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Post by triasfan on Dec 21, 2006 5:13:29 GMT -5
I think Hawaii will be fine next season. Top 15 definitely, top ten perhaps. Kamana'o is a huge loss and so is Mason. A lot of Hawaii's success next season will be based on the injured players returning healthy, especially Hittle. If we get everyone back healthy, the squad has the potential to make a serious run next year. As for nodisrespect's weigh in on the issue, I think a lot of what he said about next year's Wahine is true based on the facts we have now. Talent-wise, Hawaii is not up there with Penn State, Nebraska, Stanford, Texas, Florida, and USC. The injured players are still injured and no one is certain whether they'll be back at 100%, which we'll need them to be at if we want to compete with the best. He's also right in that there are no Kim Willoughby, Lily Kahumoku, Heather Bown type talents on next years team. Jamie Houston is not any of those three at least for the time being (although she is much better than Therese Crawford ever was). We saw glimpses of what she could do against USC, but we have yet to see that kind of effort consistently. With another year of practice Houston COULD become like those three, but as of right now she's not and until we see her next year all we can do as fans is speculate. I disagree with him about the 2003 final four match. We didn't choke, Florida just played better. They followed their game plan. They knew the key to winning was frustrating Willoughby and that's exactly what they did. They served at her all the time and put two blockers in front of her all the time. Once they took her out of the match they were able to go after Lily and take her out as well. Both had double-digit errors by the end of the four games. The truth is, that 2003 team was not as good as Florida and USC that year. We had too many weaknesses (middles, right-side) and Florida exploited them. Hey, Triasfan, I saw Jasmine at the movie theater last night. After I purchased my tickets and walked away, my wife told me that was Jasmine behind you. She was with two friends. In the small theater, one of 14 in the complex, she sat three rows behind us. Only about 15 people in the theater. The movie? "Pursuit of Happiness." I thought about you when I saw her. Not really a big thing for me because she lives about a mile from my house, goes to the same church I go to and her aunt (mom's sister) and my wife are close friends. You know what's funny I saw her there too, granted it was a while back, but I saw here there. I don't know what it is but whenever I see her its like wow there's jasmine trias. I'm such a dork...lol. Thanks for telling me though, glad to know she's back here in the islands.
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Post by pineapple on Dec 21, 2006 5:18:26 GMT -5
She is beautiful!
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Post by pineapple on Dec 21, 2006 5:41:55 GMT -5
Until I see any Heather Bowns or Kim Willoughbys or Lily Kahumokus in next year's squad, I will say that Hawaii will only be in the top 15. The only good player that you have is Jamie Houston, but she is no Willoughby. Just an average Therese Crawford. BTW, I think Kamana'o is overrated. You can disagree all you want, but she was never THAT good. Good setter but not GREAT. And I've seen how many Hawaii fans compare her to Robyn Ah Mow-Santos. She ain't got nothing on Ah Mow-Santos. Didn't Kamana'o choke at the last play of the '03 semifinal against Florida? The finally NCAA ranking for 2006 puts Hawaii #9. www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll12-20-06.asp(See related thread on final ranking.) This ranking is the one we would think to be carried over into 2007. Wow, for someone who is not a fan of the Wahine, you seem to know a lot of Hawaii players...Willoughby, Bowns, Kahamoku, Crawford, Houston, Kamanao, Ah Mow....you probably can name many more players right off the bat....Lima, Tee, Kee, Lundquest, etc. You seem to be very obsessed about Hawaii.
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Post by pineapple on Dec 21, 2006 5:42:58 GMT -5
I assume you are not a fan by your negativism and sarcasm.
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Post by pineapple on Dec 21, 2006 5:44:09 GMT -5
And by your statement "The only good player that you have is Jamie Houston."
