January 13, 2006

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Palo Alto Online

A game of aches and pain

by Rick Eymer

Dan Grunfeld's long road back from knee surgery has left him a little sluggish, Matt Haryasz is still not at full strength because of a sprained ankle, Peter Prowitt strained his lower back during a practice earlier this week and it was finally determined that Fred Washington will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.

Haryasz, Grunfeld and Prowitt should be ready to play when Stanford (2-2, 6-6) hosts California tonight at 7 p.m. and despite all the aches and pains, Cardinal coach Trent Johnson has become more optimistic about the rest of the season.

"We understand how much work is in front of us," Johnson said. "We're trying to develop some consistency and we've been playing well the past few games."

Stanford hasn't lost to Cal in Maples Pavilion since the disastrous 1992-93 season, in which the Cardinal won all of seven games. That's a streak the current seniors would like to keep intact.

"Any win is special for us," Stanford guard Chris Hernandez said. We need anything we can get. Winning two in a row is great but we still need to improve and to be consistent."

Cal may not cooperate though. The Bears are better now than at any point last season. Not only is most of the team back, but All-American candidate Leon Powe is healthy after missing last year to an injury.

Johnson calls Cal "one of the most talented teams in the Pac-10 and perhaps in the country," and he points to DeVon Hardin as a complementary player to Powe. Combined the two post players grab over 17 rebounds and score nearly 30 points a game.

Cal (3-1, 9-4) lost at home to Oregon State last weekend, but has won three of its last four, including a road sweep of the Los Angeles schools.

"Everybody talks about Powe but DeVon Hardin has always been a specimen and his skill level has improved," Johnson said. "(Ayinde) Ubaka has done a good job running that team and (Richard) Midgley is as hard-nosed as they come."

Stanford has won two in a row and four of six. If the Cardinal want to advance any further than the Pac-10 tournament, winning games at Maples Pavilion is a must. Stanford has won five straight at home after opening the season with a loss to UC Irvine. Under Johnson, the Cardinal are 15-3 at home, and overall have won 34 of their last 38 in Maples.

"At this point (the Pac-10) is wide open," Grunfeld said. "Two weeks into it and everybody has a loss already."

Stanford has a five-game winning streak over the Bears and has won 15 of the past 17 meetings. With six ranked teams remaining among the last 15 regular-season games, Stanford has to start making a move.

"It feels good to get two conference wins," Grunfeld said. "That's an encouraging sign of things we did real well. A win would be important because not only would it get us over .500 and get us on the positive side of things, it's another win in conference."

Johnson is optimistic because his team is playing defense better than at any point this season, and shots are beginning to fall for shooters like Grunfeld and Chris Hernandez.

Tim Morris has also been effective lately, giving Stanford another option.

"This is the most comfortable I've felt," Morris said. "I know my place and I know what the team needs from me. I feel better when I know what the team needs."

Morris had 15 rebounds in the two games against Oregon last week after grabbing a combined 20 in his first 10 games. He also scored nine points in each game, a step up from his 3.0 average over the previous five contests.

"I wasn't playing up to my capabilities and that is always frustrating," Morris said. "I've had a couple of good games in a row and I feel set in my mind how I want to play. I'm going to attack the glass every single time."

Morris knows first hand what Stanford is up against with Powe. He guarded him during a Pro-Am game over the summer.

"He gave me 43," Morris said. "He is strong, quick and aggressive. His quickness and size makes him difficult to play. And for the record I had 25 points that game."

Grunfeld, who underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee last February, was given Tuesday off to rest.

"It's probably good for me to get back into a fresher state," Grunfeld said. "I don't like to miss practices but for the last month I've been going all out and I am at a point where I'm a little bit tired in the legs."

Prowitt suffered a strained lower back early in Monday's practice and visited with team doctors on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury.

"I know he had a problem with it in high school so for precautionary reasons we pulled him from practice," Johnson said.

Haryasz said his sprained ankle was at "70 percent," and has been participating in practices all week.

"Cal has one of the best groups of big men we'll face all year," Haryasz said. "It will be a great challenge for us. Powe does a lot of things really well. He has nice moves down low, he's strong, and he finishes. He's a great player all the way around."

Grunfeld injured his knee against California last Feb. 12 in Maples Pavilion. He was going up for a layup with 15:36 remaining to play and landed wrong after getting the shot partially blocked by Midgley.

"I'm aware of the situation but it's just another game," Grunfeld said.

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