But associate coach Wheeler said Gibson has a new nickname this season — "Psycho."

When asked why, Wheeler said simply, "look at him."

"Nobody messes with Ahmet," Lojeski said.

Marquez is actually his middle name, and teammates often tease him about his real first name. Jackson said his first name is "embarrassing" and did not want it revealed.

"Nobody calls me Matt anymore," he said.

But he bears a striking resemblance to television actor Ben Savage, so teammates now refer to Lowenthal as "Cory Matthews," who was Savage's character on the show Boy Meets World.

"I've been hearing that I really look like that guy ever since I started high school," Lowenthal said. "It's going to follow me around for a while, I think."

He said he forgot to wear an undershirt, so his jersey was irritating his skin. He kept rubbing his chest area, prompting one of the coaches to ask him what was wrong.

"I said my nipples were hurting," Miller said. "Everybody started laughing and calling me 'Nipples' after that."

"On my (recruiting) trip here, I weighed 215," he said. "So compared to my old self, I'm a lot heavier."

"There's no story behind it," he said. "She called me 'Smooch' one day and it stuck."

Teammates insist there is another story behind the nickname, but Veit refused to give in.

"That's one of the better (nicknames) because it fits," Lojeski said. "Every time he dunks, he just about tears down the rim."

In any case, the 'Bows said some of the nicknames could change during the season, and that's a good thing.

"You have to be friends to call each other names," Owsley said.

Verwers added: "We're all close off the court, so we can have fun with stuff like that. Hopefully, it will transfer on the court and make us a better team."

The coaches apparently do not have any nicknames. At least none the players were willing to reveal.

"I think we're too afraid to call them anything but Coach," Gibson said.

UH MEN'S BASKETBALL

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.