A CARDINAL RULE: STANFORD SURPRISES DESPITE EVERYTHING.Byline: John Wilner College Basketball College basketball most often refers to the American basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA. History
Arizona's speedy start is not a surprise. The Wildcats always play well early, their starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes oozes NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= talent, and they have one of the nation's best players in power fowrard Michael Wright. But Stanford's 5-0 record borders on astounding a·stound tr.v. a·stound·ed, a·stound·ing, a·stounds To astonish and bewilder. See Synonyms at surprise. [From Middle English astoned, past participle of astonen, considering the competition, the departure of four starters, the assimilation of two superb freshmen (Casey Jacobsen Casey Gardner Jacobsen (born March 19 1981 in Glendora, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies. He has an extensive European basketball career and most recently played for the Brose Baskets, where he won the German Basketball and Curtis Borchardt Curtis Alan Borchardt (born September 13, 1980 in Buffalo, New York) is an American professional basketball player who has been playing for CB Granada in ACB in Spain from December 2005[1]. A seven foot (2. ) and an oft-injured sophomore (Jason Collins Jason Paul Collins (born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California) is a professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets of the NBA. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School and later attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000-01 and appeared on ), and the loss of its best player, forward Mark Madsen Mark Ellsworth Madsen (born January 28 1976 in Walnut Creek, California) is an American professional basketball player for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves. After attending San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California, Madsen, who is a Mormon, served for two years , for a month because of a pulled hamstring. Yet the Cardinal has beaten Duke and Auburn, and it's a Cincinnati loss away from No. 1. ``At the beginning of the year, we set a lot of team goals,'' said Collins, a Harvard-Westlake grad. ``Especially because we lost five seniors, we wanted to prove that we'd be at least as good as least year, maybe better. People thought we would rebuild, that it would take time. It hasn't.'' Three reasons: Fearless freshmen. Stanford had the best recruiting class in the Pac-10 and one of the best in the nation. Jacobsen, of Glendora, is thriving in coach Mike Montgomery's structured system and averaging 11 points. Borchardt, perhaps the league's best frontcourt recruit, is providing steady play off the bench; he had 15 points, six rebounds and hit a critical 3-pointer in the Wooden Classic victory over Auburn. The Cardinal is so deep and talented on the frontcourt, it's redshirting freshman forward Justin Davis, who would play 15 minutes a game for UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX or Arizona. Dominating defense. What the Cardinal lost in experience, it gained in athleticism, especially in the frontcourt. It challenges passing lanes, darts around screens and intimidates in the low post. Opponents are shooting 28.2 percent. The Collins factor. Jason and Jarron are finally playing together after Jason missed most of the last two seasons with knee injuries. They're active, imposing and skilled - the primary reason Stanford has survived without Madsen, who was hurt with a few minutes left in the Duke game. (The Cardinal was trailing at the time.) Jarron's averaging 13 points and 7.4 rebounds. Jason's averaging 9.6 points and 8.8 rebounds. ``It's great,'' Jason said. ``We're trying to do our best, shut people down defensively and be dominant in the low post on offense.'' Not so fast: Before anointing a·noint tr.v. a·noint·ed, a·noint·ing, a·noints 1. To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance to. 2. To put oil on during a religious ceremony as a sign of sanctification or consecration. 3. Arizona a national-title contender, consider this: The Wildcats have been one of the best November teams in the nation in the '90s and it usually doesn't mean a thing. They won the NIT A measurement of luminance. One nit is equal to one candela per square meter (1cd/m2). Ten thousand nits are equal to one stilb. See candela. in 1991-92 and 1995-96 and lost in the Sweet 16 both times. No question, they're talented and well-coached, but it's difficut to maintain a high level of play for four months. Old friends: Duke freshman Carlos Boozer is averaging 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes. Jason Kapono, the player UCLA signed after it lost Boozer, is averaging 12.