Friday, January 16, 2009

Spartans to hula with Hawaii Saturday night


Like the lengthy time off Bakersfield enjoyed, Hawaii has been off since playing Idaho on January 10 -- thus providing ample preparation time. UH also has an 11-game homecourt win streak against San Jose State dating back to 2004.

Hawaii's schedule definitely has a home flavor this season as Bob Nash's team played its first five games on the island and actually 13 of its first 14 took place at the Stan Sheriff Center.

But check out this weirdness: Hawaii lost 70-58 at home to Boise State and also fell on the road to the Broncos but cut the losing deficit in half in Idaho, 54-49. Explain that one.

Also, in its last two games, the Warriors have been unable to each 50 points -- 47 against Idaho and the 49 versus Boise State. Plus, Nash has publicly commented that zone defenses have particularly bothered his team this season.


The Season So Far


Hawaii is 9-7 overall, 1-3 in the WAC, with but one road game in non-conference play. The Rainbow Warriors are 9-2 in the last 11 contests.

11/14/2008 San Francisco L - 70-75
11/16/2008 Cal State Fullerton L - 76-90
11/17/2008 Idaho State W - 67-64
11/24/2008 Iowa State W - 60-5
12/01/2008 Prairie View A&M W - 78-70
12/08/2008 @ Illinois L - 58-68
12/13/2008 Eastern Washington W - 75-55
12/15/2008 Chicago State W - 85-75
12/23/2008 UC Riverside W - 56-46
12/27/2008 Colorado State L - 58-74
12/29/2008 George Washington W - 73-47
12/30/2008 Pepperdine W - 78-70
01/03/2009 Boise State L - 58-70
01/05/2009 Louisiana Tech W - 65-64
01/08/2009 @ Idaho L - 47-67
01/10/2009 @ Boise State L - 49-54

As highlighted, notice the under-fifty point totals versus Idaho and Boise State -- is this a trend or an anomaly?

Bob Nash's Starting Five

Hawaii has employed a different starting lineup ineach of the last three games so it's anyone's guess who will open the game.

Paul Campbell 6-10 junior 2.9 ppg., 3.2 rpg. -- He erupted for a career game against LA TECH -- 13 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks -- but has been quiet since then. Campbell actually has more offensive rebounds (25) than defensively (23). Keeping him to his average points and rebounds is a must.

Bill Amis
6-9 junior 9.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg. -- He's a lefty which sometimes causes problems by itself and shows good range as well as craftiness offensively although he isn't a three-point shooter.

Petras Balocka
6-8 junior 10.5 ppg., 6.1 rpg. -- He also has somewhat unique rebounding numbers, 40 on offensive and 57 defensively. His shooting percentages are lower than expected -- 42% overall and 29% on threes for a big with a rep as a shooter.

Lasha Parghalava
6-2 junior 8.5 ppg., 2.1 rpg., 1.3 apg. -- .35% from the floor, 25% from long range, plus 84% at the foul line indicate his range is limited to 15 feet or so but he is the most prolific three-point shooter for Hawaii with 71 attempts.

Roderick Flemings
6-7 junior 17.6 ppg., 5.8 rpg. -- The best player on the team and the leading scorer in the WAC, he is the one true creator and the best athlete for Hawaii. His most remarkable stat is that his rebounding totals are even, 46 offensive and defensive. Shutting him down is next to impossible so the key is keeping him at or near his usual game point total.


Off The Bench


Kareem Nitoto
-- He's not much as a shooter but he is a fine athlete and someone who works hard defensively.

Adhar Mayen -- He's another fine athlete, long and lanky, with some scoring ability.

Brandon Adams -- He's limited offensively but a hard worker and another good runner/jumper.


As A Team

***
Overall shooting is about equal as the Bows are at 43% for the season to 42% for opponents

*** But Hawaii is at 28% three-point shooting to 33% for opposing teams

*** Hawaii has about a 6 per game rebounding lead versus oppoinents

*** The Rainbow Warriors are a negative 47 in turnovers and a minus 46 in steals on the season


The Rainbow Warrior Roster
(by position, alphabetically)

Kareem Nitoto G 6-2 185 sophomore
Hiram Thompson G 6-2 175 sophomore
Gary Satterwhite Jr. G 6-3 175 freshman
Lasha Parghalava G 6-2 195 junior
Conrad Fitzgerald G 6-5 210 freshman
Beau Albrechtson G 6-4 205 freshman
Leroy Lutu G 6-3 200 freshman
Roderick Flemings G 6-7 210 junior

Ji Xiang F 6-10 240 freshman
Adhar Mayen F 6-8 195 junior
Brandon Adams F 6-7 220 junior
Adam Jespersen F 6-7 210 freshman
Bill Amis F 6-9 220 junior

Petras Balocka C 6-8 250 Junior
Paul Campbell C 6-10 215 junior

The UH roster certainly has an international and Bay Area flavor. Petras Balocka hails from Lithuania, Paul Campbell and Adam Jespersen are Canadian, Lasha Parghalava comes from the Republic of Georgia and Ji Xiang is Chinese.(China). Plus, Adhar Mayen is out of Texas but was born in The Sudan. Kareem Nitito graduated from San Leandro High and Brandon Adams is a transfer from Diablo Valley College in Contra Costa County.

What Else
(courtesy of the Hawaii athletics)

Key stat or not: The Rainbow Warriors are 4-0 when shooting 50% or higher but 0-4 when opponents shoot 50% or better.

Will or won't be a factor: Bakersfield grabbed 19 offensive rebounds against SJSU -- UH leads the WAC in offensive rebounding at 13.44 per game.

Plus: UH’s bench has outscored its opponents bench in five of the last six games. For the season, UH is getting 24 percent of its offensive production from the bench (15.6 points per game). San Jose State's bench hasn't been that productive.

UH’s aggression on offense has paid dividends with frequent trips to the free throw line. Hawaii has gone to the line an average of 26.1 times per game, while its opponents are making an average of 19.3 trips. Roderick Flemings has a team-high 111 free throw attempts, an average of 6.9 attempts per game.

UH has missed not having a consistent scorer/shooter in the backcourt.

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