleming scored a layup to put the Rainbow Warriors back up, 40-38, but Pitchford answered with a 3-pointer and Parker followed with a baseline jumper to give the Cornhuskers a 43-40 lead with 12:21 remaining.
Switching back to three-quarter court pressure, Valdes got a steal and then a slam dunk to start an 8-0 run capped by his own spectacular one-handed alley-oop slam dunk off Quincy Smith’s halfcourt pass, making it 48-43 with 8:06 left. But Nebraska fired back again, this time with three straight layups to go back ahead, 49-48, on Smith’s layup with 5:07 remaining.
Thomas’ three-point play pushed Hawai’i back out in front, 51-49, with 4:37 left, but Shields tied it 40 seconds later with a pair of free throws. Webster-Chan then hit a short jumper to give the Rainbow Warriors a brief 53-51 lead, but Shields again erased it with a pair of free throws.
“We knew in the second half they were going to come after us,” Valdes said. “We knew it was going to be close. But the crowd got into it and that helped. It was just a matter of keeping our head on straight and playing all 40 minutes.”
Hawai’i built a solid 34-23 halftime lead with stifling defense. Using three-quarter court pressure and then tight man-to-man halfcourt coverage, Rainbow Warriors forced 11 turnovers and limited Nebraska to 30 percent shooting from the field (7 of 23).
After UH jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the first four minutes, the Cornhuskers went on a 10-2 run capped by Petteway’s driving layup with 12:25 remaining to make it 13-11. But Smith answered with a tough left-handed layup in traffic and completed a 3-point play to put the Rainbow Warriors back up, 14-13, igniting a 9-1 surge capped by Valdes’ putback and free throw that made it 20-14 with 7:22 left in the half.
Nebraska cut it to 21-19 on a layup by Tarin Smith with 5:40 remaining, but Hawai’i closed out the half with an 11-2 run bookended by Thomas’ putback and Bobbitt’s steal and breakaway layup with 1:01 left.
Petteway finished the game with 14 points to lead the Cornhuskers, and Parker and Shields each added 12 points. Pritchford contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Rainbow Warriors forward Stefan Jankovic, a transfer from Missouri, made his UH debut and finished with five points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 17 minutes off the bench. The 6-foot-11 sophomore was 2 for 8 from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range.
“Honestly, I’m just glad we got the win,” said Jankovic, who needed to sit out the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules. “I wasn’t the happiest with my performance, but it’s OK.”
Hawai’i shot just 37.5 percent from the field (24 of 64) overall, including just 22.2 percent (4 of 18) from beyond the arc.
“With this group, we haven’t shot well all year, to be honest,” Taylor said. “But we’re 9-3.”
(Game photos courtesy Brandon Flores / www.brandonfloresphotography.com)
CLICK HERE TO VIEW FACEBOOK PHOTO GALLERY
Monday’s Results
George Washington 77, Ohio 49
Colorado 82, DePaul 68
Wichita State 80, Loyola Marymount 53
Hawai’i 66, Nebraska 58
Tuesday’s Schedule
9:30 a.m. – Ohio vs. DePaul
11:30 a.m. – Colorado vs. George Washington
4 p.m. – Hawai’i vs. Wichita State
6:30 p.m. – Nebraska vs. Loyola Marymount
Tuesday’s Game Information
Who: Hawai’i (9-3, 0-0 Big West) vs. Wichita State (9-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 23, 4:00 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.
A tremendous win for the program. I would say that Hawaii had an off
night offensively as they brought their C game. But even so the’re
defense was superb as many of the points came off steals. And the
steals gave them momentum to make mini runs. The pressure really
bothered Nebraska especially the half court trap. And this team is
solid down the stretch. That’s what you gotta do in the close games.
At the end you need to dig down deep, get stops, and score. This is
big time basketball. I have a good feeling that the game with Wichita
State will be UH MBB’s finest hour as offense and defense show up
and this country sees what this team is all about.
Agree … Go ʻBows!
Keep The Pieces Cominʻ Together….
Next: NEED Biggest Step-Up, Most Complete Game
Time for Nothing Less than Your Individual And Team Best
So Very Clear that This Team CAN Play Even Better
Shocker Fans Are Many & Loud
Should ʻLook” & Sound Like Big-Time College Basketball
OPPORTUNITY, Time for Big-Time UH Performances
“Almost Overnight” Can Vault The Program into (a little more) National Limelight
THE Benchmark, THE Statement of 2014…
Go ʻBows!
