Sharing the name with a legendary boxing champion, Joe Frazier — and his former University of Hawaii basketball teammates — did not back away from a fight.
“We were undersized at every position,” said Frazier, who was a 5-foot-9 point guard, “but we were competitive. We stuck together. We were fighters.”
As a tribute to their past, the Rainbow Warriors will wear throwback basketball uniforms for Thursday night’s game against UC Santa Barbara at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The white uniforms — with tri-colored stripes on the sides and “Hawaii Rainbows” across the front of the jersey — are fashioned with a 1970s theme.
“It’ll bring back some memories,” said Frazier, who joined the ’Bows in 1978, in a telephone interview from New York. Frazier, now an administrator of a home-supply company in New York, will be among teammates from the 1970s who will watch the streaming coverage of the game from their homes on the mainland.
A season before Frazier’s arrival in Manoa, in the aftermath of an NCAA probation that limited scholarships and hindered recruiting, the ’Bows went 1-26. But the ’Bows finished 10-17 in 1978-79, and the next season became official members of the Western Athletic Conference.
“We called ourselves the ‘Foundation’ team,” Frazier said. “After that 1-26 year, we came in after, and we had to build from scratch. We worked hard, and got a foundation so the university could move forward.”
That ’70s show featured Thomas Louden, a no-nonsense guard from New York City; power forward Robert Smith; versatile center Antoine Goodlow; 6-10 Saint Louis School graduate Brad Pineau; small forward Eric Bowman; and Frazier. In a memorable pre-shot-clock loss to BYU, Frazier held the ball at the top of the key for several minutes while Cougars guard Danny Ainge stood helplessly.
“I thought we did a good job bringing the program back,” said Louden, now a counselor in Seattle, in a telephone interview. “I’m glad (ensuing teams) took it to another level. I wish we had a few more years. But I felt we got it going in the right direction.”
UH coach Eran Ganot, who began researching the program’s history as an assistant coach, embraces the approach of talk it, see it, feel it. In the first team meeting of each season, Ganot discusses the program’s background, featuring a PowerPoint presentation and video of the top 10 moments in school’s basketball history.
The “see it” portion is the plaques of postseason teams lining walls leading to the locker room. “When they come to the locker room and when they leave the locker room, they see the history of our program,” Ganot said.
UH wing Zoar Nedd said: “Our big goal is to eventually be on that wall. I feel (retro night) is one step toward doing things like that. We’re trying to become part of history.”
The third segment is tributes, such as the retro uniforms. In recognition of the 100th UH season, the ’Bows wore throw-back uniforms in 2020. But that was part of Under Armour’s sponsorship. UH switched to Adidas in July 2021. Ganot, director of operations Dominic Drury and others made sure Adidas’ retro uniforms were true to the original red, yellow and kelly green in “honoring the authenticity.”
“If we’re going to honor the past, we’d better get everything right,” Ganot said. “There are some cases when you can touch on different styles from different years. But there are certain things, you’ve got to stick with the hits, right? That was a hit.”
A sneak preview a couple of weeks ago drew overwhelming approval from the players. Nedd, Samuta Avea and Kamaka Hepa were featured in a promotional video for the retro uniforms. Ganot said the retro look is for the players, and that, sorry, the coaches will not be wearing bell bottoms. And Louden said the retro uniforms have improved on the original.
“They were a little tight,” Louden said of the original uniforms, “and that’s when I had a good figure. … It’s nice to be remembered. It’s always a good gesture for the program to reach out to former players.”
