UPDATED: Warriors pull out ‘gutsy’ win over UCSB
Overcoming yet another jab of adversity, Hawai’i got big support off the bench Saturday night and held off visiting UC Santa Barbara, 65-57, in Big West Conference men’s basketball action.
A vocal crowd of 6,323 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched sixth-man Isaac Fleming score a career-high 22 points and Stefan Jankovic add 19 points, nine rebounds and two blocks as the Rainbow Warriors improved to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big West, despite playing without starting wing Aaron Valdes for all but four minutes due to an injured toe. The Gauchos fell to 6-8 and 0-1.
Point guard Roderick Bobbitt contributed six points, seven rebounds and four assists, starting two-guard Quincy Smith added four assists and six steals and starting forward Mike Thomas finished with seven points and eight boards. UH also got three points and 21 quality minutes off the bench from seldom-used freshman guard Sheriff Drammeh, and the Rainbow Warriors outscored UCSB, 30-12, off the bench overall.
“Gutsy,” Hawai’i coach Eran Ganot said. “This was a gutsy win. This team has handled adversity so well, and sometimes you never know when it’ll hit you. Valdes got hurt four minutes into the game, and we already had a couple guys who got fouls early, and that can rock you. I’m just proud of our defense, because that kept us in the game.”
Ganot said the extent of Valdes’ injury — which was described as similar to “turf toe” — is still not known.
“We just have to wait and see,” Ganot said. “But his spirit is strong, and he’s been able to handle adversity better.”
So has the rest of the team.
After trailing 28-27 at halftime and 30-27 after Michael Bryson’s jumper from the right elbow 30 seconds into the second half, the Rainbow Warriors responded with an 11-2 run ignited by Fleming’s back-to-back 3-pointers from the left and then right corners and capped by Jankovic’s jumper which gave UH a 38-32 lead with 16:44 remaining.
The Rainbow Warriors extended it to 44-36 on Thomas’ layup off a Smith assist with 13:33 on the clock, but UCSB clawed its way back and tied it at 50-50 on Mitch Brewe’s putback at the 7:40 mark. Hawai’i quickly regained the lead on Fleming’s 3-pointer from the right wing with with 7:08 remaining, but the Gauchos stayed within striking distance and closed it to 58-57 on Gabe Vincent’s 3-pointer with 3:55 remaining.
Jankovic later made one of two free throws to push the lead to 59-57 at the two-minute mark, then made it 61-57 on a shot clock-beating layup off Fleming’s assist with 41 seconds left.
The Rainbow Warriors had been forced to take less-than-ideal shots in several earlier possessions with the shot clock winding down, but Ganot said Fleming was finally able to do what he wanted the team to do earlier.
“I think we weren’t penetrating the zone enough,” Ganot said. “Instead of moving the ball and getting it inside-out, sometimes we were just playing catch around the perimeter. On that one (late possession), it was going to happen again, but Isaac attacked the rim which is what we wanted. One of our strengths is getting the ball into the paint.”
After a 3-point miss by Bryson from the right wing with 22 seconds left, Bobbitt was fouled and sank two free throws to push it to 63-57, and then after a Gauchos turnover on the next possession, Fleming was fouled and sealed the victory on two free throws with 12 ticks remaining.
“It was a hard-fought game, and it’s going to be interesting when these two teams meet again (in Santa Barbara on Feb. 4),” UCSB coach Bob Williams said. “Hawai’i is a very good team, and tonight I felt we couldn’t quite contain them.”
The Gauchos led early, 8-5, before Jankovic muscled his way for a layup to start the Rainbow Warriors on a 10-0 run capped by Sai Tummala’s 3-pointer to make it 15-8 with 12:08 remaining in the first half. But Vincent ended the string with a 3-pointer, starting UCSB on its own 8-0 run which tied it at 15-15 after two free throws by Bryson.
A 6-0 surge by UH later put the Rainbow Warriors up, 25-19, on Janokovic’s driving layup with 4:28 left, but the Gauchos responded by finishing the half on a 9-2 run capped by Vincent’s 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining.
