Hawaii Recap

Final Score: Hawaii 76, Creighton 60

Box Score

Recaps: CU | UH
Media: OWH | Honolulu Star-Bulletin

"Two steps forward, one step back."

That phrase is iconic of the experience of the Bluejays in the 2006 Rainbow Classic. After two stellar efforts in back to back nights, the Jays started off the championship game at Hawaii well - showing at points an effort and intensity not seen in any of the other three road contests that CU had played to date - but were unable to close the deal and eventually succumbed to the career nights of Warriors guard Matt Lojeski and forward Ahmet Gueye as Hawaii defeated Creighton 76-60.

With the pieces that the Jays have this year, for us to be successful, we have to play with maximum defensive intensity and to stay in the structure of the offense. When we do this, not only can we be successful but we can be very dangerous, but like all Altman teams have been, this team cannot be successful when the team plays as individual parts, instead of the unified whole.

We saw a lot of very good things at points in this tournament. Especially in the semifinal against Houston: the Cougars are exactly the sort of team that has given the Jays fits, especially this year. The team showed great discipline in covering the perimeter and forcing UH into the half court set. On the other end of the court, we saw the best exhibition of inside-out basketball that we've witnessed all year.

Against the Warriors, we saw some great tenacity early on in the contest. However, we saw the Jays slide back into old habits as the game went on. What's been the most distributing trend with this team is the tendency to become "black holes" and for players try to do too much themselves. "Make the extra pass" is an old coaching cliche, but it rings true. You get more open shots out of the flow of the offensive set than you do in isolation. It's far more easier to catch the defense off guard when you move the basketball around the floor and throw multiple looks at the opposition. These are basic fundamentals of basketball, however, at times they can get lost in all the discussion about talent and expectations and so on. When the team struggles the most, it's generally the best thing to strip away the superfluous and get back to basics. We've seen this team do it this year and, when they have, they've been at their best.

Nothing gets easier at this point. On Saturday, conference play begins with a strong Missouri State team coming into Omaha. Also, like last year, we're going to have to learn to find success for a time without Josh Dotzler. Josh dislocated two fingers against Valparaiso and had to have surgery on the fractured left index finger today. It's likely he will now be out a month. The point duties are going to fall primarily on Funk and Miles. This is going to make it even more imperative that everyone else on this team gives their game a hard and critical look and takes it upon themselves to raise the level of their play and keep this team in the race. Other Jay teams in recent years did not respond well when injuries hit. Now we will learn the mettle of this group.