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Post by pineapple on Dec 21, 2006 5:51:01 GMT -5
Until I see any Heather Bowns or Kim Willoughbys or Lily Kahumokus in next year's squad, I will say that Hawaii will only be in the top 15. The finally NCAA ranking for 2006 puts Hawaii #9. www.avca.org/collegiate/dipoll/dipoll12-20-06.asp(See related thread on final ranking.) This ranking is the one we would think to be carried over into 2007. I noticed that you did post in that thread. Either you didn't read the rankings or purposely disregarded it.
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Post by gobows on Dec 21, 2006 6:55:01 GMT -5
pineapple....you seem to be having a conversation with yourself!
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Post by 5100 on Dec 21, 2006 10:47:25 GMT -5
So is Dani Mafua a sure bet as the starting setter or will we not know till the end of fall camp?
If UH has just one more scholarship left, and Shoji has mentioned that he still needs another setter and outside hitter, will one of those two be willing to walk-on? If the outside hitter agrees to walk-on, will she end up like Blood? Or will another scholarship open because Shoji doesn't think Alicia will be returning? I noticed she was nowhere to be found in the recent Outlook for Next year article by Star Bulletin.
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Post by clivehusker on Dec 21, 2006 12:24:14 GMT -5
Ah so is there a rule or something, new posters can't smart mouth??? lol boards leetists, gotta love em. Gotta be smart to smartmouth. lol pot meet kettle. boards leetists... their last grasp at dominance.
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Post by Aikea on Dec 21, 2006 12:29:50 GMT -5
Portion of this mornings paper www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/SPORTS0203/612210359/1032/SPORTSCoach Dave Shoji admits he has thought about next season "every day" since UCLA ended Hawai'i's season. He has no worries in the middle and believes the return from injury of Tara Hittle, the team's best ballhandler, will soften the loss of Mason's offense. Hittle had successful surgery on her ankle during the regionals and is scheduled to get her cast off the next few days. Shoji hopes to have Hittle, Nickie Thomas and Jessica Keefe — the three starters lost to injury this season — healthy when the 2007 season starts in August. He believes Houston is "already established" as Hawai'i's focal point after averaging more kills than national player of the year Sarah Pavan. Recruits Amanda Simmons and Elizabeth Ka'aihue should help in the middle and at libero, where freshman Jayme Lee started all year. That leaves setting, and the huge void Kamana'o's loss creates. Freshman Dani Mafua redshirted this season and trained behind Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby. "She has less experience at setter and technically is not quite where we need her to be, but she's got eight months," Shoji said. "Dani might be the best athlete we've ever had at that position. She's big, strong, blocks well, plays great defense. It's all about location and delivery, and decision making." NOTES Hawai'i's 2007 schedule will tentatively include Oregon State, Colorado State and Michigan in the first tournament, Kansas State, Louisville and UCLA in the second and Wichita State, Santa Clara and Eastern Washington in a third. Five of those teams were in this year's NCAA Tournament. Dave Shoji also hopes to bring in a ranked opponent Thanksgiving week.
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Post by clivehusker on Dec 21, 2006 12:50:19 GMT -5
Portion of this mornings paper www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/SPORTS0203/612210359/1032/SPORTSCoach Dave Shoji admits he has thought about next season "every day" since UCLA ended Hawai'i's season. He has no worries in the middle and believes the return from injury of Tara Hittle, the team's best ballhandler, will soften the loss of Mason's offense. That leaves setting, and the huge void Kamana'o's loss creates. Freshman Dani Mafua redshirted this season and trained behind Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby. Totally forgot about Hittle, so really Hawaii's only real worry is if Mafua works out as setter. If she's already been working on filling the spot, 8 monthes should be plenty of time to get ready, but then it is a tough position to fill. Not only ball handling but decision making.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2006 12:50:59 GMT -5
NOTES Hawai'i's 2007 schedule will tentatively include Oregon State, Colorado State and Michigan in the first tournament, Kansas State, Louisville and UCLA in the second and Wichita State, Santa Clara and Eastern Washington in a third. Five of those teams were in this year's NCAA Tournament. Dave Shoji also hopes to bring in a ranked opponent Thanksgiving week. Am I the only one a little dissapointed at the schedule so far. UCLA looks to be the only top 10, or even top 25 team on that list. Louisville, Santa Clara, and Kansas State have all been top 25 in the past, but all had down years this past season so who really knows how good they will be. Looks like Shoji is concerned a bit with the settiing... the article didn't mention anything about possible transfers though.
