More than 40 years ago, University of Hawaii men’s basketball propelled into the public consciousness with its initial version of the Fabulous Five. In 1972, UH made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history behind the play
More than 40 years ago, University of Hawaii men’s basketball propelled into the public consciousness with its initial version of the Fabulous Five. In 1972, UH made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history behind the play of Al Davis, Jerome Freeman, Dwight Holiday, Bob Nash and John Penebacker. That group of talented starters finished the year with a 24-2 record and has gone unmatched in terms of success and excitement.
But after an exciting weekend of its own, the current crop of Rainbow Warriors is doing some things that only its Fab Five predecessors were able to accomplish. Back-to-back road wins Thursday and Saturday made it four straight victories away from home for UH, a first since 1972. Those wins have moved the team to 18-7 on the season and 7-4 in Big West play.
It began with an 87-76 win over UC Riverside (8-17, 3-8 Big West). After some performances that seemed out character, senior forward Christian Standhardinger was back to doing what he’s become known for in a 27-point, 13-rebound outing.
While he handled the largest work load for the team and paced the front court, the back court duo of Keith Shamburger and Garrett Nevels each had big nights.
Shamburger only made two shots from the floor, but still finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and dishing out 10 assists. He’s still the straw that stirs the drink for UH, getting them in position for easy buckets and running the fast-paced offense.
Nevels knocked down four three-pointers on his way to 20 points, finishing 7-for-11 from the field. Nevels got back on track after a couple of down nights. He scored just seven and eight points, respectively, in the previous two games after having scored in double figures 10 consecutive times.
At 17-7 on the year, Hawaii didn’t rest on its laurels of a road trip split and earned an 83-80 comeback win over Cal State-Fullerton on Saturday. This time it was forward Isaac Fotu who led the ‘Bows to their fourth straight road win.
Trailing by four at halftime and by as many as eight with under 10 minutes to play, Hawaii fed Fotu consistently and was rewarded with 17 second-half points.
Fotu finished the night with 24 points and six rebounds. He was 7-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line, which was a common theme throughout the night.
Hawaii finished the game 24-for-26 on free throws, which kept them in the driver’s seat late. They were also 50 percent from the field and made five of their nine three-point attempts.
That efficiency helped overcome 13 turnovers and a small rebounding deficit.
Despite the 18-7 record, UH is nowhere near the national accolades from 1972. The numbers of wins and losses aren’t doing much to impress both voters or computers. Even a single vote in the Associated Press or Coaches polls would be unrealistic right now and the team’s RPI ranking, which takes into account strength of schedule, still has the team ranked 140th in the nation.
That’s well behind teams with losing records like Alabama (9-15, ranked 117th) and Nevada (12-14, ranked 122nd).
But there’s really no reason to worry about those factors. UH is on a roll and will look to continue its success back at home Thursday night. UC Irvine (17-9, 8-2 Big West) heads to Oahu for the second meeting between the teams. Irvine sits in first place in the conference standings, but Hawaii came away with a 90-86 overtime win in the teams’ first matchup on Jan. 25 in Irvine, Calif.
If the ‘Bows keep their eyes on their own agenda, they can play their way into the postseason without worrying about what anyone else thinks of their resume.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com. Follow David on Twitter @SimonTGI
