Year one of the Bob Nash era at Hawaii was hardly what the Warriors expected.

With seven battle-tested seniors, experience was supposed to provide a mental toughness that would allow the Warriors to finish strong and maybe be in position to make a solid run in the postseason.

Instead of finishing strong, a myriad of problems led Hawaii to stumble down the stretch, losing its last seven games for the program's first losing season in nine years and its fifth-consecutive loss in the Western Athletic Conference quarterfinals.

The Warriors looked strong in the middle of the season, winning eight of 12 between Dec. 30 and Feb. 16.

Included in the mid-season high was a Feb. 16 win over regular season WAC co-champion Utah State in which the Warriors rallied from a 14-pont second-half deficit to win 71-66. Another high point was a 23-point rout of WAC Tournament champion New Mexico State on Jan. 31.

Hawaii loses those seven seniors, including six of the team's top seven players in terms of minutes (senior center Stephen Verwers only played in 10 games but averaged more than 20 minutes a game) and each of its top four scorers. But there were no juniors on the roster.

Eight underclassmen -- five freshman and three sophomores -- return next year. With those eight players on the islands for the next two-three years plus an incoming recruiting class, the 2008-09 season will be a far more accurate representation of what the Bob Nash era at Hawaii might be all about.

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