FINAL RECORD
11-19, 7-9, 5th place in Western Athletic Conference.
WHAT WENT RIGHT
As expected, fiery senior guard Matt Gibson led the way. When healthy, his team-high 17 points per game and team-high 121 assists were what put Hawaii in any position to win.
WHAT WENT WRONG
Injuries and travel problems plagued the season. The last two games of the year were a microcosm for the entire season. Before the regular season finale in Las Cruces, N.M., the team's flight out of Louisiana was cancelled due to snow, forcing the team to arrive in New Mexico only hours before its last regular season game. Then Gibson came down with food poisoning before the WAC Tournament quarterfinal loss to Boise State, forcing him to miss the team's final practice of the season and remain in bed most of the time his team was preparing for the tournament.
Included in the injuries was the Christmas Day broken leg of 6-foot-11 senior Stephen Verwers, leaving the team with a lack of size and made it difficult to compete on the boards.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I don't think there's any team in the country that has had as many adverse situations as we have with travel, injuries, being undersized. But these guys never quit on me all year long, and that's what I'm going to take away from this group." -- Hawaii coach Bob Nash.
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