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The Stanford basketball season officially gets underway on Friday the 13th. The men's team already has experienced enough bad luck to last the year. The women's team has had a few setbacks, too, but has the ability to overcome a lot of them.

The women's team opens at Old Dominion with a tipoff Friday afternoon. The second-ranked Cardinal moves to Rutgers for a Sunday matinee at 11 a.m.

The men's team opens with a 7 p.m. tipoff at San Diego on Friday night before hosting Cal Poly in its home opener on Sunday at 7 p.m.

Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins starts the season with a depleted roster. It began with sophomore center Will Paul being placed on academic suspension, continued with losing freshman forward Andy Brown for the year with a torn ACL, and having sophomore guard Jeremy Green suspended from the team.

Junior forward Josh Owens has not been cleared to practice by the team's medical staff and is out indefinitely.

Stanford was picked to finish last in the Pac-10 by both coaches and the media and that was before Dawkins knew he'd be without Brown, Green and Owens.

There's some good news, too. Senior Landry Fields, the team captain, has all-conference potential and he'll be asked to carry the load. Seniors Emmanuel Igbinosa and Drew Shiller will also need to make contributions on a team filled with role players.

"Landry gained a lot of experience last season and I am excited about his play," Dawkins said. "He is our captain and I think he can be one of the best players in the conference."

Dawkins may have use a platoon-like system to coax the best out of the team's ability. Junior guard Da'Veed Dildy was considered a top recruit as a point guard and will likely be given the chance to run the team along with Shiller.

Transfer Andrew Zimmerman, a familiar name to Santa Clara fans and former Broncos coach Dick Davey, will provide an inside presence.

Sophomores Elliott Bullock, Matei Daian, Jarrett Mann and Jack Trotter, as well as freshman Gabe Harris will be counted upon for valuable minutes.

"We are going to have young players that are ready to go out there for us," Dawkins said. "We feel with that knowledge that they will continue to grow and we are excited about this season and where we can take things."

In its 94-year history, the Cardinal owns a 77-17 record in season openers, including 20 of its last 21. Stanford opened on the road 17 times and is 9-8 in those games. The Cardinal also owns a 53-41 mark in road openers.

Stanford brings a six-game non-conference road winning streak to the 5,100-seat Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Fields had a breakthrough junior season in which he led the team in rebounding (6.6) and steals (42), finished third in scoring (12.6) and connected on 49.8 percent of his shots from the floor.

"Overall, he is a very good competitor." Dawkins said. "I could talk about his versatility, and he competes every day, every play. He has a great work ethic. He gets after it every day."

He is also the Pac-10's leading returning rebounder and shoots the 3-pointer at a 36.8 percent rate. He scored double-figures 24 times, which includes five double-doubles.

The Stanford women won't have the problem of having to use younger players. They will, though, have the choice.

The Cardinal enters the season only slightly
dinged up. Senior center All-American and reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year Jayne Appel may not quite be 100 percent and guard JJ Hones will be brought along slowly after losing last year to a torn ACL. Sophomore Sarah Boothe and junior Hannah Donaghe will be out for a while.

Stanford freshman Joslyn Tinkle has a bruised left foot, an injury sustained in practice. Michelle Harrison is nursing a sore back. They are both on the season-opening road trip and all could see playing time.

"JJ is doing very well," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "Point guard sense is not something you can teach. She still has the sense of how to run the team. All our guards have to really assert themselves."

Junior guard Jeanette Pohlen has been receiving preseason accolades, and for good reason. She stepped into the void left when Hones went down and helped carry the team to the national championship game.

Fifth-year senior Roz Gold-Onwude has been working on her shooting and has always been a tough defender. Redshirt junior Melanie Murphy is another experienced ball handler. Sophomore guards Lindy La Rocque and Grace Mashore are also in the mix.

Appel, junior forward Kayla Pedersen and sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike make up one of the top front lines in the nation. All three have established themselves on the national scene and all three are accomplished scorers and rebounders.

"We want it all this year," Appel said. "We know the work ethic it will take and we're all behind it."

Junior forward Ashley Cimino and freshman forward Mikaela Ruef join Tinkle to add depth to the front line.