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Preseason Sweet 16: Stanford Cardinal

clark kellogg

Editor's note: With the men's college basketball season starting to ramp back up, Yahoo! Sports analyst Clark Kellogg picks the teams he thinks have the best shot at making it to the Sweet 16 in 2006.

Each pick is listed alphabetically. Check back during the week for his latest selections.


Other Sweet 16 teams: Arizona | Boston College | Connecticut | Duke | Gonzaga | Iowa | Kentucky
Louisville | Michigan State | Nevada | Oklahoma | Texas | Villanova | Wake Forest | West Virginia

THE REST OF THE PAC-10

ARIZONA
Lute Olson lost a couple of stars, but collectively, this year's Wildcats should be able to fill their shoes.

ARIZONA STATE
The departure of Ike Diogu and some key seniors equals the start of a rebuilding period for Rob Evans.

CALIFORNIA
The anticipated return of 2004 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Leon Powe has the Golden Bears excited.

OREGON
There is talent on the perimeter in Aaron Brooks, Malik Hairston and Bryce Taylor, but there are question marks up front.

OREGON STATE
Pac-10 Newcomer of the Year Nick DeWitz anchors the defense and has a good nucleus of returning players to help him.

UCLA
This team likely is a Sweet 16 team if Josh Shipp recovers from hip surgery and the frontline produces.

USC
Tim Floyd, a proven college coach, has a couple of promising sophomores in Gabe Pruitt and Nick Young to start the building process.

WASHINGTON
The Huskies' question mark at point guard keeps them out of my Sweet 16 – for now.

WASHINGTON STATE
Dick Bennett has a young, talented group that plays tight defense and controls the tempo, and I think they'll score a little more this season and win some of those close games they lost in 2004-05.

Stanford Cardinal
News | Schedule | Roster

The going wasn't easy for head coach Trent Johnson in his first season leading the Cardinal after five years at Nevada. His players needed time to adjust to one another, and they lost leading scorer Dan Grunfeld to a season-ending knee injury in February. They also played without Tim Morris (academics) for the last 19 games of the season.

Stanford started slowly, going 2-4 to start the season and later opening conference play with three straight losses. The Cardinal followed that losing streak with six consecutive wins but went 6-6 over the last 12 games of the season – including a loss to Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

As disjointed as the Cardinal season was, earning an at-large NCAA tournament bid while adjusting to a new coach and playing without a couple of key players showed admirable resilience. And that kind of resilience could be the foundation for a more consistent and successful 2005-06 season. Here's why.

The top three scorers from last season return, and all are seniors. Matt Haryasz and Chris Hernandez were terrific, as was Grunfeld before his injury. After Grunfeld went down, Haryasz and Hernandez carried the team offensively and will be looked upon to do the same this year.

Hernandez is an excellent do-it-all guard. He can shoot the three and penetrate and is a very good free-throw shooter. Haryasz, a mobile big guy with a nice shooting touch, is a solid rebounder and shot-blocker who continues to improve offensively. Grunfeld is back, and although he will play reduced minutes for a while, he does everything well. Fred Washington and Morris add athleticism, size and versatility to the perimeter. And sophomores Taj Finger and Peter Prowitt should team with freshman Lawrence Hill to complement Haryasz up front.

Last season the Cardinal struggled on the boards, defending the three and getting easy scores. But with an experienced group of core players, a little more depth and athleticism, and a year of familiarity with Johnson's philosophy, the Cardinal should be much-improved.

When all is said and done, having talented seniors leading the way should ensure a smoother flight into this season's NCAA tournament.