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A look at the teams in the Diamond Head Classic

Eight teams are capable of topping the nice list at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic this week, but only one can receive the coveted present that is the championship trophy on Christmas Day.

This year’s three-day tournament at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center features a relatively even field. First-round games begin on Thursday, with four more games per day to follow on Friday and Sunday.

Here is a capsule look at each of the eight teams:

George Washington
Conference:
Atlantic 10
Record: 6-4
Head coach: Chris Caputo (1st season at GW)
Significant wins: 79-55 home win over South Carolina
Notable losses: 75-70 home loss to UC San Diego

NET ranking: 221
Players to watch: James Bishop IV (6-2, Sr., G) 22.2 points per game ranks sixth in NCAA-I. He also leads the team with 5.2 assists per game. He scored 44 points in a road loss at Hofstra. Brendan Adams (6-4, Gr., G) 16.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 24 3-pointers. Ricky Lindo Jr. (6-8, Sr., F) 10.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He leads the team in both steals (12) and blocked shots (16).
Notes: The Colonials have been inconsistent so far in Chris Caputo’s inaugural season as head coach. He was previously an assistant/associate coach at Miami (Fla.) and George Mason. The Colonials have played two road games and lost both (at Hofstra and at Radford). George Washington has a 3-0 record in previous Diamond Head Classic appearances, winning the championship in 2014.

Hawai’i
Conference:
Big West
Record: 6-3
Head coach: Eran Ganot (120-80 in 8th season at UH)
Significant wins: 72-65 neutral site win over Texas State
Notable losses: 77-62 neutral site loss to UNLV
NET ranking: 129

Players to watch: Noel Coleman (6-2, Jr., G) 14.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. He ranks second on the team with 19 3-pointers. Kamaka Hepa (6-10, Sr., F) 12.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 20 3-pointers and a .400 percentage from 3-point range, and also leads the team with 12 blocked shots. Bernardo da Silva (6-9, Jr., F/C) 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He leads the team with a .559 field goal percentage.
Notes: The Rainbow Warriors have allowed the fewest 3-pointers (41) in all of NCAA-I. They are also limiting opponents to a .275 percentage from 3-point range and 60.4 points per game. Hawai’i is 3-2 at home this season. The Warriors have an all-time record of 17-18 in the Diamond Head Classic. Hawai’i’s best showing in 12 previous Diamond Head Classics is third place (2014 and 2015).

Iona
Conference:
Metro Atlantic Athletic
Record: 7-3
Head coach: Rick Pitino (44-17 in 3rd season at Iona; 814-288 in 35th season as a NCAA head coach)
Significant wins: 84-62 home win over Saint Louis; 70-64 home win over Princeton
Notable losses: 86-78 neutral site loss to Santa Clara; 82-74 road loss at New Mexico
NET ranking: 43

Players to watch: Daniss Jenkins (6-3, Jr., G) 16.6 points, 4.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game. Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, So., G) 16.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He also leads team with 19 3-pointers. Quinn Slazinski (6-9, Sr., F) 14.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Nelly Junior Joseph (6-9, Jr., F) 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, with a .576 field goal percentage.
Notes: The Gaels have already started conference play and are 2-0 in the MAAC. Iona is making its first appearance in the Diamond Head Classic. Iona’s last appearance in Hawai’i was the 2001 Rainbow Classic. Head coach Rick Pitino is the only coach in NCAA history to win national championships with two different schools (Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013).

Pepperdine
Conference:
West Coast
Record: 6-5
Head coach: Lorenzo Romar (59-76 in 5th season at PU; 440-360 in 26th season as NCAA head coach)
Significant wins: 64-55 home win over UC Irvine
Notable losses: 100-53 road loss at No. 19 UCLA; 67-64 home loss to UC Santa Barbara
NET ranking: 138

Players to watch: Maxwell Lewis (6-7, So., F) 18.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. His shooting percentages are .556 on field goals, .463 from 3-point range, and .833 on free throws. Houston Mallette (6-5, So., G) 14.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Mike Mitchell Jr. (6-2, So., G) 11.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. Jevon Porter (6-11, Fr., F) 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Notes: The Waves have a youthful roster with seven freshmen, five sophomores, one junior, one senior and one graduate student. Pepperdine is 0-3 away from home this season. The Waves are making its first appearance in the Diamond Head Classic. Their last trip to Hawai’i was the 2008 Rainbow Classic.