Despite the lead, Williams was not satisfied.
“In the first half, I was disappointed with our lack of composure with the ball,” Williams said. “Thirteen turnovers in one half … that’s too many.”
Among the turnovers was a charging call on Bryson, courtesy of Drammeh, who earlier had hit a key baseline jumper to put the Rainbow Warriors ahead, 23-19, with 5:30 left in the half.
“We just knew that with one guy (Valdes) down, we just had to be ready for the next guy to step up,” Fleming said. “(Drammeh) came in and took a huge charge, and made a huge shot in the corner. He’s real brave, taking those charges.”
Drammeh, a true freshman from Stockholm, Sweden, said he was excited and ready to answer the rare call of the bench in the first half.
“It felt great, it was my turn to step up,” said Drammeh, who has earned a reputation for taking charges in practice. “It’s just what I have to do. The whole team has confidence in me.”
Ganot was pleased that Drammeh also showed confidence in himself.
“Sheriff had to play a lot of minutes, against a really good team in a big atmosphere,” Ganot said. “He did a lot of big things, and he had the belief in himself to be in there. When he went for that loose ball, he was not afraid, and that’s valuable — there’s something to be said about that.”
As for Fleming’s 22 points off the bench — including 15 in the second half — Williams said that kind of performance is becoming less of a surprise.
“We were warned about Fleming, we were told that he can hit some big shots,” Williams said. “And they were right.”
Ganot was equally impressed with his team’s defensive effort in the final 3:55, in which the Rainbow Warriors allowed zero points and no fouls.
“I was very proud of our focus to stay out of foul trouble,” Ganot said. “We have to win in different ways, and taking care of the ball, rebounding and playing defense will always keep you in the game. You’re gonna have hot or cold days shooting, but there’s no hot and cold days when it comes to blocking out and defending, and keeping your turnovers down. We have a lot of control on that.”
Something Ganot now hopes to take control of is success in California, as UH embarks on its first Big West road trip this coming week with games at UC Riverside on Thursday and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
“The Big West is good from top to bottom,” Ganot said.
(Game photos courtesy Matt Osumi)
pretty ugly game at the start. Ganot’s doing a Great job with the team but if I have one knock on him, there’s not enough praise for Issac. Maybe it’s psychology and another way to teach Issac it’s a team game and he doesn’t need to try to carry the entire team on his shoulders wanting to do all he wants to do.
It’s like with whatever combo of the Smith, Bobbitt and Fleming, UH has 2 point guards in the game.
Issac if you reading this, what a Great game you played last night. Don’t worry about recognition or being in the starting line up. Everyone sees your game on the floor, let your game speak for itself and if I could mention one thing, please be careful trying to rouse up the crowd. Don’t look towards the opposing bench but away when doing that, the refs are watching very carefully and you don’t know when they’ll start to get on your case doing that facing the opposing bench. lol
Pocho,
Fleming doesn’t get coaches’ recognition? In the video above, Ganot says ‘One of the key plays is when Isaac attacked the rim, and we need to keep doing that.’ It’s around the 5 minute mark.
I would like to see another guard get some minutes so Bobbitt can stay fresh. I’m a firm believer if that happens it will help them in the stretch run.
In Post-Game Show, With Long, Fun FLEMING Fan Phone Call Session
Isaac Sounded Solid And Happy
Starting (Among Coaches and Smart Players Is Over-Rated)
WHO’s In the Game @ PRIME-TIME ?
WHO HITS Their Shots? Bobbit 4 for 4, FLEMING 5 for 5, free throws
Game Winners
Isaac said before he enters game, he’s studying defensive rotations, etc.,
Part of how he chooses, drives so effectively;
Minutes Last Night
Bobbitt 40 – Janks 31 – FLEMING 29
And for the Whole Season, Isaac Tied for Third
(Behind only Bobbitt & Valdés, even above Janks (albeit likely due to foul trouble)
Really Good for a sophomore
Probably a Year ahead of even AV
Good Perspective on how all the histrionics might have cost him freshman of he year
Good to See True Freshman Drammeh breaking through
21 minutes against UCSB!
