Hawaii men’s basketball: 100th season Best Team of All Time bracket unveiled
Here it is.
The Hawaii men’s basketball “Best Team of All Time” 100th season edition, 16-team bracket, as selected by Dave Reardon and myself, with feedback from some folks who know UH hoops. Kudos to Curtis Murayama for designing the above bracket.
You, the fans, will determine which teams advance and which see their “season” come to an end.
Voting on Twitter (@hawaiiwworld) between the first two pairings (upper left quadrant in the bracket) begins Thursday morning at 6 a.m. (9 a.m. Pacific, noon EST) and will be open for 48 hours. The same for the next quadrants on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
MATCHUP/POLL PAGES:
ROUND 1, DAY 1: No. 1 2015-16 vs. No. 16 1988-89; No. 8 1993-94 vs. No. 9 1973-74.
ROUND 1, DAY 2: No. 5 1970-71 vs. No. 12 2014-15; No. 13 1947-48 vs. No. 4 1997-98.
ROUND 1, DAY 3: No. 3 2001-02 vs. No. 14 2002-03; No. 11 2003-04 vs. No. 6 1996-97.
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You should be able to vote via the embedded polls in posts here on the Warrior World website, or on Twitter directly. Links will be provided from this page to posts on the first-round pairings as they become available.
First up will be:
>> The “Improbabows,” “Incredibows,” or whatever moniker you had for the 2015-16 group that became the program’s first to win an NCAA Tournament game, against the 1988-89 squad that had the best turnaround in the modern era of the program, going from 4-25 in Riley Wallace’s first year to 17-13 and making the NIT the next.
>> An 8-9 matchup between the Tom Henderson-led, Bruce O’Neil-coached squad of 1973-74 that made the NIT, against Trevor Ruffin’s hot-shooting 1993-94 team that stunned the WAC to win the program’s first conference tournament title and reach the NCAAs for the second time in program history.
More on each team in tomorrow’s post.
Here’s the complete seedings:
>> 1. 2015-16 (28-6, NCAA second round)
Notable players: Stefan Jankovic, Roderick Bobbitt, Aaron Valdes, Mike Thomas, Quincy Smith
>> 2. 1971-72 (24-3, NCAA first round)
Notable players: Bob Nash, John Penebacker, Dwight Holiday, Jerome Freeman, Al Davis
>> 3. 2001-02 (27-6, NCAA first round)
Notable players: Predrag Savovic, Carl English, Mark Campbell, Phil Martin, Mike McIntyre, Mindaugas Burneika
>> 4. 1997-98 (21-9, NIT quarterfinals)
Notable players: Anthony Carter, Alika Smith, Erin Galloway, Eric Ambrozich, Micah Kroeger
>> 5. 1970-71 (23-5, NIT second round)
Notable players: Bob Nash, John Penebacker, Dwight Holiday, Jerome Freeman, Al Davis
>> 6. 1996-97 (21-8, NIT second round)
Notable players: Anthony Carter, Alika Smith, Seth Sundberg, Eric Ambrozich, Micah Kroeger
>> 7. 1989-90 (25-10, NIT quarterfinals)
Notable players: Chris Gaines, Terry Houston, Phil Lott, Troy Bowe, Tim Shepherd
>> 8. 1993-94 (18-15, NCAA first round)
Notable players: Trevor Ruffin, Tony Maroney, Jarinn Akana, Phil Handy
>> 9. 1973-74 (19-9, NIT second round)
Notable players: Tom Henderson, Artie Wilson, Melton Werts, Rod Aldridge
>> 10. 2000-01 (17-14, NCAA first round)
Notable players: Predrag Savovic, Troy Ostler, Carl English, Nerijus Puida, Haim Shimonovich
>> 11. 2003-04 (21-12, NIT quarterfinals)
Notable players: Michael Kuebler, Julian Sensley, Phil Martin, Jeff Blackett, Jason Carter
>> 12. 2014-15 (22-13)
Notable players: Roderick Bobbitt, Stefan Jankovic, Aaron Valdes, Garrett Nevels, Negus Webster-Chan
>> 13. 1947-48 (24-3)
Notable players: Harry “Clown” Kahuanui, Richard Mamiya, Bobby Kau, Ed Loui, Bill Young
>> 14. 2002-03 (19-12, NIT second round)
Notable players: Carl English, Michael Kuebler, Phil Martin, Mark Campbell, Haim Shimonovich
>> 15. 2013-14 (20-11)
Notable players: Christian Standhardinger, Isaac Fotu, Brandon Spearman, Garrett Nevels, Keith Shamburger
>> 16. 1988-89 (17-13, NIT first round)
Notable players: Chris Gaines, Troy Bowe, Terry Houston, Phil Lott, Tim Shepherd, Kawika Hallums
Those older teams with players such as the Fabulous Five, Tim Sheppard, Terry Houston, Phil Lott, etc., were tough. They played hard and played physical. The way the games were officiated back then is TOTALLY different than today or even 6 years ago. Plus there was no three point line back then. So much to consider and factor in.
Have fun!
Probably the best team was the Fab-5, but my favorite team was the Tom Henderson team with Mel Werts, Artie Wilson and Rod Aldridge. Mel Werts my favorite player.
Loved all these teams as each had a special quality about them. Although I still think we got snubbed big time during the Alika Smith and Anthony Carter years.
The Alika / AC team of 1997-98 had arguably the best 2-guard combo in Hawaii history, and they were able to take down top-25 teams visiting Hawaii. Unfortunately, their lack of depth and rebounding muscle doomed them when when it came to WAC tournament time, where WAC teams were loaded with power forwards like Keith Van Horne (Utah), Melvin Ely (Fresno), and even Lee Nailon (TCU). The 98 team would flourish in today’s Big West, but if you wanted to win the conference, you either needed strong frontcourt depth (like the 2001-2, 1972, and 2016 teams) or unbelievable 3-pt shooting (like the 1994 team). All 4 of those went to the Big Dance.