LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The Lahaina Civic Center sits on a hill above Honoapiilani
Highway in western Maui, barely visible among the tropical trees and police
station.
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.The outside of the building is nondescript even up close, looking more like a
school auditorium than a basketball arena. Same thing on the inside, with its
upstairs, YMCA-style lockers and cage-like windows overlooking the court.Yet
every November, the Lahaina Civic Center transforms into something else: one of
college basketballs most raucous venues.Its like a high school gym being there,
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Sunday, the eve of the Maui Invitational. The
noise is loud, people are close to you. I think its neat. This time of year you
want to play in front of an excited crowd, an arena where everything is close.
Theres just so much you can gain from an experience like this and in a building
like that. Theres really nothing like it.The Maui Invitational has become the
top in-season tournament on the college basketball schedule, annually luring
some of the best teams from across the country to the second-largest island in
the Hawaiian chain.This years eight-team field has combined for 14 national
championships and 40 Final Fours, and three teams are ranked in the top 10 of
The Associated Press poll : No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 9
Wisconsin.The three-day tournament, which starts Monday, also includes
Tennessee, Oklahoma State, UConn, Georgetown and host Chaminade.At the center of
this basketball-topia is the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center.Built in 1972, the
building is used as a public civic center 50 weeks out of the year, hosting high
school basketball leagues, volleyball games, karate practices and community
events.The two weeks of the Maui Invitational brings some changes to the civic
center -- signs and banners, TV lights, cushioned chairs in front of the
bleachers -- but its still nowhere near matching the massive, modern arenas
found across the rest of college basketball. It didnt even have air conditioning
until the 2005 tournament -- after North Carolina coach Roy Williams complained
about condensation on the floor.Its hard to adapt an old building with such
character into a 2016 basketball arena that everyones used to, said Mark
Starsiak, director of events for KemperLesnik, which operates the Maui
Invitational.I tell teams every year: `Its the most unique experience youll have
walking from the locker room all season. If you have any questions, Ill try to
answer them.Calling the Lahaina Civic Center quirky is like saying basketball
players are tall.The court, outside of the massive Maui Invitational logo at
midcourt, is like a high school hardwood, with volleyball court and vertical
basketball lines crisscrossing the court.The seats are like something out of
Hoosiers, old bleachers that are practically on top of the court and only go up
a dozen-or-so rows.The locker rooms are unlike anything in college
basketball.Those are on the second floor, up a narrow stairwell that leads to a
common area with taekwondo and wrestling lines on the floor, with nothing but a
black curtain separating the teams. The common room also has cage-like windows
that overlook the floor, though the view has been obscured a bit with the
massive Hawaiian-themed banner at the west side of the arena.The lockers are the
old, metal bring-your-own variety, with four concrete chairs, a single
whiteboard and showers that dont always work.Because of the small confines,
teams waiting for the next game have to set up in the common area and often can
be seen at the bottom of the stairwells as the previous game is about to
end.Leave your strategy for the hotel because your opponent is right through
there, Starsiak said, pointing at the black curtain. Anything you say can and
will be used against you on the court.With all the pampering teams and players
usually get, it might seem like the civic centers inconveniences would be a
drawback.Instead, the quirkiness and quaintness adds to the charm of the
building and the tournament, often making the players feel like theyre back in
high school.And because of the venues size, the noise and atmosphere inside the
Lahaina Civic Center is like nothing else in college basketball.The environments
great, Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. The fans are right on top of
you, you feel the emotion of the fans the whole time. Much like this entire
tournament, the game is a unique experience.---For more AP college basketball:
www.collegebasketball.ap.org Stitched Soccer Jerseys Ireland . The
Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight
wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2.
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league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook
and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry
the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly,
at an elite level. ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Jonathan Bomarito won his first IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position since 2014 on Saturday at Road
America.In qualifying for the 2-hour, 40-minute race Sunday, Bomarito had a fast
lap of 127.2 mph in the No. 55 Mazda Prototype to lead the 41-car field.It was
Bomaritos first pole in the IMSA Prototype class and his first IMSA pole of any
kind since taking the top spot in the GT Le Mans class at Circuit of The
Americas in 2014.He and co-driver Tristan Nunez head into Sundays race looking
for their first IMSA victory. Nunez had qualified on the pole position twice
earlier this season.Its been a lot of work to get to this point, but tomorrow is
what its all about, Bomarito said. Its going to be a hard fight. Its tough like
always, were just goiing to do our thing, get a good start and kind of manage
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it goes as well as the rest of the weekend.Christian Fittipaldi will start
second in the No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype, following
a lap at 125.9 mph. Dirk Muller -- the GTE Pro class winner in June in the 24
Hours of Le Mans -- will start from the GT Le Mans class pole position in the
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT.Other class pole winners were James French in
the No. 38 Performance Tech Motorsports ORECA in the Prototype Challenge class,
and Alex Riberas in the GT Daytona class driving the No. 23 Alex Job Racing/Team
Seattle Porsche.
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