Getting those jitters & kinks out
LONG ARMS, Great Footwork, Aggressiveness and Quickness
Bobbitt And Fleming to Learn from and Emulate
[THREE Year Partners?]
Fleming a FAN Favorite!
2-0 Road Trip…
Would Reset as Road Winners
GO ‘BOWS!
Maybe — Will Try to ASK Next Call-the-Coach…
IF a Bobbitt-Breather @ 9-7-5 Could Re-set and Provide Finishing Power Kick…
I Also Thought RB didn’t have Legs/Power The Last Five Minutes
OR He Was Just Letting Isaac Take Over (If So, Real Smart…)
Kudos to Isaac, Janks, Rod, & Sheriff for their contributions in this game. Noticed that Isaac thanked the singing group after their performance. He is really showing great maturity in his game and attitude (although I agree with another poster that he should do his celebrations away from the opposing bench – hate to see an unnecessary T called during a close game).
Gotta like the direction that Mike is heading (9 rebounds in the Cal Poly game & 8 rebounds, 7 points last nite). Although Quincy still has to improve his shooting (especially at the FT line), he did contribute with 6 steals (!) and 4 assists. And Steph has been consistent, if not spectacular – he is able to at least neutralize bigger posts who try to out-physical Janks. GO BOWS!
conference even. bwc road, warriors sweep each trip will go to ncaa.
cannot see anyteam other than Irvine stopping Hawaii .
other teams don’t play defense as well as warriors. that is difference.
yes, Tavs. a One liner. You do know how much Issac is worth to the team and coming off the bench as the 6th man. He probably feels like I do, that he’s a starter but I don’t want to take away any from Quincy as he’s fast and a pretty good defender.
You hear the talk of Issac with the OC16 commentators but I’ve not heard much of it from Ganot. Whatevers, but like I say it may be psychology on Ganots part not wanting too praise him a lot and he looking to take over the team running and gunning. Yeah, Drammeh was thrown into the fire who got most of the praise, whatevers. I’m not saying Drammeh didn’t do well but… .
Even Coach Williams had more to say on Issac’s play in what he did in the game and as you can read he’d been warned about Issac’s play beforehand from others.
Even
Nothin wrong but I do feel Issac is doing what he’s being asked to do and trying to make the best of this bb year. IMO, he’s won’t be around the next 2 years. So let’s all enjoy this year
On radio post- game with Curran & Jeff, Eran said Isaac was the one who was able to penetrate the UCSB defense when UH was not doing enough of that earlier, not doing enough inside out stuff or something like that.
Kudos to everyone. As I watched last night I couldn’t help what a lock we would have on the Big West if Fotu was still with us. Hope Valdes’ injury heals quickly. A toe injury is bad enough in football, must be much worst in basketball with all the stop and starts, jumping and taking those jump shots. That was just awesome defense last night. You can tell it wears our opponents down and gets in their head.
Monday, Jan. 11 is the first day of the spring semester at UH. And the team leaves on its road trip on when, Tuesday ? what time.
islandman, yes, it’s the same line that’s been mentioned in the article above. One line, lol
don’t know if any bwc teams, even Irvine has a big that can stop , control Jankovic, he is too skilled.
the road test, hope team not distracted by families at games. those arenas, small like high school almost. anyone know how team did this semester?
he’ll be tested for sure. And if I were the opposing Coach I’d be aggressively going to the basket against Janks to get him in foul trouble. Think UC Irvine has a lot of bigs to do that, time will tell
Very happy with win. Very happy with Effort and maturity Ganot bringing out in kids; for example have heard Janks twice now say how Ganot ragged on him for his minimal rebounding last year and how unacceptable that was given his height. Janks admits that’s simply lack of effort on his part. Clearly Ganot motivating him to be a better player and bring more to his game and it really shows. Isaac, I hope he knows and everyone helps him to see that supporting and buying in to Coach Ganot in no way is a betrayal to Coach Benjy. Isaac went out of his way last night to let everyone know how Coach Benjy was the one who helped him with his attitude shift (i.e. Not coach Ganot). It was as if he wanted to state his loyalty to Benjy. That is great. But he shouldn’t feel responsible to him, he didn’t make the decision and neither did Coach Ganot.