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 29 minutes. Not a bad trade. Former UCLA assistant and Pepperdine coach Lorenzo Romar, now the boss at Saint Louis, has a huge game Sunday against Missouri in the TWA TWA Time-weighted average, see there Dome. Romar's Billikens, 4-2, are in hot pursuit of 6-9 megatalent Daruis Miles, of East St. Louis, Ill. In seven games for Alabama, Schea Cotton is averaging 12.6 points and shooting 23.1 percent from 3-point range. Oh, yeah, he also has 12 assists and 23 turnovers. Kareem Rush, JaRon's brother, scored 16 points Tuesday night for Missouri. Georgia coach Jim Harrick has lost highly touted freshman Ezra Williams for the season (barring appeal) and he's not happy about it. Williams was cleared by the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association last summer. But before the season, Georgia learned Williams hadn't passed the science portion of the Georgia High School Graduation Test The Georgia High School Graduation Test, or GHSGT, administered to all students in the eleventh grade, determines whether or not a student will graduate from a Georgia (USA) high school. - meaning he was not a high school graduate. Williams stayed in school, did not practice with the team, and passed the test Nov. 16, according to the Athens Daily News. The Bulldogs figured Williams would become eligible after the fall semester. The NCAA disagreed and Harrick fumed fume n. 1. Vapor, gas, or smoke, especially if irritating, harmful, or strong. 2. A strong or acrid odor. 3. A state of resentment or vexation. v. . ``It's unfathomable to me how they could do that to a young man,'' Harrick told reporters. ``It's beyond my comprehension. We'll get our lawyer involved and see what happens.'' At least he didn't call it a witch hunt. Around the Pac-10: Two players have left Arizona because of freshman guard Gilbert Arenas' sparkling play: Ruben Douglas and Luke Recker, who transferred to Iowa this week. Not bad for the under-recruited Grant High grad, who chose Arizona over Kansas State. . . . Easiest roadtrip of the Pac-10 season: Washington. Toughest: Oregon. . . . Five of Cal's top-six scorers are freshmen, including Fairfax High's Joe Shipp. . . . Jarvis Turner's foot injury is a major blow to USC's shallow bench. Greg Lakey and Shannon Swillis, where have you gone? . . . Oregon meets Cal State Northridge on Saturday in a matchup of the Ducks' current coach (Ernie Kent) and the man who wanted the job (Bobby Braswell). . . . After sitting out two weeks (strained knee), Oregon State freshman Brian Jackson had 12 points and four rebounds in his college debut against Colorado State. If Jackson plays to his stellar reputation, he could push the Beavers into the league's upper division. HOOP NOTES Daily News Staff Writer Jon Wilner is an Associated Press Top-25 voter. Here's his Top-10 teams for the week: 1. Cincinnati (6-0) - Bearcats A Bearcat is another name for a binturong, a sloth-like mammal from Southeast Asia. A Bearcat is also the mascot for Willamette University, Binghamton University, CUNY Baruch, Northwest Missouri State University, Southwest Baptist University, and the University of Cincinnati. often start fast, stumble in March. 2. Stanford (5-0) - Could enter Pac-10 play unbeaten. 3. Michigan State (7-1) - Mo Patterson says: Mateen who? 4. Connecticut (6-1) - Awesome final minutes against Arizona. 5. North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. (6-2) - Joe Forte for Freshman of the Year. 6. Arizona (6-1) - Doesn't get any easier: Spartans are next. 7. Auburn (4-1) - Big, bad Tigers to pick on Ivy League (Penn) this weekend. 8. Kansas (6-1) - Jayhawks aren't quite tough enough to beat elite. 9. Ohio State (2-1) - Jim O'Brien to coach football team? 10. Duke (5-2) - Nick Horvath didn't call ``bank'' against DePaul. Five to watch: Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Syracuse. Game of the Week Michigan State at Arizona Saturday, McKale Center There's no rest for Wildcats. They won at Texas last weekend, lost to Connecticut in Great Eight and now face the Spartans, who have beaten Kansas and North Carolina in the last week. Stat of the Week Arizona's 35-game home-court winning streak is on the line against Michigan State. The Wildcats haven't lost in McKale Center since the 1996-97 season, when UCLA beat them 66-64. CAPTION(S): box BOX: Hoop notes (see text) |
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