For Ken Wagner, in-game adjustments are simply not an option.

It’s a coaching luxury that the head coach of the Brigham Young-Hawaii men’s basketball team has learned to sacrifice. He is, after all, coaching a team that is riddled with players who do not speak English as a primary language.

‘If we haven’t practiced it, it doesn’t happen,’ Wagner said. ‘One time I was telling one of our All-American centers to get in the post and he wandered around and had no clue what I was saying.’

This All-American center, like many players on Wagner’s teams over the years, was not from the United States. And with every practice, he was learning just as much about the fundamentals of the English language as he was basketball.

BYU-Hawaii is 15-5 in the Division II Pacific West conference. The Seasiders are coming off a 27-2 record last season and a loss in the Sweet 16 of the Division II NCAA Tournament. Senior Lucas Alves was the NCAA Division II player of the year last year.

Wagner has led BYU-Hawaii to seven D-II NCAA Tournament appearances and has had just one losing season during his 18 years at the helm. Over the course of Wagner’s tenure, BYU-Hawaii has boasted four first-team All-Americans and 11 other All-American nominees.

Former Seasider Yuta Tabuse became the first Japanese-born NBA player in 2004. Current Harlem Globetrotters head coach Barry ‘High Rise’ Hardy was a four-year letter-winner at BYU-Hawaii.

But still, even with all of the proven success stories Wagner has churned out, he has had to be creative when it comes to recruiting.

‘We look to the foreign communities intentionally,’ Wagner said. ‘Everyone goes after the junior college players or the Division I transfers, so it would be hard to go after players that everyone else wants. We target different places to gain an advantage.’

On his current roster, five of his 17 players hail from foreign countries. Over the years, Wagner has had players from Fiji, Brazil, Taiwan, Australia, Lebanon, Korea and Samoa, just to name a few.

Wagner holds basketball clinics in these areas in an effort to build relationships with the best players overseas. He has run a coaching academy in China for the past three years. A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Wagner speaks fluent Spanish and has knowledge of several other languages thanks to his players. He believes his years of travel have helped him relate to foreign players.

Traveling to these places has created a recruiting niche for Wagner. Former players from other countries tell their friends about BYU-Hawaii and spread the word in their hometowns about the school.

As a result, players keep coming back, often times hearing about the school through Wagner’s former players.

He also believes that players from afar do not necessarily know any better. For a kid thousands of miles away, the line separating Division I and Division II basketball becomes skewed.

‘In China, they don’t know the difference between North Carolina and BYU-Hawaii or Syracuse and us,’ Wagner said. ‘It is easy for us to recruit there because we are able to pick from players in different places separate from the United States.’

Wagner believes he is tapping into a crop of players that go relatively unseen. And along with that, he realizes he is not exactly surrounded by a basketball hotbed. Most of Wagner’s peers in the coaching profession first look into the surrounding high schools in their area. But Wagner does not find much success with traditional recruiting methods. He is at a ‘football school.’

BYU-Hawaii, located in Laie, is known more for its football dominance than its basketball talent. The local high school has produced numerous NFL players.

‘(Pittsburgh Steelers safety) Troy Polamalu has a lot of relatives in the area,’ Wagner said.

Polynesians and Samoans make up the surrounding community and football is a part of their culture, Wagner said. When the regionals were held at the Seasiders’ gym last season, it was the first time Wagner could recall the gym being ‘packed,’ as about 5,000 people were on hand.

And though Wagner has had to cope with the reality that he can’t make in-game adjustments, there is one major advantage he does have over most other coaches.

‘We definitely use the beauty of Hawaii to our advantage,’ Wagner said. ‘We do get to save a lot of money by not having to pay for recruits to come visit because there are not many kids who would turn down a trip to Hawaii.’

Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPN2

No. 11 Georgetown at Louisville

After beating Syracuse and holding on against Notre Dame, the Cardinals are looking to continue their late-season run at the NCAA Tournament. They have won three straight in the Big East and sit at 9-5 in the conference. Georgetown has lost two in a row for the first time all season.

Louisville 70, Georgetown 66

Saturday, 2 p.m., ESPN

No. 21 Texas at No. 22 Texas A&M

The Longhorns have looked weak in recent losses to Missouri, Oklahoma and Baylor. They have lost six of their last 10 after opening the season 17-0. To make matters worse, starting point guard and assist man Dogus Balbay is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Texas A&M 77, Texas 71

Saturday, 4 p.m.

No. 10 New Mexico at No. 13 BYU

New Mexico has reeled off 11 straight wins, including a win over BYU about a month ago. The Lobos sit on top of BYU in the Mountain West conference standings by just a half game. BYU leading scorer Jimmer Fredette averages 21.5 points per game and will look to lead his team in a revenge game.

BYU 74, New Mexico 72

Saturday, 9 p.m., ESPN

No. 7 Villanova at No. 4 Syracuse

After two straight losses to Connecticut and Pittsburgh, the Wildcats find themselves one game behind the Orange at the top of the Big East standings. The guard play could determine this one as Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher battle with the Orange backcourt.

Villanova 83, Syracuse 81

Sunday, 4 p.m.

No. 14 Michigan State at No. 3 Purdue

The Spartans have dropped four of their last six games and are tied with Ohio State for second place in the Big Ten. Purdue sits in first place and has reeled off nine straight conference victories.

Purdue 77, Michigan State 71

restern@syr.edu