Great great defense and complete games by Isaac and Janks. I was still not impressed by Sheriff. He got the one charge call, but otherwise did NOT hold his ground under the basket…ducked out of the way once, shuffled his feet or backed up every other time which is why he never got the call again! Ganot was just pumping his guy on the post game show. I am glad he didn’t do really negative stuff and that deserves credit…it does…cause I thought for sure he would turn it over and he didn’t. And he was quick on D. He also got overly excited and overtly celebrated as if he was doing that 5-0 stuff on the sidelines but while he was running down the court. He could’ve gotten a T…if it was Isaac he would have and everyone would be ragging on him.
Six Quincy steals was great, but I remember within the first minute I was screaming for Isaac to come in because they were playing so far off Quincy and he refused to shoot or drive the ball it took we lost so much on offense…and it took way too long for them to finally bring in Isaac I felt, even though it probably wasn’t that long. Isaac is THE man.
Besides Fotu, NWC could’ve helped in situations where Valdes is out. Oh well, wishful thinking.
Yeah, everyone could come up with many different scenarios. lol
Enjoy!
Pocho,
The clip above is composed of game and interview highlights. Did Ganot mention Janks, who scored 19 points, in the clips? No. Do you listen to the interviews with Ganot on ESPN 1420? Fleming is mentioned often, just as much as anyone else except for Bobbitt.
As I said before, Fleming can leave if that’s what he thinks is best for himself. Many players have transferred out of UH, but I can’t remember a single success story. Perhaps players have left and got more playing time elsewhere, but it’s always been to weaker team.
From what I’ve seen, I’m confident Ganot can take this program far.
I feel what Fleming has shown thus far this season he could go to a higher level conference, his playing time there would be up in the air. There’s no doubt he can play with the best of them.
Did anyone ask about Ganot’s take on Janks?
I only saw the post game on OC16 where Ganot was asked of Drammeth and Fleming and that’s where I got this feeling and posted. Praised Drammeth in which he deserves that because of his showing getting thrown into the fire so to say. Plus prior to the start of game I took notice of where Fleming stood vs. the team during the Star Spangled Banner/Hawaii Pono’iand it looked like he stood alone off to the side, yeah, it’s his decision if so but that’s all I saw
I’ll have to view the clip of this blog and maybe that’ll change what I think. I don’t know. Will do that in a sec.
Tavs,
I ‘ve just finished watching the clip above, it’s the same one liner of Fleming written up in the SA and in this blog. I did not get a chance to listen to the 1420 interview of Ganot. But I’ll take your word for it that there was more said of Fleming by Ganot on the airwaves. Sorry I missed that as I wouldn’t have wrote what I thought of Ganot’s one liner of Fleminng as now hearing it was more than that on 1420
You have to like what Fleming said in the clip and the last second of it telling BigDaddy he missed a couple of free throws, lol.
Oh, yeah, that’s right if Fleming wants to leave it’s his choice, unless he gets kicked off the team. We have no control over that.
the post game clip is edited. I don’t know if someone questioned Ganot of Janks play. And you figure, Drammeth and Fleming himself was on the table, you’d think he had to say something about Fleming but not so with Janks so… .
Players DON’T Wait or Live for Coaches’ Comments….
TOO Often it’s responses to irrelevant (e.g., JP) comments….
They get Regular / Daily, Game-by-Game, in-Practice coaches’ feedback…
Most Times probably rarely hear radio comments
I used to get the coaches’ quotes for the media…
The players weren’t worried either way…
They Know what they gotta work on whether ‘WE’ hear about it or not
Why all the focus on who is or isn’t getting enough public praise? The team won! Fleming and Janks both played great, who cares who got more compliments in the post-game interviews from the coach (I bet they don’t!).
