1987 NCAA basketball hero Keith Smart makes appearance at Hawaii football practice

The basketball player who sank “The Shot” to win the 1987 NCAA Tournament — Indiana’s Keith Smart — attended the Rainbow Warriors’ football practice this morning on UH’s grass fields.

Smart’s son, Jared Smart, has been the No. 1 left wideout in the first three practices of training camp.

The elder Smart is now an assistant coach with the New York Knicks.

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In an homage to Crane Park hoops, the Warriors’ final session today featured a make-it, take-it format.

The session opened with the top offense and top defense facing each other in a third-down situation. Whoever won the one-play battle remained on the field.
After the offense was stopped short, the No. 1 defense stayed on the field and faced the No. 2 offense. And so it went. Overall, the defensive teams won most of the battles.

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Stephan Bernal-Wendt has moved from the offensive line to the defensive line.

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There are one-on-one battles and there is this drill: Azia Se‘ei, a 5-11, 275-pound tackle went against the tandem of center Kohl Levao (6-6, 330) and left guard J.R. Hensley (6-5, 320). When push came to shove, Levao and Hensley had the edge. But Se‘ei stayed upright and held his own. No wonder Se‘ei was awarded a scholarship in the spring. He’s tough.