It was 1970 in the 50th State, and the beers were Primo, the post-Thanksgiving shopping was at Wigwam and Liberty House, and Hawaii’s basketball team’s starters were “Fabulous.”
The Rainbows wore aloha-print uniforms and were coached by a not-so-red-headed Red Rocha, whose dislocated pinkie formed a perpetual shaka sign.
A few years before Elvis’ “Aloha from Hawaii via Satellite” televised concert, the Rainbows rocked the Honolulu International Center with a style that was both gritty and flashy. They were the Fabulous Five: power forward Bob Nash, who went on to become an NBA first-round pick; John Penebacker, the 6-foot-2 center; Al Davis, the no-nonsense forward; Dwight Holiday, the big guard at 6-4, and Jerome Freeman, whose behind-the-back dribbling was as common as his laser passes.
The 1970-71 Fabulous Five won 23 games, and earned front page coverage in the New York Post for their appearance in the NIT game in Madison Square Garden. The next season, they won 24 of 26 to qualify for the 25-team NCAA Tournament.
The Fabulous Five will be celebrated in tonight’s basketball game between Hawaii and San Francisco in the Stan Sheriff Center. Members of the 1970-71 and 1971-72 teams will honored at halftime and available for a postgame autograph session.
The current ’Bows will have a chance to make new memories against the 7-0 Dons.
“They really test your defensive principles because they play fast,” UH acting head coach Chris Gerlufsen said of the Dons. “They’re super skilled. They have high-IQ guys.”
Todd Golden, USF’s first-year head coach, was a top assistant under Kyle Smith, who accepted the head coaching job at Washington State. Golden said he has added between 10 and 20% wrinkles to Smith’s space-and-attack offense.
The Dons attempt 65.2 shots per game, with about half launched from behind the 3-point stripe. They score 11.7 treys per game.
“I think it’s a product of playing faster, a product of our personnel,” Golden said. “We have some really good shooters coming off the bench.”
Guard Charles Minlend is the scoring leader (15.3 points per game), but reserve Khalil Shabazz averages 5.5 points per 10 minutes.
“One thing we preach to our guys is don’t pass up a good shot simply because there’s no guarantee you’ll get a better one,” Golden said. “I think at times people might think we have a little bit of a quick trigger offensively. It’s something I’ve kind of had to swallow knowing we might have some empty possessions back to back. Over the course of the season and our preseason, this team has proven to be a team that can shoot the ball really well. If they’re open, they have the freedom to shoot the ball.”
The Dons are able to maintain a frenetic pace at both ends because of scripted roles. Each player is told how long they will be in a game.
“I think we empty the tank a little bit that way,” Golden said. “If they’re playing ’til the 16-minute mark, they’re not saving anything on defense. They know they’re going to be on the bench (at 16 minutes) regardless. They’re battling at every possession. … I try never to substitute based on performance. If a guy goes in and makes a couple mistakes, only once for the whole season, I’ll take a guy out. Usually during the season, I let them take their whole rotation and see where it goes. I think it gives the guys more confidence to be more aggressive knowing if they make a mistake they don’t need to be looking over at the bench. We won’t have somebody running over to the scorer’s table to check in for them.”
RAINBOW WARRIOR BASKETBALL
At Stan Sheriff Center
San Francisco (7-0) vs. Hawaii (4-2)
>> When: Today, 7:30 p.m.
>> TV: Spectrum Sports (Channel 16/1016)
>> Radio: 1420-AM / 92.7 FM
