"Everyone is noticing that I'm not coughing like I used to," said the crafty 15-year Hawaii coach. "This team relaxes me."

It should. Hawaii entered its first extended stay on the mainland Saturday at San Jose State, Rice and Tulsa with an impressive 15-2 overall record, and a perfect 6-0 mark in the WAC. But look deeper in the numbers and the Hawaii start is even more remarkable.

	Predrag Savovic, who leads Hawaii in scoring, and his foreign teammates feel at home on the Islands

Hawaii played the first seven games without its best player -- fifth-year senior Predrag Savovic. The NCAA's crackdown on foreign athletes who played overseas with a professional or in a designated pro league caught Savovic while also nailing JC transfer Luc-arthur Vebobe for six games.

The Rainbow Warriors lost only one game without Savovic -- to Colorado State in the Big Island Invitational in Hilo -- and then lost the first game he came back to play in against San Diego State when he was 2-for-13 from the field. Since then, Savovic is averaging nearly 20 points a game and the Rainbow Warriors haven't lost, with wins over Georgia in the Rainbow Classic final and Fresno State to open up the WAC season.

But just as important was the sweep of Boise State and UTEP the first time Hawaii left the Island. Hawaii hadn't left the state prior to the trip two weeks ago and the rest of the league was waiting for the Rainbow Warriors to flop once they landed on the mainland. But that didn't happen, largely because this team is more mature and because the roster is dominated by foreign players who are used to traveling and don't use fatigue as an excuse.

If the same trend holds true on the upcoming road swing, which is the second of four for the Rainbow Warriors (they've still got to go to SMU and Louisiana Tech and then Fresno State and Nevada) then Hawaii could be looking at its best team since its version of the Fab Five (that's what they call it in Hawaii) of 1972 and a second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

"Riley is doing his best job coaching," said SMU coach Mike Dement, who lost to Hawaii last week in Honolulu. "Historically, the first time they come off the Island they lose. But they won at UTEP and Boise State, two tough places to play. The hope in the league is that Hawaii will be as taxed making the trip this way as we were in going there. They have to do it three more times."

But it didn't happen.

And it might not again.

"We've got the right mix," Wallace said. "This is the perfect place to have a lot of foreign athletes. We're in Hawaii and it's a melting pot here. Everyone is so accepting here and so many people here are from somewhere else. Every race is right here and so is every community. I recruited these kids, but I didn't know that there was a Lithuanian, Israeli and Yugoslavian community here. These guys are speaking their native languages here."

Wallace used to work the junior college circuit to exhaustion, usually finding that high school seniors didn't want to go so far from home. But now he's mixed in the right amount of foreign athletes. Savovic, by way of UAB, is from Yugoslavia. Joining him in the frontcourt is 6-foot-11 Israeli Haim Shimonovic (9.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg). Luc-arthur Vebobe (3.3 ppg) played in France. Forward Mindaugas Burneika (9.4 ppg) is from Lithuania and the backcourt is from Canada -- Carl English (Newfoundland) and Phil Martin (Hamilton, Ontario). Martin is averaging 8.9 points a game. Mike McIntyre and Mark Campbell (4.7 apg) are the only players in the top eight who grew up playing in the United States. And that was on the mainland, of course.

	“	We've got the right mix. This is the perfect place to have a lot of foreign athletes. We're in Hawaii and it's a melting pot here. Everyone is so accepting here and so many people here are from somewhere else. ... These guys are speaking their native languages here. ”
		— Riley Wallace, Hawaii head coach

Wallace said he had to lean heavily on foreigners to stay competitive. But the NCAA's enforcement on amateurism nearly cost him this season.

"We didn't know what the NCAA was going to do," Wallace said. "I didn't agree with what they did in terms of the punishment, but I could live with it. We're now back to where we were last year when we made our run (to win the WAC tournament and then eventually losing to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament). We're just as consistent and confident as we were last season. We're definitely top 25 team."

Wisconsin (79 in the RPI) and Georgia (15) might agree, considering they were Hawaii's best non-conference wins. But to get into the tournament, which is what really matters, the Rainbows are on thin ice in the power rating. They enter the trip on the fringe of at-large territory with an RPI of 40. It could go down even if they win in playing San Jose State (282) and Rice (202) twice. Only three teams in the top 50 (Tulsa twice at 49 and Fresno State once at 39) remain on their schedule.

"That big fella in the middle (Shimonovic) could really shoot it and over in Hawaii they play extremely hard," Georgia assistant Jim Harrick Jr. said. "They're not the most talented group, but they play hard and run that flex offense and get the most out of it. They can go big inside and all their big men can make the 12-15 foot shot. They take up space and make free throws."

McIntyre is the squad's stand-still shooter (33.8 percent on 3s) and English more of a driver (14.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 47.5 percent overall).

"English is better than he was last year (when he was the MVP of the WAC tourney)," Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian said. "He's as good as player in our league except for Melvin (Ely). He passes it so well and handles the ball so well for them. They're older and with four starters back I'm not surprised that they're doing better. And he did a good job of scheduling."

Hawaii always does at home, and when the Stan Sheriff Center is packed (10,300), it is as good a homecourt advantage as most high-profile arenas in the country.

"That crowd helps them so much when they're making a run," Dement said. "The crowd helps them defensively. We couldn't hear at all. They're riding so much of the momentum from the end of last year. They're confident and have great chemistry. They really like each other and you can see that. And they play hard, really hard on an offensive cut or getting in a defensive stance. They're really good."

Potentially top 25 good if they sweep this three-game road swing.

Durham's Dolphins
Jacksonville isn't getting much national buzz, but former Georgia coach Hugh Durham is on the verge of making a comeback to the NCAA Tournament with point Kevin Sheppard (15.3 ppg) and well-traveled forward Travis Robinson leading the charge

Robinson signed at Missouri and then went to Fresno State before ending up on the junior college circuit. But he is averaging 13.2 points in just 17.3 minutes a game off the bench since becoming eligible six games into the season. Robinson has hit a team-high 32 3s and is shooting 41 percent on the shot.

Jacksonville was 18-10 last season and started this season 12-5, which included ending Georgia State's 25-game home winning streak. The Dolphins won five straight on the road for the first time in 15 seasons. Jacksonville only lost to Texas by six, 96-90.

Durham's 'D' at Georgia has carried through in Florida with the Dolphins averaging a mere 61.9 points a game. The Dolphins also have Tabari Brown on the roster, Kwame Brown's brother. He scored eight points and had six boards in 17 minutes in the Georgia State win. And, according to the Jacksonville staff, the Dolphins have one of the best leapers in the country in Calvin Warner, a 6-7 forward who transferred from Eastern Michigan (14.6 ppg, 9 rpg and 2 bpg).

Tennessee's Terrible Luck
Tennessee lost another heartbreaker earlier this week when Mississippi State won in overtime 92-91. The Volunteers entered the weekend 6-9 but could have potentially been 13-2 because of a matter of 18 points in less than 10 seconds. The Volunteers have lost four games due to a 3-pointer (five if you count Mississippi State's which tied the game before a free throw won the game).

Here's Tennessee's version of what happened in six games prior to the loss to Mississippi State: