“Hula girls, real hula girls,” Lucious said with a grin. “I see fake ones, like if you go to a karaoke bar or something, but real hula girls, that’s what I wanna see.”

Relaxation and hula girls aside, the Spartans know they have a mission that hasn’t been accomplished in a long time.

The MSU men’s basketball program hasn’t won an early season tournament since the Pearl Harbor Classic in 1998.

MSU has made three previous trips to the Maui Invitational. The Spartans won the tournament in 1991, but went 1-2 in 1995 — head coach Tom Izzo’s first three games as head coach.

In 2005, the Spartans came in third place after falling to Gonzaga, 109-106, in triple overtime in the second round.

“On the island, I think people still talk about that game,” Izzo said. “Pro scouts that I see — and there were 30 of them that day — they still talk about it and I still remember it. There were some unbelievable plays at the end of that game, by both teams.

“I think that’ll go down as one of the great games.”

This season, the Spartans will look to turn around their game after beating South Carolina, 82-73, in ugly fashion last Tuesday.

The Spartans turned the ball over 19 times and shot 50 percent from the free-throw line, leading junior forward Draymond Green to call a 7 a.m. practice the next morning to work on free throws.

Green said he didn’t know how players shot that morning, but the practice was more about the reps than the results.

“I know we have the guys who can shoot them,” Green said. “A lot of guys that can shoot were missing free throws so I think we just needed to get more reps.”

Senior guard Kalin Lucas should be good to play after spraining his ankle in the win against South Carolina. Lucas was held out of practice last Thursday, but said the warm weather might be a nice change of pace for his injuries.

“As far as me, it might be a challenge a little bit but I gotta make sure I keep getting treatment while I’m down there, make sure I stay in the cold bath and the ice bath or something like that,” he said. “But at the same time, the weather’s gonna be great so I think my Achilles’ will be doing good by then.”

The Spartans open the tournament against host Chaminade (3-0) on Monday (9:30 p.m., ESPNU). MSU will play three games in three days and will meet the winner or loser from the game between Connecticut and Wichita State on Tuesday.

Several players had not heard of the school immediately after the South Carolina game, but Green said being able to win an early season tournament would be a milestone for the program.

“It can be tough going to Hawaii, the whole factor of going to Hawaii,” he said. “But we know what our goals are as a team, and I think that helps us stay focused. We want to take it one championship at a time and this is an opportunity for us to go out there and win a championship.”

Staff reporter Jason Pearson contributed to this report.