The brief summary is that Wazzu looked like a lock to NOT make
the trip to the Pac-10 post-season tournament in Thursday night's
game, and Stanford dominated. As frustrating as the Oregon loss
was, it was a great competitive game that told us a lot about
this team. I'm afraid there isn't as much to be drawn from this
edition of the Wazzu Whippings. 12 straight, is it now? Well, you
can be pleased about this: this was largely the same talents from
last year's Cougar squad that gave Stanford fits, both home and
away. Stanford actually trailed WSU at Maples at the half last
year, and only won by 11 in each of the two games. In this
meeting, Stanford bettered that margin - in each half. The Card
outscored the Cougs by 19 in the first stanza, and 14 in the
second. With the exception of a lull in the middle of the first
half, where WSU knocked a 14-point deficit down to 9, Stanford
steadily extended its lead throughout the game.
While Wazzu looked like a dreadful shooting team on the floor,
you have to give some credit to Stanford's defense. The Cougs had
a nightmare of a time against Stanford's half-court defense,
which stayed man-to-man throughout the game. They did have some
success in transition, but with Stanford's offense this night,
those opportunities were few and far between. Mike Bush, who went
for 23 in Pullman last year, was held to just 4 points on 1 of 5
shooting. Jerry McNair, who went for 29 at Maples last year,
scored 10 this go-around on 4 of 11 shooting. And Marcus Moore,
who went for 16 on 5 of 7 shooting in Maples last year, was held
to just 8 points this time, on 4 of 12 shooting. Given the
scorched earth left in the wake of Wazzu's guards and wings last
year, the coaches were fully prepared and anticipating the need
to go to a zone defense. Quite to the contrary, there was hardly
a hint of danger. Mission accomplished.
The opening moments of the game looked like a replay of last
year, though. Marcus Moore took Tony Giovacchini off the dribble
in three straight possessions to open the game, with ease. Kudos
to Monty for quick and effective adjustment though, as he
switched and put Julius on Moore. Marcus was fronted by JB or
Chris Hernandez the remainder of the evening, and was completely
frustrated. It was very apparent how good a job Chris did, as he
was able to move laterally with a quickness that kept his body
between Moore and the basket. Marcus would then dribble out and
move the ball around for another set.
As Stanford's half-court defense tightened up, and as the
deficit grew for Paul Graham's guys, the Cougs got into a nasty
habit of chucking up some god-awful three point attempts. They
hit just one trey in the first half, and three in the second -
for a total of 4 for 18 shooting (22.2%). With flashes of BYU
still haunting our collective psyche, it was nice to see the
perimeter D force bad shots, and bad shooters to shoot.
One huge qualifying statement, though, is that Wazzu looked
awful. They looked every bit the 4-11 (0-7) team.
The offense hummed throughout the evening, including a stellar
55% shooting effort in the first half. The second half lagged,
and was not coincidentally a half dominated by reserve play. The
5 for 17 shooting from outside in the second half was not pretty,
and neither was the rebounding. Stanford outrebounded Washington
State by 5 in the first half, but played even in the second half.
Given that Curtis Borchardt sat through most of the second half,
you are not surprised. But against a team with no height at all,
it's disheartening to see how much of a drop-off can come with
C-Bo on the bench. It's not just height and ability, though. I
saw throughout the game a lackluster effort in
rebounding from Stanford. Though they may have looked like
whipped dogs in other areas, Wazzu crashed the boards and
flat-out outhustled Stanford. Crimson and gray uniforms would
leap through the air, while the home team often stayed
flat-footed. That ticked me off, and I imagine the coaches will
harp on it as well.
Individually, there were a lot of strong offensive efforts for
Stanford. Casey and Curtis each chipped in 15, and could have
done more damage had they not been pulled in the blow-out. Curtis
was the best performer of the night, though, hitting 6 of 9 from
the field, with (I believe) no dunks. His short-range jumper is
automatic right now, and he continued to shoot from outside. I
was worried that his long-distance dialing we saw in Eugene might
be a one night stand, crafted exclusively against the 7'2"
Chris Christofferson. But Curtis took a couple more treys,
including hitting his first. The green light is still on, or at
least flickering at times. He really is a rare and exceptional
high post player, and defenses will be altered by opposing
coaches the more Curtis (and Monty) demonstrates this
willingness. "Only" 7 boards for the big guy, which
drops his average, but I'm satisfied in a 22-minute showing with
few offensive boards to be had and most defensive boards going
long off the rim. Casey honestly had a so-so night, with 5 of 12
shooting. He was instrumental in transition, though, where he
picked up most of his game-high 6 assists.