And geez, why is the possibility of Fleming transferring even being brought up? We’re in the middle of a fantastic season, just enjoy the team and his play. Stay positive, people.
Amen to that.
Enjoy the win because conference play is tough, and it’s going to get tougher on the road … particularly, if Valdes is not available for an extended period. There have been athletes who never fully recovered from turf toes, if that’s the diagnosis.
I don’t know what the upside of Drammeh is but I thought he filled in nicely under the circumstances. He “ate” minutes, was active on defense and seemed comfortable running with the 1’s. I agree that he needs to dispense of the 5-0 antics when he’s in the game. That being said, it was kinda cool to see a freshman enjoying being on the court when the game counted, and not in mop-up time.
Fleming’s play spoke for itself. He’s fearless and a joy to watch when he attacks the basket. He’s so much more under control … of his game and his emotions. Whether he starts or not is not as important as the amount of minutes he plays, and that he’s always in at the finish … when it counts.
I like that Drammeh got some big minutes against a quality opponent – it will really help us down the road. One underrated play that stood out to me was actually when he skied for a rebound, fell to the ground, and got called for a foul. The fact that that he was willing to go battle for a board with players much bigger than him in a crucial game showed me he’s got guts and toughness, even if his skill set still needs to develop some (which will come).
Also really impressed with Thomas’ play of late. He attacks the boards hard and is always throwing his body around. Wish he could stay out of foul trouble though!
Big test this upcoming week going on the road, but I think our team is disciplined enough this year where their game will travel well…go Warriors!
Warriorfan,
I agree – we shouldn’t care who gets more praise from the coach during a media interview. However, other posters here think it has significant weight. Also, me discussing Fleming leaving is just in response to other people bringing it up first.
Considering this week’s losses by Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, Chattanooga, Evansville, and St. Mary’s, I expect Hawaii to move up a couple spots in this week’s Mid Major rankings.
KelleyO…..
You missed some of the key plays Drammeh made. Besides the shot and FT he made. If you read today’s newspaper. He caused trouble for UCSB’s two best shooters. He took at least three charges, two from Vincent and one from Bryson. One at near the end of the game was key, per a commentator.
“He took two charges and forced another UCSB turnover on a kicked ball. He consistently beat the Gauchos to the baseline, or any other place they were trying to get to. … ” (Reardon column)
————————————————————————————————————–
” With Valdes out, Ganot turned to Fleming and Drammeh to light a fire in the first half and keep it stoked. Drammeh did, forcing a turnover on Vincent, hitting a baseline jumper and taking a charge on Bryson. It helped UH to a 25-19 lead late in the period. …
Drammeh took another big charge, drawing Vincent’s fourth foul with 2:22 to play.
The freshman grabbed the rebound off his own 3-point miss and got fouled …” ( McInnis article)
One could have been forcing a turnover from Vincent, instead of a charge.
I’ll bring this up again how can the compliance officer mess up. How can the chancellor look at only one side of the story. They are the biggest reasons why the penalties levied on the basketball program. They should of been the ones to be shown the door out of the athletic department. Leaders they are not.
I cant believe we’re arguing about whether Fleming is getting enough praise or whether he’s a starter….
Ganot’s not praising Fleming (or any of the other starters really if you ever really listen to the interviews) outside of specific plays (of which fleming gets a LOT of praise) because he doesnt need to. he doesnt need to tell people Fleming is a beast, the play speaks for itself, and he has all the swagger he needs. He pumps up guys like Thomas and Drammeh because THEY’RE the ones who need the positive reinforcement, going through rough shooting stretches or getting thrown into the fire.
