Hawaii Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Hawaii continues to rebuild in 2009 a season after it had no seniors on the roster. Even the return of four starters can’t save the Warriors from woeful predictions, and third-year coach Bob Nash is squarely on the hot seat if they come true.

Hawaii, which has had no shortage of sharpshooters over the years, suddenly can’t shoot straight. The Warriors hit just 28.3 percent from behind the 3-point arc last season, ranked eighth in the WAC in scoring (64.0) and eighth in turnover margin (minus 1.8 per game).

No doubt, the Warriors tried to address their backcourt shortcomings through recruiting. But relying so much on that new help isn’t a comforting feeling coming off a 5-11 season in the WAC, a league that appears to be markedly improved this time around.

Hawaii has a couple of new 6-foot options at point guard, as the Warriors looks to push the pace a bit more this season and increase that scoring output.

Dwain Williams, who played two seasons at Providence, is eligible for Hawaii after sitting out last season. When last seen on the court, he was averaging 11.0 points and 2.2 assists for the Friars as a sophomore, when he started 17 games at the point.

The other newcomer at point guard is Jeremy Lay, who became the career leader in scoring (938 points) and assists (485) at Northern Oklahoma College.

While the guard play is the great unknown, the frontcourt is set, and forward Roderick Flemings is one of the best talents in the league. He has flirted with the idea of turning pro, but he made it to his senior season after earning second-team all-league honors last season.

He is looking to improve his ball-handling and 3-point shooting this season, and he can slide down to shooting guard if Hawaii wants to go big, as it did late last season.

The athletic 6-foot-7 wing has perhaps the best all-around game in the WAC, averaging 16.6 points last season, to go along with 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals. Flemings can play small forward, with Bill Amis (10.7 points, team-high 6.5 rebounds) and Petras Balocka, Paul Campbell and Brandon Adams in the post rotation.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Hawaii is its usual melting pot, with a strong international flavor to the roster. Hawaii has players from Lithuania, Canada, China, Montenegro, Brazil and the United States.

• SG Zane Johnson, a transfer from Arizona, will sit out the season under transfer rules, although he won’t be able to practice until January after he underwent surgery to repair a patellar tendon. Johnson started 13 games last season for the Wildcats and is known as a good catch-and-shoot player, which is what Hawaii can use. He has two seasons of eligibility at Hawaii.

• F Aleksandar Milovic, who played sparingly at Duquesne last season, will sit out this season under transfer rules. He will have three seasons of eligibility at Hawaii.

Last Year:   13-17 overall, 5-11 in the WAC

Head Coach:   Bob Nash (career 24-36); third year at Hawaii (24-36).

Quote To Note:   “It was a good summer—a lot of basketball. The Adidas camp was big. There were a lot of guys there and it was some good exposure.”—Hawaii senior F Roderick Flemings, in the Honolulu Advertiser. Flemings attended several top-notch basketball camps this summer.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   Some combination of Providence transfer Dwain Williams and junior college import Jeremy Lay will take over at point guard for the Warriors, who were eighth in the WAC last season in assist-turnover ratio, with 388 assists and 477 turnovers. Williams was known as a good shooter at Providence, as he hit 46-of-51 free throws as a sophomore (90.2 percent) and 48-of-118 3-pointers (40.7 percent).

In May, coach Bob Nash added 7-footer Douglas Kurtz from Marshalltown Community College in Iowa. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds last season. Kurtz, who played this summer on the 22-and-under team from Brazil that competed in the World University Games, should at least find a spot in the post rotation.

Key Early-season Games:   Hawaii will be tested by the end of November with home games against Brigham Young (Nov. 20) and New Mexico (Nov. 27). The Warriors, who usually enjoy a decided home-court advantage, were a middling 11-9 at home last season.

Program Direction:   The Warriors have been declining. They are seeking their first postseason berth since the 2004 NIT and are trying to get their first winning season since 2006-07. Hawaii has six seniors on the roster, but no freshmen, and the steady stream of transfers makes it difficult to build continuity.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Dwain Williams, SG Roderick Flemings, F Brandon Adams, PF Petras Balocka, PF Bill Amis

Roster Report:  

• G Jordan Coleman, a senior at Calabasas (Calif.) High School, has committed to Hawaii and will sign in November. Coleman was the first member for the 2010 recruiting class, which will have at least six openings.

• Hawaii has three walk-ons this season: G Rykin Enos from Honolulu is new for this season, while G Beau Albrechtson from Honolulu and G Leroy Lutu Jr. from Mercer Island, Wash., are returning walk-ons.

• G Lasha Parghalava, a junior college transfer, slumped late last season and hit just 27.4 percent of his treys (31-for-113). Parghalava, who averaged 7.6 points per game, then transferred to Montana State.

• Starting sophomore PG Kareem Nitoto, who was selected to the WAC all-defensive team last season, left the program and transferred to UC Riverside. He averaged 7.1 points last season.

• Freshman F Adam Jespersen, who played sparingly in 12 games last season, left the program.