THE GOOD NEWS The Cardinal, winless in two previous NCAA Tournament appearances in coach Trent Johnson's three seasons, got over the hump by winning twice to reach the Sweet 16. A big-time mindset has returned to Stanford.
THE BAD NEWS Sophomore forward Brook Lopez, one of the nation's top interior players, almost certainly will enter the NBA draft. That move was expected. But losing his brother, Robin Lopez, who made great strides the second half of the season, is a move that most didn't fully expect. And another, Johnson jumping to LSU, was the biggest shocker.
KEY RETURNEES Mitch Johnson, Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill all return, although the latter two will need to upgrade their games after disappointing junior seasons and the need to pick up the slack with Brook and Robin Lopez turning pro.
ROSTER REPORT
--The Lopez twins are leaving Stanford.
Brook Lopez, with 26 points and 10 rebounds against Texas, averaged 20 points in three NCAA Tournament games. He finished the season averaging 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds with 56 blocked shots.
Twin brother Robin Lopez, who averaged 12.5 points over Stanford's final 13 games, had 16 games this season with at least three blocked shots. Robin averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds for the year and swatted 83 shots.
--Junior point guard Mitch Johnson totaled 29 assists in three NCAA tournament games, including eight in the loss to Texas.
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Hey guys, I'm trying to set up a sim league starting next season, where a simulator plays out the game and gives you realistic scores and stuff, and your Cardinal are still available! If you are interested or have any questions feel free to e-mail me at dosegorillaz@aim.com.
OK! Enough excitement and shakeup. Shoot off any ideas you might have for Bowslby about rebuilding the men's basketball team. Oh, and feel free to express thoughts on our chances next year in the PAC-10 with a freshman coach and a Lopez-less team. I for one am not against poaching Cal for Monty back, you know Bowslby could say something like this to Barbour:
I thought for sure Robin was going to stay 1 more year but both Robin and Brook anounced they're going pro.... This sucks, we have no big guys for next year.
I have Stanford going to the final four in 3/6 boards and I have really grown to like them. My colleagues are laughing at me saying they have no chance against Texas but that is about the end of their argument. From the games that I have watched them play, I was very impressed but since 6 PM Central time Thursday I haven't heard the end of it. Please remind me why Stanford is going to beat the tar
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Right now I'm looking at my bracket and I think Stanford has a legit shot to make the final four. The way I see it working out is you guys beat Cornell, Marquette, Texas, and Pitt. You know your team better than I do, is this reasonable or am I completely insane? I just think that with your strong inside game you can hang with the big boys and surprise some people...
