March 04, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

The final shots for seniors

by Rick Eymer

Stanford men's basketball coach Trent Johnson believes in senior leadership, and he considers Nick Robinson and Rob Little the perfect men for the job in what has turned out to be an extraordinary transition year for both the Cardinal program and Johnson.

"They will have an impact on a lot of people's lives beyond athletics," Johnson said of the two seniors who will be playing their final two games in Maples Pavilion this week. "Both those guys will be able to do whatever they want in life."

Little and Robinson will be officially honored before Saturday's 1 p.m. game against Washington but they've been the beneficiary of numerous honors through the years, the most important being the respect of their teammates.

Stanford (10-6 in the Pac-10, 16-10 overall) took the court Thursday against Washington State with more at stake than last year's team had at this time of the year. Johnson is glad Robinson and Little are on his side.

"Nick and Rob made it easier for the adjustment I had to make," Johnson said.

In related news, junior Dan Grunfeld - out for the season with a torn ACL -- was named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American second team.

Grunfeld, who was averaging a team-high 17.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game before he was sidelined with the knee injury, has a 3.66 GPA in American Studies.

Grunfeld became the sixth Stanford player to be named an Academic All-American, joining Mark Madsen, Kenny Ammann, Novian Whitsitt, Brian Welch and Kimberly Belton.

Last year then top-ranked Stanford carried a 16-0, 25-0 mark into its game against Washington State, its Pac-10 regular-season title already secured. A No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament was all but locked up.

Fast forward to this week, and Stanford's scenario changes dramatically. The Cardinal are sitting precariously on the edge of an NCAA berth; their game against the Cougars seemingly weighing heavily on the entire season and weighing on history's shoulders too. After all, Stanford has appeared in the last 10 NCAA tournaments.

A win over the Cougars would have clinched the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and a likely rematch with Arizona State in the late game of the first round next week. Washington State needs a win to clinch a spot in the tournament, as only the top eight teams make it.

"The next couple of weeks are what everybody remembers," Johnson said. "Everybody remembers Josh Childress' last game."

Johnson suggested it was unfair to judge any team, or player, on a fraction of the season. He also said this is no time for reflection, not with two teams also playing for large stakes coming into Maples.

"If we have a good weekend we'll probably get consideration for some type of postseason," Johnson said. "With eight guys we are preparing ourselves for the worse, and for the best, in terms of the number of games we may play in the next 10 days. Looking at the big picture, we have Thursday and Saturday and then we have next Thursday."

The worse is three more games and season over. The best is at least six more games, with five in a 10-day span beginning with Washington State and moving through the championship game of the Pac-10 tournament at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

That's where Robinson (who will be remembered for his 3-pointer against Arizona last year) and Little (who has five double-doubles, all in conference play) come in handy, the seniors who are making sure the Cardinal are playing with a sense of urgency. What they have been through over the past 365 days is enough to test the most patient of souls.

Stanford lost the use of its primary facility - Maples Pavilion began undergoing a facelift the day after the final home game last March - even before there was a postseason.

The players used trailers behind Burnham Pavilion as lockers, and the coaches arrived at practice in golf carts, until the $30 million project at Maples was completed the week before the Cardinal's first home game against UC Davis on Dec. 18. Stanford held three practices on the new court before hosting the Aggies.

They also lost their All-American player in Childress, who left a year early to join the NBA. The next loss was coach Mike Montgomery, also to the NBA. He was followed by assistant coach Russell Turner and strength coach John Murray, who joined Montgomery with the Golden State Warriors.

When Montgomery left, both Little and Robinson committed themselves to the new coach, who had not yet been named.

And then it was the loss of their teammates, one by one, as the season unfolded; leaving Stanford with eight scholarship players.

"I challenge anyone in the country to say if there's another situation where a team has lost so much and still has a lot to play for," Johnson said. "To be in this situation with so much at stake speaks volumes to the kids and to our staff."

Robinson and Little have absorbed every blow and leapt back off the mat with renewed vigor.

It probably helped that Johnson was involved in the recruiting process with Robinson, who originally signed a letter-of-intent to Stanford in 1997. Johnson was an assistant coach with the Cardinal then, and helped recruit Robinson knowing he was committed to a two-year Mormon mission - he spent his time in Maceio, Brazil - before he would arrive.

Robinson, who is also married (Meagan) and the father of Annie Lee who celebrated her first birthday on Tuesday, was a redshirt his freshman year and began his collegiate career along with Little in the fall of 2001. Little turned 22 in January; Robinson will be 26 in November.

"Not for one minute have they consumed themselves with what's been said," Johnson said. "Nick is a quiet guy. People don't realize what he has to go through to get ready for a game. Rob shows up every day. He's always trying to take care of everybody. When Anthony Goods, who had just signed a letter-of-intent, came for a visit, here comes Rob early to practice to take care of him."

With a depleted roster the past four games, Robinson has increased his scoring output, and with better efficiency. He's averaging 11 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. His season averages are 8.2 points and 37 percent.

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