Washington State men's basketball coach Tony Bennett felt he had to do something.

So right there on the spot, while the team was in Los Angeles, Bennett and the rest of the Cougars tried to do what hadn't been done in more than a year — get junior guard Derrick Low to cut his hair.

"We went for a team walk before one game, and we walked past a barber shop, and we stopped and I asked him if he knew what an intervention was," Bennett said. "I told him we were going to have a team intervention before the game, to get him to cut his hair."

It didn't work.

Low, a 2004 'Iolani graduate and three-time Advertiser State Player of the Year, said "there's no story behind it. It's just fun having long hair."

"I just wanted to look different," he said. Low likened his hairstyle to a basketball version of the ones Polynesian football players have, with their hair flowing out from under their helmets. Except instead of a helmet, "I have my hair-tie to hold my hair back," Low said. As the only player from Hawai'i on the team, he wanted to stand out.

If Low stretches his hair, it touches the bottom of his neck. The last time he remembers getting a haircut was the first game of the 2005-06 season.

Bennett said he would prefer Low to have a shorter, cleaner cut, but, "I don't know if he's like Samson; that once he cuts it, he'll lose his strength."

The long hair hasn't hindered Low's game. He leads the Cougars (12-2) with 15.2 points per game, as he adjusts to a different role offensively after primarily being a distributor his first two seasons.

Bennett said Low is "definitely one of our best players," and a "catalyst" for the Cougars.

"We challenged him to take a more aggressive role as a scorer," Bennett said. "He's trying to concentrate on finishing. He's had some real big games for us, and teams are starting to key in and focus on him."

Low feels "pretty comfortable" with his new role, and says it's a matter of improving each game.

Low scored a team-high 13 points in a 58-55 win over Southern California Saturday and 14 points in a 55-52 loss to top-ranked UCLA Thursday. Low had a chance with about six seconds remaining to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but his shot was tipped.

"It was a play that required me to take the last shot," Low said. "It's one of many to come. I hope I get the opportunity again, and make it next time."

He said although the team split its games in California, "we played UCLA hard to the wire, and we can get them when we come over here, with the home-court advantage."

Washington State was picked to finish last in the Pac-10 Conference in a media poll, but Low said the Cougars "don't get respect because of our past history. We just use that as motivation. It's just two games into the season; all the teams are capable of beating each other. Just because we're 1-1 (in the Pac-10), it doesn't mean we're going to finish higher than 10th."

After injuries in his first two seasons — Low fractured bones in his right foot in his freshman and sophomore seasons — he's healthy and feeling good.

His New Year's resolution is to "keep improving and hopefully be successful this year, and make it to a post-season tournament."

Reach Leila Wai at lwai@honoluluadvertiser.com.