It was, perhaps, fitting that University of Hawai'i men's basketball coach Bob Nash was en route back from a recruiting mission yesterday when the Rainbow Warriors hosted a press conference to announce the title sponsorship of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

Because if organizers of the tournament do this right — and with ESPN's money and "muscle" behind it you suspect they will — the 'Bows are going to encounter stiffer challenges around the Christmas holidays from now on. The kind that should force UH to get better — in recruiting and on the floor.

Once upon a time the Rainbow Classic provided that needed annual shove. When it was the preeminent regular season tournament in college hoops, attracting Who's Who fields of participants, the Rainbow Classic caused the 'Bows to pick up their game or risk being embarrassed on their home court.

Sadly, however, it has been a while since the Rainbow Classic has rolled out quality fields in succession. Which is one reason why, after 45 years, the tournament will no longer occupy the marquee holiday stage or be an eight-team event. On this year's schedule, the Rainbow Classic has become a four-team warm-up in mid-November.

Because the Rainbow Classic was unable to adapt to the changing landscape, its lineup suffered. So, too, did the 'Bows' competitiveness. For them, a steady stream of marquee teams became barely a trickle to be replaced by filler schools.

Enter the inaugural Diamond Head Classic, which will be featured in the Dec. 22, 23 and 25 slot this year with a lineup including Southern California, Saint Mary's and Nevada-Las Vegas. Pretty good with barely a year's lead time in scheduling.

As it gets rolling you'd imagine Diamond Head fields will grow in star power and strength, which was certainly the plan as organizers yesterday vowed to turn it into "one of the elite basketball events in the country."

Pete Derzis, vice president of ESPN Regional Television, the event's owner-operator, said from the beginning, "We pledged to do our best to bring in a quality field and everybody was very comfortable with that approach. With quality fields we think it will benefit the prestige of the UH basketball program."

Especially if the 'Bows grow to meet that challenge.