NEED Most Complete Game to Date
Compete, Perform, “More” Intense “D”,
Tonight (And Hereon) Start HITTING The Shots
“Got To”, ʻCos ʻThe Shakasʻ of Hawaiʻi WILL Need their Best to Shock The Shockers
(Who ARE an Impressive Shooting, Rebounding And Defensive Team)
GREAT Performances…OVER PITT…Over Huskers…?NOW Shockers?
NICE Set-UP…You Got These Guys on Your Home Court
At Prime East Coast Time — [Mahalo, ESPN]
(Wanna ʻSparkʻ Recruiting?)
[Tai: Thought YOU Would Think So…”Nice Vibe…”
“Please talk to the Coaches ʻBout Leaving The Forever Flat Lands & Snow,
Filling In The Aotearoa-Fotu Scholarship Position
And Being Our Next Great Nebraska Transfer…]
The Table is Set…
Biggest-Time Opportunity (Until Post-Season)
2014 FINALS Week is Here…
And Itʻs TV Time to Serve Notice
Wanna INFORM The BIG WEST that This Team has NO Intention of Finishing Number Five?
SO…The Shockers — THE BEST Yet — Stand In Your Way
And IT IS UP TO THE Amazing UH Staff And Team (Yes! They Are!)
P.S. Show Up BB/UH Fans and Help Lift the Team (In Whatever Way You Can)
[Prayers… Screams… TV/Radio/Internet Concentration, Energy & Vibes ALL Welcome]
GO ʻBows!
Compete, Complete, Strong!
BEST…WIN!
This Team WILL Give A Great Performance Today/ ʻTonightʻ
And Does NOT Want to Settle for Second Best
So Letʻs Not…
TO: WInsiders & UH Fans
Have A Great Day to Remember!
Merry Christmas To All and To All A Great Night
GO, GO ʻBows!
What a win. Frustrating shooting night but defense wins championships. And all I want for Christmas is a DHC championship! If Hawaii can shock the shockers tonight, that will be very possible. If we can continue to lock down defensively and pick it up a bit on offense we’ll be golden. In watching last night’s game, I was thinking that in UH games past, the script was flipped. UH would be the team that would be down, fight their way back, then break under the pressure. Last night was the opposite. That was a good thing. Imagine if we had been shooting it half-decent? This team is dangerous.
Looking forward to tonight’s game, just a bit disappointing that it’s at 4pm. Wouldn’t it make sense that the teams that played the later 2 games also play the later semifinal? Oh well, hopefully I make it home from work by then. Let’s GO BOWS!!
Terrific win last night. These talented bunch of guys are awesome. And whoa…..what a dunk!
I just enjoy watching this exciting team.
Go Warriors!!!
GREAT game!!! Don’t worry about who I am Runbows. Like you say…focus on team. Only need a few words. No need to post paragraphs to make point that this is GREAT team!!!!
Anyone know what Nebraska did to get the pre-game technical foul? Anyone else notice Nebraska has a coaching staff of 14? 14! Also noteworthy was how most of the Nebraska coaches stood in a line at the half-court at the beginning of the game and just STARED at our players during warm up. Also, they had a coach who was scouting our team during every single timeout. He’d stand at the half court, stare at our huddle while taking notes in a tiny notebook, then he’d head back his huddle and hand the note to another coach. It was ridiculous. On one such occasion, Fleming waved animatedly(?) at the scout, who was then quick to return to his team.
I watched the Wichita-LMU game at the SSC. Wichita simply crushed LMU. LMU’s loss could have been even more devastating had Wichita not rested their starters during the second half. Shocker fans outnumbered the Lions’ fans 3-1. I noticed the Wichita fans remain standing and clap in unison from tip-off until the opponent scores. We gotta score before they do! Win or lose, tonight’s game is gonna be an awesome experience for our UH Warriors.
What a win is right! Fantastic crowd and atmosphere and Aaron V said it himself that it helped lift the team to the win.
