The Hawaii basketball team has traveled a significant length — 2,574 miles across the Pacific Ocean to Fullerton, Calif. — to face an opponent with significant length in today’s opening round of the Wooden Legacy tournament.
Borrowing a rule from neighboring Disneyland, a player must be at least this tall — 6 feet 2 — to be on Utah’s roster. The Utes have six players who measure at least 6-9, including three 7-footers.
“They’ve been big,” UH coach Eran Ganot said of traditional Utah teams. “They’re very well coached. They’re a consistently good program. They do things the right way.”
Larry Krystkowiak is in his eighth season as Utah’s head coach following stints in the NBA as head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and assistant with the then-New Jersey Nets.
“We’re looking forward to it,” UH post Jack Purchase said. “We played Utah the past couple years. We know how they play and what they’re like. You have to bring your ‘A’ game when you play Utah. They got the better of us the last two times. We’re looking to get a bit of revenge.”
The Utes are expected to open with 7-foot Novak Topalovic in the post, two combo guards and two multi-skilled wings creating an inside-out attack. The approach is similar to the one found in the Rainbow Warriors’ playbook.
“They’re very efficient offensively,” Ganot said. “They’re efficient defensively. They take care of the ball, and they’re good on the boards. That’s why they’re a consistent program.”
The ’Bows can match height-for-height — they have three 7-foot freshmen — or go with a small but quick lineup. “It depends on what a certain team has,” Ganot said. “Sometimes you can match up with them, or you’d like to, and sometimes you want to spread them out if you can. But they can play different ways.”
The Utes connected on a school-record 17 3-point shots against Mississippi Valley State in last Thursday’s 98-63 win in Salt Lake City.
Ganot has expressed growing confidence in his towering freshmen. Mate Colina “is coming off a couple good games,” Ganot said. Dawson Carper has provided a rugged presence in the low post. “I think they’ll be further along as the season progresses,” Ganot said.
Zigmars Raimo, a 6-8 junior, has emerged as the ’Bows’ best rim protector and dependable scorer on putbacks and low-post curls.
“I don’t care how big they are,” Raimo said, “I’m going to do whatever it takes to guard them. Playing offense, I’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t care about their weight or how tall they are.”
In Sunday’s game against Northern Arizona, two of the ’Bows’ best outside shooters — Jack Purchase and Eddie Stansberry — unveiled new wrinkles to their offensive game. Purchase, whose comfort zone is behind the arc, drove the lane for a layup. Stansberry also broke free for lay-ins on drives and baseline cuts.
“We’re always going to have shooters who can shoot the ball,” Raimo said. “If they’re (defending the perimeter), we can pass it inside and score easy points.”
Ganot said: “We’re streaky from 3 right now, so we need to get more consistent there. Our ability to play inside-out by getting inside, by getting into the paint with penetration, has helped our team. That’s going to be paramount in moving forward that we continue to stay balanced on both sides and continue to take care of the ball.”
