It's not that Chaminade doesn't care about the recent woes of the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team.

It's that the Silverswords have issues of their own.

Chaminade will "warm up" for No. 1-ranked North Carolina by bringing a nine-man roster to the Stan Sheriff Center tomorrow for an exhibition game against Hawai'i.

"You normally don't play more than eight or nine guys a game anyway, so we're OK with that part," Chaminade head coach Matt Mahar said. "But the other part is we have so many new guys. At this point, it's not so much about (Hawai'i) as it is about us figuring out how we can come together as a group to make it work."

Tomorrow's exhibition is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m., and will not count in the records for either team.

It will be the second exhibition game this week for the Rainbow Warriors against an NCAA Division II team. They defeated Hawai'i-Hilo, 72-70, on Sunday.

The 'Bows will be without prized recruit Roderick Flemings, who is in Dallas for his grandfather's funeral. Also, point guard Hiram Thompson (hamstring), forward Brandon Adams (paperwork issue) and guard Conrad Fitzgerald (facial injury) are questionable.

"We'll go with whoever is available and try to win the game," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said.

The Vulcans provided a tougher-than-expected challenge for the 'Bows, and the Silverswords could do the same.

Chaminade finished 21-8 last season, won the Pacific West Conference, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA-II Championship Tournament.

All five starters from that team are gone, but the Silverswords are still predicted to finish second in the PacWest.

"We brought in three Division I transfers, and they'll all be key for us," Mahar said. "And we also get back two key guys who (redshirted) for us last season."

Two transfers came from Pac-10 schools: Joel Smith, a 6-foot-4 guard from Washington, and Mohamed Tangara, a 6-8, 250-pound center from Arizona. The third transfer is Shane Hanson, a 6-6 forward from UC Davis.

"Joel Smith is a long, athletic player who can do a lot of things," Mahar said. "Mohamed is a true inside player who gives us a big presence."

Darrel Birton, a 5-11 guard, started for Chaminade two seasons ago, but redshirted last season for personal reasons. Patrick Collier, a 6-2 guard, returned to practice recently but has a torn meniscus in his knee.

Because of the limited roster, the Silverswords have not been able to run full-court drills during practice.

"We can't even go 5-on-5; we usually go 4-on-4," Mahar said.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Chaminade will open its regular season against North Carolina on Nov. 24 in the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

"We can't even think about that yet," Mahar said. "We have to see where we are now, and we're thankful that the University of Hawai'i is giving us that opportunity."

UH WILL PLAY PACWEST TEAMS IN FUTURE YEARS

Nash said the 'Bows would like to continue playing exhibition games against Hawai'i's NCAA-II teams in future years.

Teams are allowed to play two exhibition games per season.

"We're trying to build a good relationship with the D-II schools," he said. "If this is a way we can help them without it hurting our program, we'd like to play them on a regular basis."