Men's Basketball: The Word from Hawaii
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2008
MAUI, Hawaii - Aloha!
The Alabama men's basketball team, along with its coaching staff and support staff, arrived in Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii at 8:33 p.m. Hawaiian Time (12:33 a.m. Tuscaloosa time) Thursday night after a long day of traveling. The team arrived in good shape, and in good spirits, after their marathon journey in which they bussed from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, took flights from Birmingham to Atlanta, Atlanta to Los Angeles, and Los Angeles to Maui.
All told, the trip covered 17 hours, 48 minutes, and 4,699 miles from the campus in Tuscaloosa to the Westin Maui Resort in Lahaina.
Here's a look at Thursday's itinerary
(All times below are Central)
6:45 a.m. - Bus departs Coliseum
9:30 a.m. - Flight departs Birmingham for Atlanta
10:29 a.m. - Arrive in Atlanta
12:30 p.m. - Flight departs Atlanta for Los Angeles
5:13 p.m. - Arrive in L.A.
6:45 p.m. - Depart L.A. For Maui
12:33 a.m. - Arrive in Maui
1:42 a.m. - Arrive at Westin Maui Resort
1:55 a.m. - Snack & to bed
When we arrived at the Maui airport we received the customary Hawaiian hospitality. Representatives from the EA Sports Maui Invitational greeted us at baggage claim to welcome us and assist us. They also gave each member of our traveling party lei necklaces. The lei custom was started long ago by Polynesian voyagers to Hawaii from Tahiti. Leis can be made of leaves, flowers, shells, seed, nuts, bones or teeth. Fortunately, ours were made of the most common variety, beautiful native flowers from Maui.
Usually, baggage claim is pretty boring. When we arrived in Maui, baggage claim featured a hula dancer and a Hawaiian band. It was all part of the welcoming custom for each team that arrives for the tournament. While the band played traditional hula music, a hula dancer performed as we waited for our bags. Hula dancing is entertainment that has its roots in sacred ritual. The dance remains meaningful for those in the Hawaiian Islands as it is considered by most to be a form of poetry. The movements of the dance, most noticeably hand and arm gestures, combine with twisting movements to provide meaning usually associated with different facets of life and nature, depending on what the dance represents.
We didn't bother to ask what the meaning of the dance was last night. We all were just happy to be there and eager to get to the hotel, the Westin Maui Resort & Spa on Ka'anapali Beach in Lahaina. All seven teams from the mainland in the tournament - Alabama, Indiana, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, St. Joseph's and North Carolina - will be staying there. The group boarded buses for the 25-minute ride to the Westin. Once there, we checked into rooms and the team had a late snack and meeting before retiring for the night.
Friday is a fairly slow day for the team. The players will be allowed to sleep in (they need it!) before a mandatory study hall followed by a short shoot-around to loosen up at 12:30 at Lahainaluna High School. At 3:30, the entire traveling party is invited to a cruise off the beach by the hotel. At 7 p.m., there will be a team dinner at a local restaurant.
Things start to pick up a bit on Saturday, with a formal practice scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at the Lahaina Civic Center, the home of all the tournament games.
We will keep you posted with an entry at the end of each day.
Aloha!
