The 34th Annual Rainbow Classic will be remembered as the year Hawai'i beat Kansas. Although an accomplishment to remember, many will overlook the signifigance of the tournament. The Rainbows metamorphisized throughout the tournament.

They started with a horrible game against Brigham Young University. Although UH went on to rout the BYU Cougars by 20 points, the game was marred by endless fouling and overall sloppy play. Both teams played ugly, but in the end, UH pulled though with superior talent.

Sparks of Rainbow potential showed itself during game two, which pitted UH against Nebraska. Although the 'Bows leader, AC Carter was outplayed by Nebraska's Tyronne Lue in the first half, UH came back in the second half to crush the Cornhuskers by 25. The star of the game was UH's stifling defense. By causing turnovers and bad shots, UH created an up tempo second half that Nebraska couldn't keep up with. Still, if UH wanted to have a chance against Kansas, they would need to step up their game even more.

The 'Bows responded by holding Kansas scoreless for the first three minutes of game three. Although UH couldn't score either, the defense was a precursor of things to come. UH held Kansas to a brutal shooting percentage while finding key shots for themselves. UH was constantly holding onto nine point leads. Despite Kansas's phenomenal forward, Paul Pierce, often cutting the lead down, UH responded and kept the distance.

With UH up 11 in the closing minute, AC lived up to his Wooden Award nomination by coming up with two key steals to seal a Rainbow victory against one of the top-ranked teams in the land.

Not only did the team as a whole mature into a legitimate contender, but individual players stepped up as well. Eric Ambrozich was a monster in the tourney. Though not on the All Tournament Team, he should have been the MVP. In the wins against BYU and Nebraska Ambrozich dominated the post. Casey Cartwright also shined, with clutch plays in the Kansas game, giving the team and, more importantly, himself, more confidence in his abilities.

Riley Wallace is doing a masterful job in guiding the Bows and exploiting weaknesses of opposing teams. If the 'Bows stay focused, the nation could be in for a surprise in March. Go 'Bows!

Scores:

• Game 1
  v. BYU Cougars 53-73
• Game 2
  v. Nebraska Cornhuskers 62-87
• Game 3
  v. Kansas Jayhawks 65-76

The All-Tournament Team:

• Anthony Carter (Hawaii) -- MVP
• Tyronne Lue (Nebraska)
• Billy Thomas (Kansas)
• Alika Smith (Hawaii)
• Drew Maddux (Vanderbilt)
• Paul Pierce (Kansas)

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