Off night for Janks but hopefully it was just his warm up game and now he can settle in and show his stuff. Same for Negus because he looked like he wasnt in his rhythm. We will need both those guys on A game against Wichita.
I am also wondering why 4pm start? Must be for TV reasons but I have to ask again why UH letting Diamond Head and ESPN people control everything and take away potential ticket revenue. I believe that if tonights game against national rank Wichita State started at 8 like last night, it would be sellout and the Stanley would be absolutely crazy! With 4pm start, people still working and probably tell themselves just go straight home and watch on TV.
Everybody who was there for Nebraska game know that being there in person is totally different. The place was rocking! I already got my tickets for tonight and no way I’m missing it.
I enjoyed the game and wish we could get this amount in f fans every game. On jankovic and his shooting it will get better, in prevalent his shot was nearly flawless he just needs a little more time to shake the rust off and he will be lighting up the scoreboard.
Tavs — G. Dickman or someone said you are not supposed to dunk during warmups in the 20 minutes before tip off. You can dunk, if it’s more than 20 minutes before tip off time. One of the Nebraska players dunked the ball during the warmups. It was shown on a replay and it was not much of a dunk, it was just a soft one over the rim .
Was the TV color commentator many times referring to Nebraska as “Pittsburgh” or was he talking about Pitchford, the 6′ 10 ” player who could shoot the threes ( 3 for 6 ); 10 rebounds ?
Just finished watching the replay of the Wichita/LMU game:
WICHITA key players:
*Point guard Fred Vanvleet is extremely quick, smart, and talented. He doesn’t shoot as much as Tyler Haws (BYU guard), but just as dangerous. If you don’t guard him tight, he LOVES to penetrate deep into the paint and either attack the basket or kick the ball out to either T.Cotton or Ron Baker to shoot the three.
*Ron Baker (6’4 shooting guard) has great hands, handles the ball like a point guard, and shoots 3-pointers at 46%. Yes, 46%…. He leads the team there. Garrett Nevels and Isaac Fleming have to keep an eye on this guy. He moves well without the ball and gets his passes around screens… where he gets many of the 3 point looks.
*Darius Carter (6’7 power forward) is one of the best offensive rebounder Hawaii will see this year. He attacks the boards relentlessly when Vanvleet drives the paint. They always seem to know what they’re always doing… two steps ahead of LMU last night. Carter is their BEST inside player.
BLUEPRINT to beat Wichita:
1. Pressure defense, especially against Vanvleet before he reaches the top of the key. LMU NEVER pressured Wichita the whole game and the Shockers made them pay. Rod Bobbitt will have his hands full with Vanvleet, but Bobbitt loves this type of game and never backs down. If Bobbitt can win this chessmatch, I think it increases our chance of winning from 30% to 60%.
2. On offense, penetrate the paint. Wichita’s perimeter defense is extremely effective. LMU was 0 for 5 for 3-point shooting last night. They just couldn’t get an open look. Wichita knows Hawaii averages about 20 3-point attempts a game. Yes, we shoot that many. Thus, they know that’s their strength on defense.
Instead, what Hawaii should do is either penetrate the paint with our guards (and then look for the open man),or post up with Jankovic. If you rewind the Hawaii/Nebraska game to 15:49 in the 2nd half, Jankovic displays his BEST post up move of the night. THAT’s what he needs to do against this team…. tonight. Forget about showing how good he can shoot the 3. We need him most to post up or catch the pick and roll.
3. Protect the possessions and get the loose balls. Wichita is NOT a tall team. They are NOT the most athletic team. They beat you by winning the turnover margins and the rebounding margins (mainly by crashing the offensive boards). Hawaii has to run their offense like they did against Pittsburgh (when we shot 53%) and play defense like they did against Nebraska (9 steals / 18 turnovers).
Love comments…and most importantly you all can go live in person at SSC..cannot beat that..miss being there…though I can imagine hearing, Chuck, Eagle, TAVS, warriorhaw, palolowarrior, IsaacM , all there cheering team on…brings tears of joy to my eyes..
Very sad not however, maybe 2015-16 season will address..heard kkea a.m. show with steve murray and scott robbs..they are really excited for team ..outstanding,,exciting
now comes the reality check
steve and scott both allude to whenever ncaa letter/allegations comes…from their sources, says minor things, however, there were some deception..ncaa..or any investigation does not like that..say letter will not affect this season post season play, however could factor into any coacb other than great benjy to take over..also who new AD..
This year, ncaa..according to their investigations , the “deception, not trutful on certain things could lead to harsher penalties..
Eagle,,,BACKBEAT…CHUCK, HORSSSE, and servante…seriously if coaches departed, and really were deceptive, for one thing gib and akana are foever gone..fotu subject of tablet and benefits gone,,,doba (supposed to have done coaching not his duty)chris Mcmillan gone..any rubbing of shoulders with
Great bigs coach scot fischer gone …ncaa investigation…handcuffef gib recruitin 1 more athletic tall big for this year…ncaa has handcuffed recruiting unless uh admin hires benjy as real head coach for nextc2 or 3 years
question…how do jeff, jackson,,steve…and scott know from someone they heard ..possibbly 2015-17
Probations, sanctions and post season bans!!!
With those guess work, no transparency, and media say going be very, very bad punishnent for uh mbb ,if parties involved all gone, including gib get sammis…what else can they do?
Well scott qualified his statements ..he heard from a “source” a leaker..that deception and heavy penalties..hoopstak with jeff and jack say Will Not Be Probation..what gives??
Ih UH counsel worth their pay as well as Alabama special legal team…so much leaked out, let fans, athletes know, transparency
I have strong feeling , benjy, staff, ad, chancellor and probably guys know..come what may. That what makes this team so special
they are exciting and winning..despite the noise
sure ncaa..take your time,,get nort carolina punished then restrct practive,,,or less time on recruiting trail howere , i go with BOR Jeff P. ..he say don’ t worry about a ban..probation..i believe him..we could be getting, well this makule fan worked for lesser penalties
All the more so..those that can support the boys..maybe ncaa will see uh admin did take care of problems and let benjy and his 3 freshnan graduate in may 2018 with several NIT and NCAA BIDS
HAVE A GOOD ONE
and islandman the longer it takes , alabama legal should help lessen any blows,,even if have to go to high court,,these14 stayed on team..and benjy doing great..should not be punished at all..they are innocent
Sorry fans
back to team
Awesome…exciting
support the bows!!
🙂
Nice win last night against a very good Nebraska team. The crowd was really in to it which made for a great college atmosphere. It should be fun today as the Shockers have a good contingent of fans that traveled here. I would like to see Jovanovic get more playing time as he played well in the first eleven games of the season. He has a nice baby hook shot which is tough to defend, and he is a good rebounder.
Loved the atmosphere of the game last night, hopefully we can have even more people come to this game even though it’s in the afternoon. Janks looked a bit hesitant last night but that was just 1st game jitters nothing to worry about. Hopefully our offense will come back tonight and we will be lights out. Time to shock the shockers!
njacinto, excellent in-depth scouting and analysis on WSU…any way we can pass this on to the UH coaches?? LOL. I have faith that they’ve noticed the same thing. Hawaii can win tonight if wins the pressure battle and crashes the board. Even though Nebraska was down 9 – 0 early on, they started crashing the boards hard and got offensive AND defensive rebounds and eventually tied it up at 13. UH will need to battle hard for this one and I believe at the least, it will be close. Right now Vegas has WSU as 13.5pt favorites…easy money? I have faith. Let’s GO BOWS!!!
IsaacM: I am not gambler, however IN today’s 2014-15 MBB season, with the Parity of great athletes, the 3 ball, and that desire to win no matter whom playing.. those oddsmakers.. once again, unless Wichita St is Kentucky.. at home SSC with 7000-8000 hopefully making noise, AND UH as you and njacinto say, UH go to the boards.. correct from Lee, too, I hope Benjy plays Stefan Jovanovich more, he is the banger, use his 4 fouls, nothing easy , from the Wichita st. bigs, punish them, and Jovanovich can finish around the rim, as long as hold ball high, he is a near 90% FT shooter too.
