HONOLULU — Mor Seck didn’t know what the Maui Invitational was when he entered his sophomore season of college basketball with Hawaii.
The Senegalese center learned quickly this week, though, as the premier early-season tournament in the country was played in the Rainbow Warriors’ own building due to special circumstances.
Seck got a chance to watch a little on Day 1 of the tournament on Monday, when UCLA nearly pulled off an upset of No. 4 Marquette. He picked out that game specifically because he was teammates with UCLA’s Adem Bona at Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, Calif.
While Bona went to the next level as a McDonald’s All-American, Seck was still considered an unproven and unpolished product when he committed to UH before the 2022-23 season.
Bona, a player of similar frame as Seck at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, thrilled the Stan Sheriff Center crowd with his above-the-rim play and shot-blocking. It gave the 7-1 and 225-pound Seck something to chew on.
“He does a great job, and I (got to) watch him get to see little things he (does) as a big. So I just know I can, I can,” Seck said.
Seck came off the bench Tuesday night for a late-night contest against Northern Arizona and made an impact at both ends with his activity, helping the Rainbow Warriors finally put away the stubborn Lumberjacks in a 70-61 victory that got UH to 3-0 on the young season.
Seck had seven points, two blocks, a steal and a rebound in 16 minutes. He finished out the game at center for Bernardo da Silva, who scored a quick eight points but was ineffective and in foul trouble after halftime.
He checked in with 6:34 remaining and NAU (2-3) rallying to within 58-55.
UH coach Eran Ganot credited Seck for keying a 12-1 run, capped with his hammer dunk over the head of guard Jayden Jackson. At the other end, Seck swatted a Jackson layup attempt.
“We were not physical, we were not tough enough, we were not finishing around the rim, we were not strong with the ball, and we were not protecting,” Ganot said. “He did all of it. And that allowed us to separate.”
UH played on the same special, elevated wooden court that the eight Maui teams competed on, complete with the tournament branding and floral lane designs.
Second-ranked Purdue completed an impressive three-day run through the stacked field by beating No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 4 Marquette for the Boilermakers’ first Maui title. Top-ranked Kansas was also in the field and lost to Marquette on Tuesday.
“It was like a good experience to just have them here and see the best players and the best teams play each other,” Seck said. “So, you watch them and you just get to experience a lot and learn from it. And then know … they are the best players, so like each little thing that you can get from them is gonna help.”
Ganot was not immune from the Maui charms, though he said he was consumed with preparation for the NAU game and didn’t have time to watch the full tournament games in person. He hasn’t been to a Maui in his 21 total years on college coaching staffs.
“When I was passing by to do what we're doing, I got to peek in and out and, oh, man, I look forward to the year where I can like take it all in,” Ganot said.
The Maui games ran late on Tuesday and UH’s game, which was slated to start at 8:30 p.m., did not begin until close to 9. Only 1,559 came through the turnstiles for it (3,853 tickets issued).
Point guard JoVon McClanahan led the ‘Bows with 13 points on a night of balanced scoring. Justin McKoy had 11 points and Matthue Cotton and Juan Munoz 10 apiece.
NCAA March Madness college basketball reporter Andy Katz stayed after the day’s four Maui games to watch UH-NAU. Katz, a longtime ESPN hoops reporter and before that a writer for the Fresno Bee and Albuquerque Journal, used to cover the old Western Athletic Conference and traveled regularly to Honolulu for games at the Blaisdell Arena, then the Sheriff Center when that opened in 1994.
Katz spoke with Spectrum Sports’ Kanoa Leahey and Artie Wilson at halftime, then interviewed McClanahan afterward.
UH was aided by two technical fouls on the Lumberjacks, including one in the second half on the NAU bench when one of coach Shane Burcar’s assistants was standing too close to the court.
Burcar was perplexed.
“The official said ‘hey, control your bench and get your guys down.’ So I said, ‘you guys got to sit down, sit down.’ And we are our guys are just working on our defense, like yelling what play they're running and (I) turn around and he T’d us up,” Burcar told Spectrum News. “I mean, that's something that I've never seen that in my 26 years of coaching.”
Forward Trenton McLaughlin led NAU with 14 points while Jackson had 13.
UH left Honolulu for three games on the mainland in the coming days, starting with Texas-Rio Grande Valley (2-3) in the four-team Acrisure Invitational in Palm Springs, Calif., at 3 p.m. Friday. The ‘Bows will follow against either San Diego or Arkansas State on Saturday, depending on the results Friday.
UH finishes the road trip against Utah of the Pac-12 at the Utah Jazz’s Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Nov. 30.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
