Cardinal report: Getting inside
 

The Sports Xchange
 
 
Getting inside · Notes, quotes · Strategy and personnel
 

The Pac-10's top coach has packed his bags.

Trent Johnson, 2008 conference coach of the year, accepted the top job at LSU, leaving the Cardinal with a vacancy and even more change after its best season since Mike Montgomery left in 2004.

The move was considered a bit of a surprise, but predicting the future in the Pac-10 isn't a winning proposition. Four of five first-team all-conference picks -- Arizona State's James Harden is the lone returnee -- who hasn't expressed intentions to enter the NBA draft.

To that end, there was little question about the future of Brook Lopez -- the 7-foot forward almost certainly has played his final game as a college player.

Lopez had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the season-ending loss to Texas, but he wasn't ready to announce his future plans.

A few days later, Robin Lopez, himself a 7-foot sophomore, and Brook Lopez declared for the NBA draft.

Brook Lopez, projected as an NBA lottery pick, was easily the top individual performer for Stanford.

The high school standouts from Fresno arrived at Stanford in lockstep and will depart Palo Alto much the same way. Brook Lopez was a third-team All-American, with averages of 19.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

According to their mother, Deb Ledford, Brook and Robin Lopez will hire agents and not return for another season.

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