Hey fans.. hopefully 5000, work day, or more late comers. will cheer on UH to victory.. Laura
Beeman, beaming with pride at her SOS and home tough scheduled 3 teams and victories on the road, which is great, However UH MBB has played Pitt and won, BYU, without Negus, and for 30 minutes were right there with the Cougars in Salt Lake City.. and Nebraska, with all starters back except for their center with hand injury, Tai Webster off the bench, BIG TEN, Christian Standhardinger’s former school, tough buggahs..UH wins.. and NOW the big One, Number 10 in the nation NCAA DI on ESPN2 nationwide audience at 900 pm EST and 400 pm HST.. Great stretch of 4 great teams.. UH schedule has turned out to be a good ONE !!
Go Bows… and unless otherwise, what Indianapolis or Kansas City ncaa office on holiday .. or maybe best case, they push it back till next summer, and UH legal go to work.. This year group, just focus on school, family, each other and Basketball.
Best group, through the Storm, and fighting till the final buzzer, I have ever seen of a UH MBB team, no disrespect to Laura Beeman, whom I am sure has a chance to dance by winning the BWC tournament.. however the Marquee BB program, with the big rabid attendees ,UH Rainbow Warrior Basketball !!
🙂
njacinto:
Spot on, and I hope, I believe he did mention on the post game radio show, have Nevels, NWC keep shooting, however move in a foot or two, and they will hit much better percentage… and other hoops gurus…. You all are right.. at this time.. I know Benjy is tell his guys, Nevels, Janks, NWC, keep shooting the rock from 3 line, and they will start dropping., however I remember a shooting coach, and there are a lot of good ones, if the ball too long or too short, step in a few feet, with quick release, using screens, shoot trifecta from 22-24 feet instead of from 27-30 feet, that Jankovich launch from about 35 feet, waaaay toooo long.. he step inside 27 feet, he will start hitting.
As for UH and having INSIDE guys.. I think they Do.. three.. Aaron AirCuba, who plays like he is legit 6’8″, very active and can shoot around, over, and through guys bigger and taller, so quick vert, and athletic.. Jovanovich.. Benjy has to get him into game for Minutes, use 4 hard fouls.. plus Jovanovich WILL rebound with physical bigs.. and get fouled, and he can make FT’s, plus his put backs are strong now, and the baby jump hook, his signature move.. Stefan 2.0 Janks Jankovich.. You are right, instead of working outside in.. go INSIDE.. Janks can , he has great footwork, he is a 2-5 skillset.. once he establishes, the hooks, the putbacks, the tips, the mid range jumper, the flushes and ones, make himself big , by playing down LOW BIG.. then he float to corner or top of key in transition, and boooom.. he knock down killer 3’s ,..maybe about 2 or 3 a game.. to augment HIS INSIDE GAME.. first.. with this team.. They can do it.. and MIKE T.. everyone wants to be like Mike.. the buggah, the bro, is strong .. lithe but strong.. he will make that pick and roll dunk.. He is a big reason UH is battling and winnng against BIGGER front lines.
Hey, and UH MBB has not even peaked yet.. practice light.. stay healthy rehab, practice shooting and inside moves.. stay as a team united.. dang the ncaa.. JUST PLAY, have fun and rock the SSC for the BWC title !!
Happy times.. reality check.. even if UH comes out short, or loses.. that is okay, clear game , and go and get that 3rd place trophy. 2-1 in this field, would be great.. 3-0 might put them into the 100-199 RPI range for sure !!
Go Bows ! Guys and gals, young and old that can go to SSC today. please go.. I am dying to go, however cannot, homebound. but my heart is with you all in the ARENA..
Go Rainbow Warriors.. Finish Strong IMUA !!
🙂
]
However I like all of your analysis, Remember Wichita St. Highest, besides Our Warriors, highest mid major in the Pacific !!
I know our DEFENSE can hold up tonight. I don’t think Wichita has faced the kind of pressure they’re going to see tonight. Shoot, even BYU couldn’t handle our pressure… until our boys ran out of gas from being so short-handed.
The question is… what is our identity for our Half Court OFFENSE? Last year, it was simple: 1) Let Standhardinger drive the paint the see what happens, 2) Give it to Fotu and let him post up, or 3) Drive it into Fotu or Stan, then kick it out to either Nevels or Brandon Spearman for a 3, or allow them to drive the open lane.
