Beavers, Ducks or Rainbow Warriors?

For basketball players from the state of Oregon, the University of Hawai'i has become a viable option.

Three Oregon-raised players for the UH men's basketball team will get a chance to play against one of their home-state teams, Oregon State, on Sunday. The 'Bows will host the Beavers in a non-conference game at 5:05 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Oregon-raised 'Bows are Riley Luettgerodt from Gladstone, Alex Veit from Salem, and Dominic Waters from Portland.

"You have to treat every game the same, but everybody back home is either a fan of the (Oregon State) Beavers or the (Oregon) Ducks," Luettgerodt said. "So it'll be a little special to play against one of the schools you grew up watching."

The three 'Bows are the latest in a string of players from Oregon. Previous Hawai'i players Mark Campbell, Michael Kuebler and Chris Botez were also recruited out of Oregon.

"There's a lot of good players from that area, and Oregon and Oregon State can't take them all," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "It's been a good place for us."

Waters, a 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard, and Luettgerodt, a 6-5 junior forward, are expected to play key reserve roles on Sunday. Veit, a 6-8 junior forward, could also see action off the bench.

"There's probably going to be more interest in the game back home," Veit said. "But for me, it's just another game. I can't treat it as anything special."

Oregon State has five players from Oregon on its roster, and many of them played with or against Luettgerodt, Veit and Waters.

For example, Oregon State starters and brothers Josh Tarver and Seth Tarver played basketball with Waters in elementary school.

"It'll be all business," Waters said. "But Josh is one of my best friends. We talk all the time; we train together in the summer. I'll probably try to hang out with him after the game or something."

Waters said Sunday's game will be reminiscent of high school. While he was playing for Grant High, the Tarver brothers were at rival Jesuit High.

"We talk trash about that all the time," Waters said. "My senior year, they beat us in the state tournament. They won the state championship, but I beat him out for first team all-state."

Oregon State freshman guard Lathen Wallace also played against Waters in high school.

"The main thing will be winning the game," Waters said. "That's all I care about."

Interestingly enough, the three 'Bows were not recruited heavily by Oregon State.

"I might have considered going there; I live about an hour away," Veit said. "But they never recruited me, so I guess I'll never know."

Luettgerodt and Waters both got looks from the Oregon State coaches, but Hawai'i was quicker to offer scholarships.

"I wanted to get away (from Oregon) anyway, so I was happy to sign with Hawai'i," Luettgerodt said.

Luettgerodt and Veit are in their first season with Hawai'i; Waters is in his second season.

Among the Oregon-raised 'Bows, Veit has bragging rights because his South Salem High team won the state championship in 2004, and he was named the most valuable player of the state tournament.

"Don't be thinking Alex was the key to that team," Waters said with a laugh. "They had a really good point guard."

Luettgerodt won the state scoring title in 2004, when he averaged 23.3 points per game as a senior at Rex Putnam High.

"It's funny that we're all from Oregon and we ended up here," Luettgerodt said. "Our high schools actually never played against each other, but I played with Alex and Dominic in AAU leagues and stuff, so it was nice to see familiar faces when I got here."

Waters said: "Me and (Luettgerodt) talk about Oregon all the time — how much we miss home, even the rain. But we're happy to be here and we're just looking to help this team win as many games as we can. (Sunday) is just one more game, that's how we have to look at it."

The Beavers lost a home game to No. 24-ranked Nevada, 75-47, last night.

Oregon State is 2-2; Hawai'i is 1-1. Wallace is expecting a competitive game on Sunday.

"They have a strong inside game, so that's a big concern for us," Wallace said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.