Stanford is harvesting a new crop of talents
By Christian Schreiber
Daily Bruin Staff
Torrential rains that have flooded Northern California haven’t
hurt Mike Montgomery, a farmer of sorts in the Bay Area.
In fact, Montgomery, Stanford’s head basketball coach, may just
end up harvesting a cash crop if things stay just the way they are.
You see, Stanford basketball is back. And all is well on the
farm.
Yes, all is indeed well on the Palo Alto campus of the Cardinal,
who march into tonight’s 7:30 game at Pauley Pavilion against an
11-1, consensus No. 4 UCLA team with some numbers of their own.
In addition to a 12-2 record, a No. 19 ranking, and the role of
unsuspecting flag-bearer for a Pac-10 conference that is drawing
rave reviews nationwide, Stanford basketball is serving notice:
they are not a joke, though they may be a surprise.
"Stanford is experienced," UCLA Coach Jim Harrick said. "And
they’re very well-coached. They’ve added a guy who’s going to be a
big-time player in (center) Tim Young, which makes them a cross
between an inside team and one with three guards. They’ve got a
nice team, and considering where they’ve come from two years ago to
now is maybe the best turnaround in a while."
Harrick may be understating the situation  the Cardinal’s
solid mix of talent makes them a threat they didn’t used to be. Led
by a lineup that features five legitimate offensive threats, the
Cardinal shocked Wisconsin and Virginia on their way to a 10-0
start. Since then, it’s taken a near-perfect game from Washington
State and overtime from Arizona to put them down.
But it hasn’t always been this way. After winning the NIT
Championship in 1991 behind All-American Adam Keefe, Stanford went
9-9 in the Pac-10 on its way to a still-respectable 18-11 record
and a first-round NCAA tournament loss to Alabama. It all unraveled
the next year.
Struggling with injuries and inexperience, the Cardinal won just
seven of their 30 games, and only two of those wins came in
conference play.
The season was hard on Montgomery, as was the next. Again
depleted by injuries, Stanford struggled to a 17-11 record that
culminated in a first-round loss to Gonzaga in the NIT.
Yet in that season were spots of hope. Freshman point guard
Brevin Knight won the starting job and raves from opposing coaches.
He now solidifies a Stanford offense that features five legitimate
offensive threats in its starting lineup.
The result is surprising to nearly everyone.
"At the beginning of the year, I don’t think we were taking them
seriously," said UCLA freshman guard Toby Bailey, himself too young
to have played against Keefe or remember the 21- and 26-win seasons
of the late 1980’s. "When I think of Stanford, I don’t think of a
powerhouse in the Pac-10. Basketball doesn’t come to mind."
This year’s squad is out to change that.
"Maybe people will start talking about Stanford as a basketball
school now," said Cardinal forward Andy Poppink, who is responsible
for 11 points and seven rebounds a game. "But, I guess if you would
have told me our record now at the beginning of the season, yeah, I
would have been surprised."
Poppink is just part of why Stanford has gained its unheralded
success. Young, a prized recruit from Santa Cruz, is another of the
four starters who average in double figures, putting up 11 points
and eight rebounds. The hubbub about Young, who committed to
Stanford during last year’s early signing period, has been
abundant.
Alongside Young in the paint is junior Darren Alloway, an
athletic forward and defensive presence  with a body Harrick
describes as, "Hulk Hogan, that’s this guy" Â and reserve
David Harbour, who chips in 9.4 points a game.
But while Poppink, Young and Alloway make up an able frontcourt,
Stanford thrives mostly on the play of its guards, Knight and
shooter Dion Cross. The two combine for 35 points a game, and one
or the other has been Stanford’s high-scorer in 12 of its 14
games.