On what is being marketed as "Military Night," the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team will unveil a secret weapon tonight when it hosts Coppin State at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Matt Gibson will make his much-anticipated season debut tonight after sitting out the first four games with an injured left knee.

"There's going to be no hesitation on my part," Gibson said. "I tested my body and it's ready. I'm ready, no doubt. Are they ready for me? That's the question."

The Rainbow Warriors got off to a 1-3 start without Gibson. He was slated to start the season opener, but injured his knee during a practice two days before.

Gibson, a 6-foot-5 senior point guard, averaged 10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last season.

Even though a large crowd is not expected tonight, the Sheriff Center should be filled with Gibson's energy.

"He's a psychotic," fellow tri-captain Bobby Nash said. "He wreaks havoc on the other teams on both ends of the floor. We're definitely a different team with Matt in there."

Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said Gibson will see significant minutes tonight, regardless if he starts.

"He'll be in there; we need him in there," Nash said. "Whether he starts or not, I haven't made that decision yet."

Gibson said: "I'll always feel more comfortable starting, but the other guys have been working hard. They've been practicing when I wasn't, so it's up to coach Nash. I'm just looking forward to getting back out there."

In addition to returning from injury, Gibson is also looking for redemption against Coppin State tonight. In 62 previous games in a Hawai'i uniform, he was held scoreless only twice. One of them came in last season's 79-67 victory over the Eagles.

"I don't remember it at all, actually," Gibson said. "I'm not thinking about that. Any game is a good game for me to come back, it doesn't matter who it's against. I'm just tired of sitting and watching. I'm ready to help this team win some games."

Gibson said his knee made significant progress over the weekend, and he will not have to wear a heavy brace on it tonight. He will wear a light compression wrap for protective support.

"There's no insecurity on my part," he said. "I think if I tried to come back early, it would have been tougher. But I took the time to get ready, gave my knee time to heal."

In any case, the 'Bows will need to be at their best against a Coppin State team that is 3-3 — with all six games played on the road.

"They play a tough schedule; they're not going to be intimidated coming in here," Nash said. "It's not an automatic win for us by any means. We're really going to have to work for this one."

The Eagles, who are based in Baltimore and play in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, are led by Tywain McKee, a 6-2 senior guard.

He is averaging 21.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game this season. He averaged 17.4 points per game last season, including 22 in the loss to the 'Bows.

Hawai'i assistant coach Larry Farmer described McKee as "a high-major level type of guard" after watching video of Coppin State.

"They are a team that will spread the court and set a lot of screens," Farmer said of the Eagles. "They like to use their one-on-one skills, and McKee is obviously the best they have at doing that."

The Eagles have used a variety of starting lineups already this season, and McKee has been the sixth man in the last two games.

The primary advantage for Hawai'i will be size.

The Eagles normally rotate 11 players, and none is taller than 6-7. Hawai'i's normal rotation of 10 players features six players 6-7 and taller.

"We didn't go inside as much as we should have against New Mexico (last week)," Nash said. "So that's something we've been working on. Our bigs need to get more touches in this game."

NOTES

Senior forward Alex Veit sat out the last two practices with an ankle injury, and is questionable for tonight's game.

As part of "Military Night," all active, reservists, and retired members of the military can purchase two upper level tickets for the price of one (maximum of six). A valid military identification card is required.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.