But when it comes to specific plays, Fleming shines through every time in Ganot’s praise.
just let it go. He’s playing starter’s minutes, ever since the Nevada game, he’s put up 25+ minutes every single game that hasnt been a blowout with the exception of the Oklahoma game where he fouled out. just because he’s not on the court to start the game doesnt mean he’s not essentially a starter. he plays more than quincy, shoulders more responsibility, and closes the games out. he’s as much as starter as he could as it is in role.
yall spend too much time arguing over stupid things. starters, praise….what matters are minutes played, role and results, and he has those locked down.
and debating whether or not he’s thinking of jumping ship…Jeez, we havent even appealed yet, slow your roll.
Not an Expert:
a lot , if not all these problems could have been avoided for sure.
Who is accountable,? It is damage control now. Sad for the team and their families .
as Davis Rozitis said, the team, the staff gave all, everything they had for
UH and the State of Hawaii. Really sad. Don’t know if this is over, the aftermath
of NCAA rulings going forward. This would have been probably a second year
run with Fotu, NWC and returnees at NCAA tournament, and a deep run in
Post Season. Does Admin. regret it, their decisions, personally, I think so, very
much so. Hurt a lot of people, the dysfuntion and acrimonious atmosphere. Whomever
was chancellor And AD at that time 4 , 5 or 6 years ago should have fixed things then, not
now, when it is too late.
The reason why I brought it up is because of wanting Fleming to stay at UH. It’d be a Great loss to the program if he decides to leave, I’d want Coach to show him the Love. Like I say it could be psychology, Ganot or for that matter Coaches could praise players not used much as he/they know the player knows where they stand on the depth chart. Yeah, it is a business but I’m just saying
and again, Enjoy the season Folks!
Maybe I’m just reading too much into Ganot’s responses or of little of it for a player
it’s just a discussion and I’m willing to listen, but I watched and read what was pointed out that could have put down my questioning but it was the same one-liner.
In the End who knows if he stays or goes? It’s just for discussion, I made my point and another disagreed and may have pointed out some facts. I checked it out to see for myself and… . In the end I take his word for it on 1420
Anyone know how Valdes is doing?
Eagle,
you know most all players from little league wants their name in lights, moreso the parents do! lol
And on another note, the problems Isaac had just prior to the start of the season makes me wonder what’s happening after the seasons done. Of course it matters of the relationship between a coach and player, it may play out in front of our unseeing eyes if you know what I mean. I know Isaac’s a good player and I care as to wanting him to stay @ UH. I wish and hope things works out with Isaac and whatever differences there may have been or that he grew from it and sees the light.
I care and don’t want to see him leave the program
I think you’re assuming far too much of Fleming without actually knowing him or his family personally.
xer21, that’s the Truth! lol
I take it BigDaddy here is Isaacs Dad. A doting dad so to say. I only know what I can get out of reading his comments and whats being reported other than that it’s all my opinion in what I’m seeing/hearing.
Yeah, no facts of the situation. I never insinuated what I was saying is facts but what I feel what’s or is not going on. lol
HAWAII CRACK THE TOP 15 & IS TIED FOR THE 15TH SPOT IN THE POWER 15 IN MID MAJOR RANKINGS.
http://www.midmajormadness.com/rankings/2016/1/11/10749436/mid-major-madness-power-15-valparaiso-moves-back-into-top-spot
HawaiiFan, thanks.
10th in the CCR Mid-Major ranking,
http://collegecourtreport.com/rankings/ccr-mid-major-top-20/
The team seems more organized and more mature under Ganot. I’m sure there were some growing pains to discipline the team but it will serve them better in the long run. Couldn’t ask for a better start at 2-0. While we all agree the admin could have handled the Fib debacle better none of this would have happened if Fib didn’t break the rules to begin with.
Yes, Generic Comment(s)…
But Aso ‘Hearing’ Most of the Right Things in Post-Game Show(s); and
In Our Face-to-Face Interactions (@ the arena and ‘under duress’ like @ Anaheim)
DO NOT Claim to KNOW anyone personally
[Even IF We Think we do,
we DON’T know their thoughts and private actions /feelings, how they are @ home…
Even Teammates and Families get ‘surprised’….)
