Another week, another challenging tournament.
The type of test Megan Huff eagerly anticipated when she made a full-time commitment to the University of Hawaii basketball program this season.
| RAINBOW WAHINE BASKETBALL
Tom Weston Classic
Cannon Activities Center
>> Today: Hawaii (4-3) vs. BYU (3-3), 6 p.m.
>> Friday: Texas A&M (5-1) vs. Hawaii, 5 p.m |
UH faced two nationally ranked opponents in the Waikiki Beach Marriott Rainbow Wahine Shootout last week and Huff posted 11 points and six rebounds against No. 16 Arizona State and capped the weekend with 13 points vs. second- ranked South Carolina’s formidable front line.
The Rainbow Wahine (4-3) will have a shot at two more high-profile opponents this week on the North Shore in the Tom Weston Classic. UH faces BYU (3-3) today at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie and No. 12 Texas A&M (5-1) on Friday.
“That’s one of the biggest things I was excited for this year, wanting to play in these games and see where I’m at,” said Huff, who was named to the all-tournament team. “I like seeing where I’m at because I know these girls are going to play professionally and I want to play professionally and I want to see where I need to grow so I can do that.”
The Big West’s Sixth Player of the Year as a freshman, Huff reprised that role this season and enters this week’s tournament averaging 10 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds in just under 22 minutes per game.
Tough decision
Huff’s aspirations in basketball were a tipping point in what UH coach Laura Beeman called “a heart- wrenching” decision to focus on one sport this season.
Huff played in 16 matches as a freshman with the Wahine volleyball team before joining the basketball program, which carries her scholarship, last December. She went on to average 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds and was named to the Big West all-freshman team.
She appeared in seven volleyball matches this season and in the midst of preseason workouts with the basketball team, Huff wrestled with a decision to continue to split time between the programs.
“When she came in and started talking to me about it she was in tears and didn’t know if it was the right thing to do and didn’t want to let anybody down,” Beeman said.
After discussing the situation with head volleyball coach Dave Shoji, Huff ultimately elected to commit to basketball.
“I wouldn’t take back coming in and playing two sports. I wouldn’t take that back for the world,” Huff said. “I loved doing that and I think that made me grow so much as a player. It was a hard decision because I do love both sports, but it’s just what I had to do for my future.”
Honing skills
Practicing with the basketball team full time this season has given Huff a chance “to work on some of the technical parts of the game she was unable to work on last year,” Beeman said.
“We just threw her onto the floor and said ‘here you go, let’s play some games,’” Beeman said. “Because she’s such a good basketball player and athlete, (she) could do that. But now that we’re able to practice with her and teach her things and get her to calm down on some of her post moves and stay balanced it’s going to make her a really great post player in the Big West.”
Beeman also envisions Huff eventually contributing outside the paint with continued development of her perimeter skills, particularly on the defensive end. Huff connected on her first career 3-pointer late in UH’s 67-51 loss to South Carolina on Sunday and although Beeman said she “absolutely is good enough to start,” she’s not exactly pining for a place in the first five.
“Whatever Coach thinks is best for our team, I’m fine with doing that,” Huff said.
PROFILE
Megan Huff
>> Position: Center/Forward
>> Height: 6-3
>> Class: Sophomore
>> Major: Undecided, interested in family resources or social work. “I just want to work toward helping people.”
>> Hometown: Federal Way, Wash.
>> High School: Todd Beamer
>> Quick Facts: Named UH’s “Rookie of the Year” at the H-Awards ceremony last April. … Posted career highs with 16 points and 14 rebounds in a loss to CSUN in the Big West tournament championship game last March. … Third straight UH player to be named Big West Sixth Player of the Year, following Shawna-Lei Kuehu (2013) and Ashleigh Karaitiana (2014). … Earned Washington all-state honors in high school along with UH teammate Sarah Toeaina.