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Post by roy on Dec 21, 2006 12:59:59 GMT -5
Portion of this mornings paper www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061221/SPORTS0203/612210359/1032/SPORTSCoach Dave Shoji admits he has thought about next season "every day" since UCLA ended Hawai'i's season. He has no worries in the middle and believes the return from injury of Tara Hittle, the team's best ballhandler, will soften the loss of Mason's offense. Hittle had successful surgery on her ankle during the regionals and is scheduled to get her cast off the next few days. Shoji hopes to have Hittle, Nickie Thomas and Jessica Keefe — the three starters lost to injury this season — healthy when the 2007 season starts in August. He believes Houston is "already established" as Hawai'i's focal point after averaging more kills than national player of the year Sarah Pavan. Recruits Amanda Simmons and Elizabeth Ka'aihue should help in the middle and at libero, where freshman Jayme Lee started all year. That leaves setting, and the huge void Kamana'o's loss creates. Freshman Dani Mafua redshirted this season and trained behind Kamana'o and Cayley Thurlby. "She has less experience at setter and technically is not quite where we need her to be, but she's got eight months," Shoji said. "Dani might be the best athlete we've ever had at that position. She's big, strong, blocks well, plays great defense. It's all about location and delivery, and decision making." NOTES Hawai'i's 2007 schedule will tentatively include Oregon State, Colorado State and Michigan in the first tournament, Kansas State, Louisville and UCLA in the second and Wichita State, Santa Clara and Eastern Washington in a third. Five of those teams were in this year's NCAA Tournament. Dave Shoji also hopes to bring in a ranked opponent Thanksgiving week. The line up is nothing surprising over what all expects. Good to hear that Hittle has finished her surgery. Better it occur now, so it gives her a lot of time to recover. The schedule looks fairly weak though. UCLA will be the only top 10 team in the mix. Santa Clara, Louisville, Colorado State, and Kansas State have the potential to be in the top 25, but all are not solid teams that you feel you can guarantee a top 25 ranking to. I recall Shoji saying that LMU was supposed to play in Hawaii for the Thanksgiving tournament, but I am not sure how tentative that was. Again, a good team and possibly a top 25 team, but it is also possible they wont be a top 25 team.
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Post by hwnstunner on Dec 21, 2006 14:22:21 GMT -5
We'll yes, the schedule is pretty weak ... atleast compared to the last couple of seasons.
However, I don't believe its THAT bad of a move. These are all still quality teams and one of the problems I had was the fact that UH scheduled so many top teams this season (and 2005). I know everynoe wants to see the Stanfords, Penn States, and Floridas, but quite frankly, the Wahine have been pummeled the past two seasons by these calibre teams. Why? Because the Wahine have so much depth inconsistency in the team chemistry. This year, (before the injuries), Shoji shuffled in player after player and the team really lacked chemistry and ROLES, the top teams exploited that.
ATLEAST, the Wahine have some time to adjusts and see what they got next season. Plus, they have a chance to evaluate players and build chemistry, against quality teams, rather than being pummled by the top 5 teams.
I dunno. maybe its just me.
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Post by ooreo46 on Dec 21, 2006 15:10:41 GMT -5
You have a very good point. I have said all along this year's Wahine team lacked chemistry. With so many line up changes, it must have been hard for the girls to adjust to everyone's different style of play. I think the '04 Wahine team was a perfect example of good chemistry.
As for the upcoming season, I think the '07 team will have a really strong bond. They have played with each other for a whole year and have gone through a rollercoaster ride this past season. Come August, they should be able to recognize each other's tendencies, playing style, and most importantly, have each other's backs.
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