Kareem Nitoto will already have something on the line on opening night for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

"Bragging rights for the whole year back home," Nitoto said of UH's opening game against San Francisco on Friday. "It's the first game for all of us, but I know guys on that (San Francisco) team and we've already been talking about it."

Nitoto is from the Bay Area, and was recruited by San Francisco before signing with the Rainbow Warriors.

Nitoto, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, could have a lot to do with the outcome of Friday's game. He has earned the starting point guard spot, and is prepared to play the full 40 minutes, if needed.

Hiram Thompson, who was expected to share the position with Nitoto, has been hampered by a hamstring injury since the start of practices in October. Thompson did not practice yesterday, and his status for Friday is questionable.

"I have to be ready to play the whole game, if that's what the team needs," Nitoto said. "The coaches haven't been subbing me out too much in practice, so I feel like I'm in condition to do it."

Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash praised Nitoto's performance in an 80-63 exhibition victory over Chaminade last week. Nitoto had six points, five assists, five steals and zero turnovers in 30 minutes.

"Kareem has done a good job," Nash said. "He showed a lot of improvement in that second exhibition, and that's the kind of steady play we need out of our point guard."

For Nitoto, the extended role is a big change from last season, when he was a back-up to senior Matt Gibson. Nitoto averaged just 11 minutes per game as a true freshman last season, and scored 2.9 points per game.

"The first exhibition (against Hawai'i-Hilo), I felt like I was still a freshman," he said. "I was jittery and out of rhythm. I'm glad I got that out of the way. I feel like I'm better prepared for (Friday) after playing those two exhibitions."

San Francisco has several players from the Bay Area on its roster, including star forward Dion Lowhorn, who averaged 20.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season. Nitoto said he played AAU basketball with Lowhorn.

"He's real good — probably going to be the MVP of their league," Nitoto said.

If Nitoto gets into foul trouble, Nash said shooting guard Lasha Parghalava and true freshman Leroy Lutu Jr. can fill in.

"That gives us a three-man rotation, and if Hiram is ready enough to get in the mix, we get even stronger," Nash said.

'BOWS READY FOR THREE GAMES IN FOUR DAYS

Hawai'i will open its season with "a tournament situation," by playing three games in four days at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The 'Bows will open against San Francisco on Friday, followed by Cal State Fullerton on Sunday. Both games are part of the Verizon Wireless Tip-Off Classic.

Hawai'i will then host Idaho State on Monday, in a game that will start at 11 p.m. as part of ESPN's College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon.

"When you play in tournaments, you have back-to-back situations," Nash said. "This will get us ready for the Rainbow Classic, get us ready for (Western Athletic Conference) games, get us ready for the WAC Tournament. We don't mind going through something like this early in the year if it can help us later in the year."

Nash added that the games against San Francisco and Cal State Fullerton were scheduled before ESPN approached Hawai'i about the opportunity to participate in the nationally televised Tip-Off Marathon.

"We already had the games for Friday and Sunday set, then the ESPN game presented itself and we took it," he said.