Julius played predominately at the shooting guard, and had a
solid night. 12 points in 20 minutes, on 5 of 7 shooting. His
only misses were treys, but his deuces were spectacular. One of
the top plays of the game found him in the corner in transition.
He was open, received the ball, and exploded along the baseline
to the bucket for a thunderous dunk. And I emphasize explode.
Speaking of guard play, it's notable that this is the first
game this season where Chris Hernandez (23) logged more minutes
than Tony Giovacchini (15). Tony got the start, and played a
solid game. He was actually the guy in the game who led the team
after WSU cut it to 9, and put the game out of reach. No points
for Tony G, and only 3 from Chris. That trey came in his first
play off the bench late in the first half, but he missed his 4
other attempts from the field. This is the second time in the
last three games that Chris has edged up his minutes to a new
career high. Something to watch.
Another position of note was the power forward position, where
Justin Davis and Teyo Johnson logged almost all the minutes. They
combined for 18 points, and Justin hit all four FG attempts on
the night, plus his one free throw. Teyo didn't shoot as well,
but he was a huge spark off the bench. These two guys might have
been the only two post players for Stanford that really gave huge
intensity. I was pleased. Justin had a couple great transition
plays, including a steal where he took the ball the length of the
court. He almost lost it as a defender bumped him, and he had to
take off just inside the free throw line, but it was a nice
finger roll lay-in.
Josh Childress had a strong second half, where he scored all
of his 5 points. His highlight play came in the left corner. He
swung the ball and his arms to his right, which got Jerry
"Hot Air" McNair to commit. Josh then took off to his
left and attacked the bucket unimpeded. He took off from the
ground early, and stretched his arms out, almost like a kid
reaching for a cookie jar that was too high on the shelf. But the
incredible thing was that Josh hung in the air long enough that
his arms did reach and slammed the leather through the iron. That
isn't something you've seen at Stanford before. He is special,
and needs to maintain his confidence. My big gripe with Josh's
play this night was his rebounding. His long arms and quick
reaction give him a tremendous advantage, and he indeed got his
hands on the ball often. But he could have had three times as
many boards on the night (he recorded 2) if he would be more
physical with the ball. Wazzu players slapped it away before he
could bring it down, repeatedly.
Matt Lottich provided his characteristic fire-plug energy when
he came into the game, including some great plays in a spurt in
the second half. He hit a nice trey, and had a steal that should
have converted to a transition lay-up, but he missed the iron
completely. There was a scuffle for the ball in the next
possession, though, and matt laid out on the floor to punch the
ball to Rob Little, which led to transition points for the Card.
You love that effort, and playmaking knack. Unfortunately, he's
playing with too much adrenaline, and dilutes his stellar moments
with forgettable ones. He missed some three point shots badly,
which he jacked up without getting his body set. One came from
Casey-range, out by the "Maples Pavilion" logo. As he
matures his play and brings his athleticism and energy into
focus, he could be excellent. Right now, he's a gamble between
two extremes.
Rob Little got solid minutes off the bench, and made some nice
athletic plays. My great concern is that he struggles with his
back to the basket in the low post if someone really puts a body
on him. He's liable to short-arm his shot when you play him
really physically.
Overall, this was the quickest Stanford basketball game I can
ever remember. Elapsed time between the opening tip and the final
buzzer was about an hour and forty minutes. No coincidence that
this might be a season-low for fouls and foul shooting in the
Pac-10. Neither team reached the double bonus in either half, and
just 24 total fouls were called in the game. It was
evident to me right from the start that the refs were going to
let the guys play. Contact that would have easily been called for
blocking or a charge was let go. I thought it was a solid
officiating night, though, simply because they called it evenly
both ways. In fact, I cannot recall a game I've ever watched
before this in the conference where I had no grumbling with the
officiating during or after the game. It wasn't just the 33-point
final margin that made this a fun game to watch; it was the focus
on the players and their plays, rather than zebras whimsically
taking control. Somebody should make sure this crew is in LA for
the Pac-10 tourney.
Complete Box Score