It's a stretch It's a stretch (December 29, 2004)for success for Cardinal

Stanford opens Pac-10 play Friday with plenty of room for improvement

by Rick Eymer

Coming off a three-game sweep at home, the Stanford men's basketball team is feeling a little more confident about its chances in the Pac-10 season, which gets underway on Friday with a 5 p.m. game at Washington State.

Six games (and just two wins) into the season, the Pac-10 defending champion Cardinal (6-4) looked like anything but a contender for another title.

Stanford takes a four-game winning streak into Friday's game after last week's 84-66 victory over Montana.

"The Pac-10 will be a real test for us to show who we are and show we are on the upswing without players from last year," Stanford junior point guard Chris Hernandez said. "It's a new group of guys who have stepped up and are ready to win."

Stanford already had big shoes to fill following its 30-2 showing - and a No. 1 ranking for four weeks - last year. It didn't help that the Cardinal lost its top player and coach to the NBA.

Trent Johnson, who served as an assistant under Mike Montgomery between 1996 and 1999, runs the same system as his predecessor but has different players filling the roles. Johnson was on the coaching staff when Stanford played in the Final Four in 1998.

Johnson coached Nevada into the Sweet Sixteen last year.

At Stanford he has three returning starters in Hernandez, senior center Rob Little and senior forward Nick Robinson. Last year's top reserves, junior Matt Haryasz and junior Dan Grunfeld fill out the starting lineup.

Stanford lost Matt Lottich and Justin Davis to graduation and All-American Josh Childress to professional basketball. Those were the top three scorers last year, and Childress and Davis led Stanford in rebounding.

"We're slowly but surely coming together as a unit," Hernandez said. "In the Pac-10 every game is going to be a battle for us. We have to be ready to play."

Stanford was picked to finish third in the conference, but it could be tough going. Every team in the conference has a winning record, led by nationally-ranked Washington (10-1) and Arizona (8-2 entering play Tuesday night). Arizona State (9-1) and Oregon (7-1) have also been impressive during the preseason.

"When the Pac-10 starts it's a new season," Johnson said. "Everything up to now doesn't mean anything. We've got to continue to get better defensively. We have to be good there."

Stanford allowed an average of 60.5 points a game last year, and is allowing 68.5 so far this season. The Cardinal have allowed fewer than 60 points twice this year, while giving up more than 80 on three occasions.

Washington State allows 51.8 points a game while averaging 49.1 under defensive-minded coach Dick Bennett.

"We've got to continue to improve on both sides of the floor," Robinson said. "Offensively we need to take care of the ball. Once we do that successfully, we'll be a lot more confident on offense."

In the past few games Johnson has also been able to develop some depth. Back-up junior point guard Jason Haas returns as the only reserve with much playing time.

Meanwhile redshirt freshman guard Tim Morris has recorded double figures in scoring in two of his last three games, and sophomore forward Fred Washington has also seen his playing time increased.

Freshmen Taj Finger and Peter Prowitt are also seeing the court, as is sophomore Evan Moore, who also plays for the Stanford football team.

Junior Carlton Weatherby and new addition freshman Kenny Brown complete Stanford's roster.

Mark Bradford played his final basketball game against Montana. He left the team to concentrate on football, where he is a star wide receiver.

"This decision really comes down to the fact that I want to become the best football player I can be," Bradford said. "I don't think it is best for me to be a jack-of-all-trades when I have the chance to do something special with football."

Bradford scored Stanford's final two points against the Grizzlies and leaves with eight career points in 11 games.

Stanford will be hard-pressed to finish among the top three in the Pac-10. The Cardinal haven't finished lower than third since the 1994-95 team was fifth.

"We have to run through our offense more and work hard on defense," Grunfeld said. "There are no magical changes. We have to continue to work hard. No matter where we are, we have to be able to shoot the ball; once the Pac-10 season starts not every game will be at home."

Washington handed Stanford its first loss of the season last year and was picked to finish second behind Arizona. The Huskies are currently ranked ahead of the Wildcats.

The Cardinal will play at Washington on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. before returning home to play Arizona State and Arizona the following weekend.

"Offensively, for me, it's evident we don't want to get into a running game with a lot of schools," Johnson said. "We want to get in our half court game and take good shots."

Stanford hasn't finished a season with fewer than 20 wins since the 1993-94 version was 17-11 (10-8 in conference play), but that's a likely scenario this year unless the Cardinal can find a way to win their home games, and then win more than they lose on the road.

Grunfeld scored 18 against Montana, while Hernandez added 17. Haryasz and Morris each scored 11 as Stanford recorded its largest margin of victory on the season, and made a season-high eight 3-pointers (on 13 attempts).

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