BD also says many of the right things…
EX: Individual Accolades VS Team Goals & Results
JC: ‘We Will Know Them By Their Fruits…’
Stick Around? Graduate? Soon Enough…
WIN? Team Player? Bring THEIR Friends?
Do NOT Deserve Any Fotus or even Rozitis’…?
(Negus, Janks, etc.)
Understand some trying to make it better (now) and that’s a good thing
Hawaii receiving (1) vote in USA Today coaches poll, equiv to No. 40 in the nation, i think. Could that one vote have come from the USCB coach ?
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings/_/poll/2/week/10/seasontype/2
s/b UCSB coach
Islandman and Hawaiifan,
Thanks for sharing that bit of news. Islandman, isn’t it strange that Witchita State isn’t ranked in the CCR ranking? Maybe CCR doesn’t consider them a mid major program? Strange.
I hope the one vote came from Ganot! Ok ok I love Sheriff! Lol. I WANT him to be good, trust me. Just not ready to jump on any bandwagon…he doesn’t have the natural athletic talent or instinct of our core as a freshman that they did as freshmen…I guess that is my point.
KelleyO …. The UCSB coach is one of the 32 USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches that vote in the poll, Eran is not one of those though.
I think most will agree that Sheriff has the natural athletic talent as to quickness and speed and seems to be fearless.
Equiv to No. 39 in the nation,although only 1 vote.
Hawaii received 4 votes in the AP poll and I bet we get more if we win convincingly this week! Go Bows!
Islandman…oh, gotcha!
yes to Warriorfan….equiv to No. 35 in the nation. Got to keep it going though.
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings
It could be Bob Williams of UCSB, but Northern Iowa’s coach is there too, whom we also beat, as well as Randy Bennet of St Mary’s who has personal ties. could be them as well.
I don’t wanna hear no negative ways. This is the best team since 2000-2001 team that went to the dance and almost beat Xavier. Tough to lose Valdes for some time, but this is a team game and somebody or maybe even several has to step up and do the job. Players doing their jobs. They make stupid plays, good plays, miss shots, turn the ball over, etc. But they keep playing (together) and share the ball. The coaching is tremendous. No panic, just thinking about the flow of the game and what’s needed. If Arnold and Taylor was coaching do you think Drammeh would be playing that many minutes? I don’t think so. Ganot has a great feel for the game. Assistants always watching and making suggestions. Only positive vibes on a day UH gets some votes. Now, go on the road and win some games. Taking care of business!
A little clarification on the basketball polls. We don’t know how many votes Hawaii received in the AP poll. We do know it got four points. It could be ONE media person voting UH for No. 22, thus giving it four POINTS. Or, it could be FOUR media people voting UH for No. 25, also giving it four points. And, of course, any other combination.
It’s a common misinterpretation, but I was surprised even the Star-Advertiser reported UH receiving four votes. I stand corrected if the SA was privy to the voting and, indeed, UH got one point from four different media people.
Anyway, just wanted to point (there’s that word again) out the difference between points and votes when it comes to polls. Especially, since we’re hopeful that Hawaii will climb in the polls as the season progresses.
the reason they’re often counted as votes is because the lower category is labeled “others receiving votes”. It’s not a misconception, it’s ambiguous wording by the AP themselves. They make it sound like votes could be what they count each point as.
in one sense, it’s true that those outside the top 25 also received votes though I suppose AP could change it to “others earning points.”
I just thought the more people are aware of the difference, the less confusion there will be going forward.
Valdes okay or what? Seems every season , past 6, whenever Conference play starts one, two or even three guys , key guys, get hurt, or ill..really difference between winning 3 games or losing some close ones on the road. Tough break. Collegiate sports, people get injured. Hope Aaron is okay. and team stays healthy, once again, UH very thin, at DI talent depth to make a post season run.
