Friday, January 16, 1998
UCLA plans on cutting Trees down to size
M.BASKETBALL Bruins brave Stanford’s towering team despite last
year’s loss
By Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It has been a little over a year since the incident that UCLA
head coach Steve Lavin calls, "The Maples Massacre." And on
Saturday, the No. 8 UCLA men’s basketball team will return to the
site where it suffered a 48-point loss.
Though Stanford graduated star guard Brevin Knight after last
season, the Cardinal (15-0 overall, 4-0 Pac-10) has had its best
start ever, winning 15 in a row and earning a place as the
seventh-ranked team in the nation.
Stanford is a half-game ahead of UCLA in conference
standings.
"Stanford is going to be five times more challenging than
(Thursday’s) game," Lavin said referring to the 74-73 UCLA (13-2,
4-1) victory over California.
Part of the reason for Stanford’s success is its size. The
Cardinal roster boasts six players over 6 feet, 8 inches.
Sophomore Mark Madsen was a consistent producer for Stanford,
averaging 12 points and 6.8 rebounds. However, Madsen won’t play
due to a stress fracture in his right foot.
The loss of Madsen is unfortunate for the Cardinal, but it isn’t
unsurmountable. Junior center Tim Young leads the pack of trees.
The 7’1" All-American candidate averages 10.9 points and 7.4
rebounds. Stanford will also start 6’9" senior Pete Van Elswyk.
Despite the Cardinal’s large size, UCLA’s lone starting big man
isn’t too concerned.
"They’re big but we faced big people (Thursday)," senior J.R.
Henderson said. "(Cal) got some tip-ins and stuff but that’s
because of our zone, I think against Stanford we’ll adjust."
Stanford’s inside players may get most of the attention, but its
guards have had a hand in its accomplishments too. Junior Arthur
Lee scores 11.1 points per game and dishes out 4.5 assists. Kris
Weems is shooting just under 50 percent from the field and is
ranked 10th in the conference in three-point shooting.
"Their guard play is incredible," Lavin said. "All their guards
are playing great. That’s why they are hard to beat – they’ve got
great post players and great guards."
Maples Pavilion may be the place where the Bruins experienced
its worst loss in school history and the players are aware of that.
However, it won’t cast a pall over the game.
"That was last year’s team," Henderson said. "It’s a new year
and we’re not going to go in there thinking about losing."