January 26, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Stanford is back in contention

by Rick Eymer

With a sweep of the Los Angeles schools safely tucked away under its belt, the Stanford men's basketball team returns home full of confidence and renewed energy.

After beginning the season in the Pac-10 basement, the Cardinal have joined the upper echelon of the conference, and it took a mere 16 days - four victories - to do so.

Stanford assumed sole possession of third place after beating host USC, 78-70, on Saturday. The Cardinal beat host UCLA, 75-64, on Thursday.

Stanford (4-3, 10-7) hopes to maintain its current spot this week, hosting Oregon State on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Oregon on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net).

"It's time to make a home stand," Stanford senior center Rob Little. "We have to face a good Oregon State team and a good Oregon team. We've got to get out and work even more."

There's reason to feel good about the Cardinal's chances this week. Stanford has beaten the Beavers 10 straight, and 14 of 15 overall. Oregon State hasn't won at Maples Pavilion since the 1992-93 season.

The drought has been even longer for the Ducks, who last beat Stanford at home in 1986. The Cardinal own a 19-game home winning streak against Oregon.

"We've had a couple of stumbles this season and could have packed it in," Little said. "It's rough having a new coach but we got things turned around by beating Arizona. We know we're playing basketball now, period."

Two weeks ago Stanford's chances for a spot on the postseason dance card seemed as remote as having Stanford coed freshmen from Larkin Hall posing for a flirtatious calendar.

These days, well, it just goes to show the unpredictability of sports, like life. And like the simple idea of one photographer attracts the attention of a curious nation, the Stanford men rely on the courage of one point guard for inspiration and a sudden, tangible, turn of events for the better.

Life has thrown so many obstacles in the path of junior guard Chris Hernandez, it's a wonder he's not on disability.

At Clovis West High School, Hernandez once played a game with nine stitches in his hand, and suffered a cut that needed seven stitches on another occasion.

He missed the 2002-03 season with a broken foot (he broke the same foot twice), and continues to be bothered by a back problem that has limited his practice time over the past two years.

Last week Hernandez was slowed by a fever that led to temperatures of up to 102 degrees. Physically weakened, he still managed to help lead Stanford to a pair of victories.

"He's always mentally at his best and that's what counts," Little said. "It just adds to the legend of Chris Hernandez; playing through the flu."

No one can question the toughness of Hernandez, a spiritual individual who seemingly calls on an unlimited reserve of inner strength. He's been able to turn the intangibles that make him a leader into tangible results.

He formed a formidable tandem with Dan Grunfeld, who scored 14 of Stanford's first 17 points against USC and helped the Cardinal stay within striking distance.

The Trojans grabbed the halftime lead and looked in control of the contest for most of the second half. That is, until Hernandez took over, with a huge assist from junior forward Matt Haryasz, who recorded his second career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, both figures one shy of matching his career highs.

Hernandez was in the middle of an 11-0 run, which included a 3-pointer that put the Cardinal ahead to stay with 5:24 left. He made eight free throws in the final two minutes.

"It was like who was going to take charge of the game?" Little said. "Then Chris hit that big 3-pointer. We weren't playing with energy but in the second half we came back very fierce."

Haryasz dunked a missed shot and hit a long jumper during an earlier run that helped Stanford rally from a six-point deficit.

"I'm calling him 'High Post Haryasz' he was shooting so well," Little said. "That was a huge jump shot. When he's making it, I'll give him the ball any day."

Stanford also enjoyed its trip to Westwood. The Cardinal beat the Bruins for the eighth straight time on their home court. No other team has dominated the Bruins in the 40-year history of Pauley Pavilion like Stanford.

The last the Cardinal lost at UCLA was also the last time Stanford had a .500 record away from Maples. It was also the first time Stanford reached the Sweet Sixteen in school history, and men like Brevin Knight, Tim Young and Tim Duncan (a senior on the Wake Forest team that lost to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA tournament that year) had yet to cash their first NBA paychecks.

Mark Madsen was still on his Mormon mission and Kris Weems wasn't yet thinking about a coaching career at Menlo School, and the Cardigans' "Lovefool," had just reached No. 1 on the pop music charts.

On Feb. 8, 1997, UCLA avenged its worst loss in school history by beating the Cardinal, 87-68. Stanford had beaten the Bruins earlier that season, 109-61.

At the time, the Cardinal had dropped the last six meetings at UCLA and were 2-28 all-time at Pauley Pavilion.

Things have changed since then, and in a big way. The Bruins have finished seventh, sixth and sixth the previous three years, and haven't won a conference title since 1997, their longest drought since before winning their first conference championship in 1945.

Over the past eight years Stanford has finished first four times, and second four times. At the current rate, the Cardinal could finish ahead of UCLA again. They lost their first three conference games, but drew even with the win at Pauley.

The Bruins slipped a bit, opening the door for Stanford to continue its move up the Pac-10 standings.

Grunfeld led Stanford with 25 points, including a 7-for-7 effort from the foul line, and had seven rebounds against the Bruins. He's improved his scoring by 14.7 points, currently the best by a Division I player this season. He's making .753 of his foul shots.

Haryasz added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Senior forward Nick Robinson had 13 points and blocked two shots, while Little scored 12 points.

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