If we win tonight, whatever offense works for us the best could determine our half court offensive identity for the rest of the season.
njacinto:
I think Benjy, just my take, has to play Stefan Jovanovich more, he was trying to get Janks feet wet.. Janks, no matter what he says, he says he is a 2/3, the guy has skillset to play on the block, excellent feet, has all the moves, mid range, 3 ball, hook shots and long arm slam dunks.. he can rebound and defend with physicality like Jovanovich.. I like that tandem.
I think with input from Que, Autry and Loyd, the Defense whether man or zone, traps, on ball, deflections.. that 3 guards meeting before half court the other guards.. cause havoc, Bobbitt the master at getting steals, any which way.. such a great defender and quick hands without fouling.. Fleming, Smith, Nevels, Valdes, jumping the passing lanes.. NWC , Janks, Thomas, and Jovanovich, they stay down low, and they can jump in front at times, and get steals too.. Love, how no matter the size of other team, lean NWC and lean MT.. they battle for boards, what a bigger Nebraska team outrebounded UH by ONE? 39-38 or something like that..
Plus transition.. on post game show, Benjy says, can be ugly basketball, shooters move in, take smart efficient shots.. team still learning and getting better, their Trademark according to Benjy, is DEFENSE.. win ugly.. they are not finesse team.. not a big team, however they get after it.
The Four guards, epescially Nevels and Smith, man , they must have at least 37″ quick verts.. Bobbitt, even though injured left arm recovered, first time I saw him finally get that mid court steal, and go in for a one handed Right hand slam dunk.. incredible.. Fleming, the slashing game, will complement the outside game when that gets going.. true, not going to win too many if shoot in 20% from 3 line and 30% from FG…get that up to 36% from trey line, and 46% from Field, UH will score a lot off of turning over the opposition.. They held Nebraska in check.. That BYU game, the High Point letdown game, and the San Francisco jet lag game.. if UH plays them again.. at SSC, in Florida, and Salt Lake City, with the whole team healthy and rested.. UH could be 12-0 quite amazing..
no pupule here.. just facts … Team really great effort, and the UH MBB fans, heard there was close to 7000 in house last night.. late afternoon, hope that 5000+ will make it to the game.. make some Noise.
njacinto.. whatever the identity of this year’s team, they HAVE ONE ALREADY: Winners !!
Battlling crazy odds. they win in the classroom, on the court and in life.. Great Team
Wish them that 20+ win season, and lock in Benjy and the gang, the 3 freshmen till they grad in 2018..
🙂
We need 1 or 2 shooters to get hot tonight. Expect more zones unless the shockers confident they can beat us any way they want. Will be very interesting if they go man.
Really Benjy emphasized basic plays, and especially DEFENSE to help team get grounded and have chance to win ball games. Their Defensive effort outstanding.
Now…they have to work on their Offensive sets.. yes, they don’t have to perimeter 3 ball jacking team, can have that middle by FT line open, when teams play zone on them, that is always ,there.. that is easier shot than the 3 ball. Also, the pick and rolls. And Nevels, NWC, don’t have to shoot too far out, move in a couple of feet, as Benjy says they are so frenzied on Defense, when they slow down to run Offensive sets, they tend to play frenzied.,. that has to be corrected.. Well the most important thing, they are winning game by rebounding, 50/50 ball, jump balls, turning teams over, steals, and close out games with timely shots and FT’s..Would be easier on the Heart of all fans and coaches,.. if they start running great Offensive sets, AND have their attacking smothering D going… then UH can be a top 40 team for sure..
servante…this game another milestone, a top 10 type team with all their great players, ready. they have one loss, so you know the are not perfect can be beat.. Wonder, if UH uses their quickness. run and get into transition on made and missed shots.. mix up the traps, steals, doubles.. Frenzied, game for 30 minutes, then get about 7-8 pt lead last 9 minutes, take care of the ball, and close out game.. Bet Benjy would take that style of Ball in a heartbeat.. servante ncaa,.. power that be.. BOR, Hawaii news now, BM, DR, Ferd, BC.. all wanted, or thought UH MBB would go down the tubes. and blow up.. seems like they are not spiraling down, the are going upwards and onwards towards championships
!!
Go Bows !!
🙂
No excuses for the losses. Just got beat. Nebraska would have loved to have 6’9″” senior center available but he was injured. Nuff about if this or if that Bows could be 12 and 0. If pigs had wings they’d fly. Still GREAT team. Try accepting them losses and all