Hawaii Warrior World

Star-Advertiser special projects reporter Dave Reardon discusses any and all athletics issues, with a special focus on Hawaii’s athletes and teams.

About the blog host

Dave Reardon is a sports projects reporter for the Star-Advertiser. The Honolulu native and alumnus of Pearl City High, Northwestern University and the University of Hawaii started as a copyboy and prep football stringer at the Star-Bulletin in 1981 and has covered the island sports scene uninterrupted since, except for college and two years at the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun. Dave has also launched a side career in teaching. Follow him on Twitter @dave_reardon

Latest news

Hawaii men’s basketball: Rainbow Warriors learn that not all zone defenses are a shooter’s delight

By Dave Reardon on December 23, 2019

Usually, just at the thought of going up against a zone defense an outside shooter’s eyes light up like, well, like a kid’s in anticipation of opening Christmas gifts. But there’s the passive zone defense lazy, fat and/or old guys play at the park or the Y, and then there’s the Syracuse 2-3, made famous by coach Jim Boeheim. That scheme is now used at Washington by head coach Mike Hopkins, a former Syracuse shooting guard and assistant for more […]

Hawaii men’s basketball: Bernardo da Silva ahead of schedule, needed against Washington in Diamond Head Classic

By Dave Reardon on December 23, 2019

Projects almost always take way longer to develop than promised in Hawaii. Maybe if we’re lucky that rail thing will be done 75 years from now, in time for our yet-to-be-born children to ride when they get too old to drive. But University of Hawaii freshman forward Bernardo da Silva showed he is way ahead of schedule Sunday. While he also showed he is far from being a finished product, UH’s electrifying 67-63 comeback victory over UTEP in the first-round […]

Sports director Brandi Higa leaves KITV to join Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s office

By Dave Reardon on December 21, 2019

Brandi Higa has left her position as KITV sports director to be an information specialist with Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s office. Her last day with KITV was Friday. Higa, 32, starts with the city on Jan. 2. She will report to new public information officer Alex Zannes, who was named last week as replacing Andrew Perreira. Perreira and Zannes are also former local TV newscasters. “I’ve been looking for a while to expand my career,” Higa said today. “I’m very grateful […]

Hawaii football: Craig Stutzmann, Andre Allen among finalists for FootballScoop assistant coach awards

By Dave Reardon on December 17, 2019

Assistant coaches Craig Stutzmann (quarterbacks) and Andre Allen (wide receivers) of Hawaii have been named FootballScoop Coach of the Year finalists. Stutzmann is on a list of six finalists that also includes Steve Ensminger (LSU), Graham Harrell (USC), Jeff Lebby (UCF), Phil Longo (Noth Carolina) and Mike Yurcich (Ohio State). The other four finalists joining Allen are Joe Brady (LSU), Keary Colbert (USC), Jeff Scott (Clemson) and Holmon Wiggins (Alabama). Hawaii is 9-5 heading into next week’s SoFi Hawaii Bowl, […]

Hawaii basketball: Rainbow Warriors and Wahine both fill the buckets in wins Sunday

By Dave Reardon on December 16, 2019

If you had to pick a genre for that Sunday double feature matinee at the Stan Sheriff Center it would definitely not be drama. There was little of that as the University of Hawaii women (6-5) took the hope away from Hope International with a 16-0 run leading to a 86-49 final score and then the UH men (7-3) never trailed in blowing out Samford 94-73. It was the most points and widest margin of victory for both Hawaii teams […]

AP College Football Poll: Alabama loss opens door for Oklahoma, Baylor or Utah

By Dave Reardon on December 1, 2019

As noted a couple of weeks ago, there are some Utah fans who have made their displeasure with my voting pattern this season very clear. And if any of them saw last week’s comment about how difficult it would be for any Pac-12 team to make it to the College Football Playoff they couldn’t have liked that much, either — because by then it was clear that “any Pac-12 team” meant the Utes. I’ve come around; Utah is one of […]

Is success contagious for University of Hawaii football and women’s volleyball?

By Dave Reardon on November 27, 2019

It was Championship Weekend for University of Hawaii sports. On Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center, the women’s volleyball team swept Long Beach State to become outright champions of the Big West Conference. The next night, at Aloha Stadium, the football team edged San Diego State 14-11 to clinch the Mountain West Conference’s West Division title — the first championship of any kind for the football team since 2010. The Wahine (24-3, 14-2 Big West) haven’t lost since Oct. 11 […]

AP College Football Poll: Playoff picture murky as always heading into rivalry week

By Dave Reardon on November 26, 2019

Rivalry week brings us five matchups of Associated Press Top 25 teams. On Saturday No. 2 Ohio State plays No. 10 Michigan, No. 5 Alabama takes on No. 16 Auburn, No. 7 Oklahoma plays No. 21 Oklahoma State and No. 13 Wisconsin is at No. 9 Minnesota. Preceding those, on Friday, No. 18 Cincinnati is at No. 17 Memphis in a battle between the two highest-ranked non-Power Five conference teams. They both happen to be in the American Athletic Conference, […]

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