Lahaina, Hawaii ? Hassan Adams was born and reared in the basketball hotbed of Inglewood, Calif., home of hoops standouts Baron Davis, Byron Scott, Harold Miner, Reggie Theus, Jamal Sampson, Elden Campbell and, oh yes, Paul Pierce.

“He’s the best : no doubt,” Adams, the University of Arizona’s 6-foot-4 senior All-America guard candidate, said without pause, identifying former Kansas University standout Pierce as his hometown’s most accomplished basketball player.

Pierce, who played at KU from 1996 to ’98 before beginning his NBA career with the Boston Celtics, and Adams go way back.

“I’d watch Paul play when I was younger. It was unbelievable,” Adams said. “In the summers whenever there’s open gym at UCLA, he comes down and makes sure I’m working. It’s a pride thing. You’ve got to represent where you are from. We represent Inglewood.”

Adams today will start at shooting guard against Pierce’s alma mater in a first-round EA Sports Maui Invitational contest at 8 p.m. Central time at Lahaina Civic Center.

Arizona standout Hassan Adams (21) heads in for a dunk in this file photo from last season. Adams is expected to be among the Wildcats' leading scorers this season after averaging 12.7 points a game last year as a junior.

Adams, who is 1-1 versus the Jayhawks – winning 91-74 in Allen Fieldhouse and losing 78-75 in the Elite Eight his freshman year in Anaheim, Calif. – seriously considered following in Pierce’s footsteps at KU.

Former Jayhawk coach Roy Williams made Adams a high-priority recruit for a couple of years, and, in fact, was crushed when the L.A. Westchester High standout chose Arizona.

“I came out for a weekend visit and was pretty close (to committing),” Adams said. “Roy Williams : the name just speaks for itself. He is a great coach. During the summer, he showed he really wanted me to come to Kansas and came to a lot of my games.

“He loved the way I played, my intensity. He felt I would be a great asset and told me that on my visit. I’m definitely happy I did pick Arizona. It’s a great situation.”

Adams, who has played in two Elite Eights in his three years in Tucson – the Wildcats losing in the first round of the NCAAs his sophomore season – last year averaged 12.7 points and six rebounds a game. Numbers were down from his sophomore averages of 17.2 points and 7.3 rebounds.

“There was a lot of focus on the other players – so much focus on Salim (Stoudamire) and Andre (Igoudala) – and with that, I did all the dirty work and extra things, and it was like I slid through for extra rebounds, putbacks,” Adams said of his sophomore totals as an undersized power forward.

Shifted to shooting guard last year, he hit 49.1 percent of his shots and 30.2 percent of his threes.

After continuing to work on his somewhat suspect outside shot last summer, he’s expected to be Arizona’s leading scorer this year. In preseason victories over Team Georgia and Sonoma State, he averaged 15.5 points off 14-of-22 shooting, including three of seven threes.

“The way we are playing and the team we’ve got, it’s going to be hard to stop me. There are at least four other players to stop,” he said of the likes of Mustafa Shakur, Chris Rodgers, Ivan Radenovic and Isaiah Fox. “I’m not worried about what I’m doing. I’m worried about the team.”

Coach Lute Olson encouraged Adams to return to Arizona for his senior season after learning from NBA scouts the player needed more time on the perimeter.

“They (scouts) feel he’s made great progress in terms of perimeter play, but they still feel he needs to handle the ball better, he needs to develop a consistent outside shot and continue to work on his midrange game,” Olson said.

“I think he’s going to be one of the top players in the country. He will defend, he rebounds, he scores and will also be our team leader. He’s really playing well right now.”

Kansas coach Bill Self is a believer.

“Hassan Adams is one of the best players in the nation, no question,” Self said. “He’s really good. He’s shooting it better, freak athlete, as athletic as any 6-4 player in America. He’s tough. He gives them a presence, what’s the word : a personality.”

Adams and his 48-inch vertical leap made a name for himself on Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson’s 2004 USA Basketball Under-21 team that claimed a gold medal.

“Hassan impressed beyond words for us,” Sampson said. “He led with his warrior mentality. He was definitely the most athletic player on the team. I call him ‘Sauce,’ which is short for ‘Hot Sauce,’ because he spiced up the action out there in a big way.”

Adams jokes that he has been called ‘Sauce’ for years and that Sampson picked up on the nickname two summers ago.

Though he admits he’d like to vie for personal honors – including Pac 10 player of the year, All-American, Wooden Award and Naismith player of the year – he said what’s driving him the most entering today’s opener is one team goal: winning the national title.

“It’s a blessing to make it four years in college, be on track to graduate and be the best player in the nation, but the big thing is to try to win a national championship. It’s what every player wants and should shoot for,” Adams said.

It’s something Pierce wanted but never attained at KU, something he hopes Adams gets the chance to experience if his alma mater can’t.

“Hassan Adams : yes, he can play. He’s going to be the next great NBA player coming out of our hometown in the future,” Pierce said. “You are looking at a future pro in him. He does some nice things with the ball and is going to represent Inglewood in the NBA one day.”