Seattle
Conference:
Western Athletic
Record: 8-2
Head coach: Chris Victor (31-11 in 2nd season at SU)
Significant wins: 69-62 home win over Cal State Fullerton
Notable losses: 77-66 road loss at Washington; 73-58 road loss at Oregon State
NET ranking: 105

Players to watch: Cameron Tyson (6-3, Jr., G) 19.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He leads the team and ranks fourth in NCAA-I with 33 3-pointers. Riley Grigsby (6-6, Sr., G/F) 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.  Alex Schumacher (6-3, Jr., G) 10.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game.
Notes: The Redhawks won the WAC regular-season championship last season. Nine different players have started at least one game this season. The Redhawks have made at least 10 3-pointers in seven of 10 games this season. Seattle is making its first appearance in the Diamond Head Classic. Seattle’s last trip to Hawai’i was in 1989 for a non-conference game against Hawai’i.

SMU
Conference:
American Athletic
Record: 3-7
Head coach: Rob Lanier (3-7 in 1st season at SMU; 114-107 in 8th season as NCAA head coach)
Significant wins: 77-60 home win over Texas A&M-Commerce
Notable losses: 83-75 road loss at TCU; 75-57 home loss to Arizona State
NET ranking: 287

Players to watch: Zhuric Phelps (6-5, So., G) 19.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He has four games with 20 or more points this season. Zach Nutall (6-3, Sr., G) 13.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 19 3-pointers. Efe Odigie (6-9, Sr., F) 8.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.
Notes: The Mustangs have struggled so far this season after back-to-back NIT appearances in 2020 and 2021. SMU brings a four-game losing streak to Honolulu. Rob Lanier was the head coach at Georgia State last season, and led the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament. This is SMU’s first appearance in the Diamond Head Classic. The Mustangs made annual appearances in Honolulu from 2000-05 as members of the WAC. SMU won the 1983 Rainbow Classic.

Utah State
Conference:
Mountain West
Record: 9-1
Head coach: Ryan Odom (27-17 in 2nd season at USU; 124-77 in 7th season as NCAA head coach)
Significant wins: 82-64 road win at San Francisco; 96-74 home win over Santa Clara
Notable losses: 75-72 home loss to Weber State
NET ranking: 34

Players to watch: Steven Ashworth (6-1, Jr., G) 18.2 points per game. He ranks among the national leaders for 3-pointers (40) and 3-point percentage (.541). Taylor Funk (6-9, Gr., F) 15.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He ranks second on team with 28 3-pointers. Dan Akin (6-9, Gr., F) 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He ranks among the top 10 in the nation for field goal percentage at .681. Max Shulga (6-4, Jr., G) 12.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
Notes: Head coach Ryan Odom was previously the head coach at Maryland-Baltimore County in 2018 when it made history as the only No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 (Virginia) in the NCAA Tournament. Utah State leads all of NCAA-I with a .447 percentage from 3-point range. The Aggies also rank fifth in NCAA-I with 11.5 3-pointers per game. Utah State is making its first appearance in the DHC. USU made previous trips to Honolulu to play UH from 2005-12 as members of the WAC.

Washington State
Conference:
Pac-12
Record: 4-6
Head coach: Kyle Smith (56-50 in 4th season at WSU; 220-172 in 13th season as NCAA head coach)
Significant wins: 83-61 home win over Texas State
Notable losses: 65-59 road loss at No. 11 Baylor; 74-70 neutral site loss to UNLV
NET ranking: 70

Players to watch: TJ Bamba (6-5, Jr., G) 16.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He has made 21 3-pointers with a .447 percentage from 3-point range. Jabe Mullins (6-6, Jr., G) 14.5 points per game; 20-38 from 3-point range (.526). Mouhamed Gueye (6-11, So., F/C) 12.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Justin Powell (6-6, Jr., G) 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He leads the team with 28 3-pointers.
Notes: The Cougars made a school record 19 3-pointers in a win over Detroit Mercy on November 25. WSU is making its third appearance in the Diamond Head Classic. The Cougars placed second in 2010 (with Klay Thompson making the All-Tournament Team), and seventh in 2015. They are the first team other than Hawai’i to appear in three different Diamond Head Classics.

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