out of the shadows
By Jeff
Saturday night's loss to Cal Poly is unexplainable. How could Hawaii loss so badly at home to a middle of the road Big West team that had lost 6 of its last 7. How could the Bows let Cal Poly score more than a hundred points and set a record for the most points scored against Hawaii since the Arena opened a long time ago. How could a team needing to break its own 7 game losing streak and desperately looking for its 10th win play so poorly in the first half? How could Hawaii let Cal Poly out hustle, out think, and outplay it in almost every facet of the game? The answer is simple. One team wanted it much more.
The whispers about the future of Bob Nash came out of the shadows in Ferd Lewis' column in Sunday's Advertiser. Ferd put in writing what you know lots of fans and some UH officials have been thinking for awhile. Three years of frustration and no improvement; crowds of under 3000, and the real possibility this year of missing the Conference Tournament. Yes this has been a season of issues on and off the court. You cant blame the coaches for injuries. A few of the losses could have been wins with a few breaks. But what appears to be a real lack of talent and often lack of effort has to be an issue. How many times this year have we seen this team play one decent half of basketball and one awful half ( like Saturday).
There are still four games to play. Thursday's game against Utah State pit two teams going rapidly in opposite directions. The Saturday game against a Nevada team that struggles on the road is Senior Night, so an upset is possible. Then onto Idaho for the final two games. My opinion, and that's all it is, is that if the team does not qualify for the tournament, the pressure for a coaching change will increase dramatically. Can i say it? i will. This team is now playing for their Coach. I really like and respect Bob and the other coaches. In the interest of full disclosure, one of my best friends is Jackson Wheeler. I hope for the best, but have to recognize that the program's struggles create a legitimate discussion on their future of UH basketball.
i would like to here from you out there. Should Bob get another year or is it time for a change?
Hoops Talk
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:29 am
It is time for change. I've been a fan since I was born. I've lived through the Frank Arnold years and those were tough years. I was supportive of Nash after Wallace retired but I just don't think Nash is head coach material (he is a great assistant coach). I still go to the games but it is frustrating to watch a team with no spirit and no team work. The wahine team has a similar record but I enjoy watching them play.
February 25th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
I think we can all agree that Bob Nash has contributed a lot to the University of Hawaii program as a player. He ranks as one of the best UH players of all time. As a coach, it's a different story. I don't think he is capable of coaching Division 1 basketball and it shows. He has no passion or fire left in him. I think this year should be his last so we can start re-building University of Hawaii basketball to what it used to be...
February 26th, 2010 at 10:33 am
I say give coach Nash one more year. He was the choice of the people to succeed coach Wallace so give him one more notch on the leash. As you say at least the players are putting out for their coach and Nash runs a clean program and hopefully graduating his players. Although we all know the bottom line is the w's. AD Donovan will probably have to attach some heavy stipulations for Nash for his extra year but that is understandable. Gotta fill the stands.
Only winning will put our fairweather fans in the seats and yet having to play for supporters in the stands will bring about winning. No UH students other than the UH band are in the arena. In other words who do the players have to play for other than themselves and the coaches.