I thought is Isaac played very well this game. Sherif also did well with some more court time. Pity we did not see same belief in other players as we might get better depth. Nico had a great game a few weeks back and then no time. Same with Brock Don’t think we can go a lot further without more from our bench. Also our zone offence is not good. With all our shooters on bench not sure why they are not thrown in for a few minutes here and there. In warm ups and at half time some are shooting 15-20 threes at about 80%. Surely they could help for a few minutes here and there
Senst23 I agree with ur post not many teams can handle UH guards ball pressure 90ft thru out the game we can buy minutes for the top 3 guards all they need is confidence.
For the bloggers Ganot knows what he got in Fleming he see it at practice I gotta respect what he’s doing building confidence in other players if it’s not broke don’t fix it just win the Big West.
hey Bigdaddy,
Great to hear you chime in on this. I really like your son’s play, matured not arguing with refs much, no techs, he plays under control and seems to be doing what Ganot wants from him otherwise he’d not be playing.
Did you play basketball yourself? don’t know your family history although you may have told some here already prior.
Brian McInnis @Brian_McInnis 5m5 minutes ago
Return timetable for Valdes seems pretty nebulous. UH getting a bunch of people to look at his MRI.
Brian McInnis @Brian_McInnis 12m12 minutes ago
Aaron Valdes rocking a boot for his turf toe at #HawaiiMBB practice today
The only things keeping fleming from being an elite player is his shot selection and consistency
Hawaiifan09 on the eastcoast u gotta be able to create ur own shot off the dribble he will make 80%of his shots .He is not a spot up shooter like Bobbitt & Quincy his game is rythm. The system is what it is and he has to play thru it that’s the diversity of the game.
csun dangerous team with Quincy’s brother leading the team in scoring, with self imposed post season ban this year, They got nothing to lose.. spoiler team..
Fullerton and Riverside, you just know they will be hitting all their 3 point bombs, getting the rebounds, loose balls, drawing the most fouls and making their Free Throws.
Valdes loss, could really hurt. when he went out. .. UH squeezed out a tough win, really the Poly and the UCSB wins at SSC? really UH could have lots, the other teams, not enough firepower, and D. to stop UH.. should be Fun.. CAN UH sweep every road trip without Valdes and another MBB guy that might get ill or hurt. once again, UH is hair thin, very very thin depth across the 1 through 5 positions. 2 key guys out. UH has to gut out wins.
Valdes loss, could really hurt. when he went out. .. UH squeezed out a tough win, really the Poly and the UCSB wins at SSC? really UH could have lots, the other teams, not enough firepower, and D. to stop UH.. should be Fun.. CAN UH sweep every road trip without Valdes and another MBB guy that might get ill or hurt. once again, UH is hair thin, very very thin depth across the 1 through 5 positions. 2 key guys out. UH has to gut out wins.
senst23, we dont have any shooters on the bench, realistically.
Isaac, Bobbit and Jankovic are the best we have now with Valdes out. making threes in warmups is not indicative of game ability, and putting Brock or Dyrbe out there is a massive defensive liability right now.
Bigdaddy,
even though it’s not the Eastcoast game, Isaac’s flourishing in the system. He’s learned to play in another system, he can only learn from that.
I enjoy watching him
senst23, I agree. I have been watching the bench shoot at warm ups and half time. Cornelissen hits about 90% of his threes. Don’t understand why he isn’t given an opportunity to show what he can do in a game, especially when we have a zone thrown at us. It seems that the coaches only want to play 8 on a regular basis, yet the opposition teams play virtually everyone at some stage, not just the closing minutes when the game is over. That lack of confidence in the bench will come back to bite us eventually.
What are you people even talking about? we go 9 deep regulalry, and pretty much every team in the world only goes 8 or 9 deep in their regular rotation. stop making things up. just looking at the 3 best Non conference team’s we’ve played and the first two conference teams, Texas Tech only plays 8-9 guys regularly, Northern Iowa only plays 8 regularly, Oklahoma has only 9 regulars, UCSB only has 9 regulars and cal poly only has 9.
we have 8 or 9. Jovanovic, Fleming, and Tummala, with Drammeh coming on recently. that’s a solid rotation, and trying to force the bench guys in solely on the basis of uncontested warmup threes is silly. everyone looks good in warmups.