Stanford Stanford (March 23, 2005)should be better

Cardinal men likely won't have as many misfortunes next season

by Nathan Kurz

As the Stanford men's basketball team prepares to regroup after its most difficult season in more than a decade, there are plenty of reasons to believe Trent Johnson's second year on The Farm will yield a far greater outcome.

For starters, the Cardinal will be hard-pressed to duplicate the series of misfortunes and disasters that whittled their roster to a mere eight players by the end of the season. While the departure of last year's nucleus put Stanford behind the eight ball before the season even started, the injuries (to Dan Grunfeld and Carlton Weatherby), defections (by Evan Moore and Mark Bradford to football) and academic blunders (courtesy of Tim Morris and perhaps his advisor) forced the team to play with the slimmest margin for error. "There is not a team in the country who had to face as many obstacles and overcome as much as we did," junior forward Matt Haryasz said. "People were talking about us not even making any tournament, and making the NCAA's was (supposed to be) a joke. We always believed, and we fought." The initial transition to a new coach and philosophy that hampered Stanford in the early portion of the schedule also won't be a factor. The Cardinal started 6-7 overall, 0-3 in the Pac-10, forcing Stanford to win 12 of its final 16 games just to qualify for the postseason for the 11th straight year. Next year roles will be solidified and systems fully installed by the time Stanford engages its non-conference foes. (Plus, they won't have to wait until mid-December to play their first true home game.) Perhaps most importantly, Stanford's identity will already be established. For the first time in recent memory, the Cardinal's best players will be perimeter players. Juniors Chris Hernandez and Grunfeld (arguably the nation's most improved player) undoubtedly will start and Morris might sneak his way into the lineup given his surges before becoming ineligible. Jason Haas, Fred Washington and Kenny Brown will provide the most depth Stanford has had at the guard position in years. The big question mark, then, becomes, what of Stanford's frontline? With the likes of Adam Keefe, Tim Young and Curtis Borchardt dotting the Cardinal history books, Stanford has seemingly always had a post player from which to initiate the offense. It appears the Cardinal will not have the same interior presence next year unless either Haryasz bulks up -- his lean 230-pound frame leaves him often overmatched inside -- or 6-foot-10 freshman Peter Prowitt improves rapidly. Freshman forward Taj Finger showed a strong basketball IQ at times but at 6-8, 185 pounds is hardly an intimidating force inside. The incoming freshman class is low on height but high on talent. Two guards -- 6-4 Anthony Goods and 6-1 Mitch Johnson -- and 6-8 forward Lawrence Hill should make the Cardinal even that more athletic come next fall. Hill, by all accounts, is the most highly touted of the three. He was a first-team all-Arizona selection out of Deer Valley H.S. (Glendale, Az.) and boasts a body that bears an uncanny resemblance to that of Josh Childress his freshman year. At a mere 205 pounds, he projects as a small forward. Johnson, a left-handed point guard, led O'Dea of Seattle to back-to-back state championships and possesses similar offensive skills as Stanford's own Hernandez, according to scouting website TheBootleg.com. Goods, out of Centennial H.S. (Corona), is a prolific scorer and could emerge as the surprise of the group given his gradual improvement at the prep level. By 2006, Stanford will certainly have the usual inside presence, having already received oral commitments from 6-11 twins Brook and Robin Lopez. The Cardinal also have an outside shot at Brian Zoubek, a 7-1, 255-pound center out of New Jersey who is also considering Duke, Wake Forest and Notre Dame, according to reports. The prospects for a bright future, though, won't help erase Stanford's 93-70 loss to Mississippi State last Friday, the Cardinal's first first-round loss in 11 years. (In fact, the last time Stanford lost in the first round, they were dismantled by future NBA players Latrell Spreewell and Robert Horry of Alabama.)

After building a 39-27 lead in the first half against the Bulldogs, things simply fell apart for Stanford (18-13) the rest of the way.

"It wasn't as much our offense as our inability to stop them," Johnson said. "There was a period where we lost our poise."

The Bulldogs (23-10) bounced back to take a 44-43 halftime lead and never slowed down, outscoring Stanford 66-31 over the final 25:28.

"I think the difference was our defensive effort," forward Nick Robinson said. "We got a lead and we relaxed a little bit. I think they just wanted to win this one more."

Friday's loss sealed the end of the careers of seniors Rob Little and Robinson. Little tied former Cardinal great Arthur Lee for fifth all-time in games played (126) and finished among the top 10 in school history in career field goal percentage (.550) and blocked shots (81). The ever-versatile Robinson played in game number 110 and forever etched his name in Stanford basketball history with his memorable buzzer-beater against Arizona last season.

While they won't be around to see how the Johnson era plays out, they can certainly take a little credit for the way they helped make what could have been a rocky transition smooth.

Hopefully the building process will be a little easier next year.

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