At the top of P.J. Owsley's Christmas wish list this year are two healthy legs.

He'll even settle for it a few weeks late.

"It's progressively getting better," Owsley said of his injured left calf. "I want it to be 100 percent by conference season (in January), or at least close to 100 percent. It's getting there slowly."

Owsley is a 6-foot-8 senior forward with the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

A starter most of last season, Owsley has played a reserve role this season because of his injury.

The Rainbow Warriors, who are 3-4, will host Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday — the opening night of the eight-team, four-day Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

Owsley is expected to be a key contributor for the 'Bows during the Rainbow Classic.

"I see P.J. picking up things a lot quicker now," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "He has a little more bounce in his step, so obviously, his leg is getting better. If he's better, that makes our whole team better."

Through the first seven games of the season, Owsley averaged just 2.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. But his playing time was limited to 14.6 minutes per game because of his sore calf.

"He can only go in short spurts before it tightens up on him," Nash said. "But he seems to be getting more out of it now, so we can use him a little more."

Owsley was not able to run sprints with his teammates until last week. For the first two months of the season, he'd do sit-ups while the rest of the 'Bows did running drills.

Owsley said he could have had surgery to repair his calf, but he did not want to miss any games during his senior season.

"I guess I could have applied for a medical redshirt if I got the surgery," he said. "But I wanted to play through it. It's something that's going to be with me the whole year, but I want to help the team."

Owsley averaged 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season. He also opened last season as a reserve, but eventually became a starter.

"I'm fine coming off the bench," he said. "But I'm a lot more confident now than I was at the beginning of the year. At least I can put some pressure on my leg now and be somewhat explosive off it."

LUETTGERODT SITS OUT

Starting guard Riley Luettgerodt did not participate in yesterday's practice because of a bruised thigh and sore knee.

Nash said it was "precautionary," and he expects Luettgerodt to be in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game.

Luettgerodt, a 6-5 senior, is second on the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game, and rebounding with 5.1 per game.

"I know Riley, he's not going to miss any games," fellow tri-captain Matt Gibson said. "He just needed to rest, that's all."

VERWERS GRADUATING

Senior center Stephen Verwers will participate in UH-Manoa's fall semester graduation ceremony today at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Verwers completed his undergraduate degree in travel industry management.

"Passed all my finals, so I get to walk," he said. "My family's going to be here, so we'll probably just go out to dinner or something. Nothing wild."

Verwers is now one of two "graduate students" on the Hawai'i roster. Bobby Nash graduated in May with a degree in political science.

Both players must still take classes in the spring to stay eligible with the basketball team.

"Maybe I can take a class like ballroom dancing now," Verwers said. "I don't know. I'll ask Bobby what he's taking."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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