Stanford’s Look This Year Is Big and Bold

The bigger they are, the harder they . . . foul?

Flash back to last March at tournament time, when Stanford’s front line was big and deep enough to bump, bruise and otherwise blanket the best big collegiate center in years--Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan--in the middle with an assortment of whistle-inducing hacks.

Duncan got fouled nine times in the first half by the Cardinal’s supply of bangers, got worn down early in the second, and Stanford advanced to the Sweet 16.

That might be subtle compared to this season at Palo Alto. Gradually, surprisingly, aircraft carrier by aircraft carrier, Stanford has assembled one of the best collections of large-bodied talent in the nation.

From 7-foot-1 center Tim Young to 6-8 rumbling power forward Mark Madsen to 6-9 “small” forward Pete Sauer to the handful of 6-8 or taller backups--among them the freshman Collins twins, Jarron and Jason, and veterans Pete Van Elswyk and Peter Sauer--the Cardinal will be shoving around a lot of teams this season.

“The paint is not somewhere you’re going to want to spend a lot of time with us,” Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery said. “We’ve got lots of fouls to give. We’re not going to concede anything to you.”

This year, Stanford, which featured the flash, guts and ballet of 5-foot-10 point guard Brevin Knight the previous four seasons, will be as dainty as one of Madsen’s hip checks under the boards.

And, although Montgomery knows that junior Arthur Lee won’t be able to perform Knight-time magic, the presence of so many talented post players has him feeling pretty comfortable.

When he calls, top recruits listen, as evidenced by the signing of the Collins twins--Jarron Collins, Madsen and backup guard David Moseley are a solid core for the next several seasons--and if things roll right this season, Stanford could contend for its first Pacific 10 title in 35 years.

“We feel like this program’s in perhaps as good a shape as it’s been in many years,” Montgomery said. “What I’m talking about is public perception, national recognition, good players top to bottom . . . everything just seems to be better.

“[Previously], it seems like there’s always been something we’ve had to deal with. Right now, there really isn’t anything to deal with that is not OK.”

A look at the teams in alphabetical order , excluding UCLA and USC:

ARIZONA

* Coach: Lute Olson.

* 1996-97 finish: 25-9 (11-7), fifth place in conference, won national title.

* Returning starters: Five.

* Top players: Miles Simon, Mike Bibby, Michael Dickerson.

* Outlook: Now that they have that national-title thing out of the way, maybe the Wildcats can secure a real goal, like competing for the conference championship. Of course, this was supposed to be the Wildcats’ breakthrough season, when the brilliant Bibby had a year under his belt, when Simon and Dickerson figured out how to play defense, and when young big men A.J. Bramlett, Bennett Davison and Donnell Harris stopped fumbling the ball. But all that came together in a flash at the end of last season, and with everybody back, only chemistry problems could keep Arizona from 30 victories and a No. 1 seeding come March.

ARIZONA STATE

* Coach: Don Newman, interim.

* 1996-97 finish: 10-20 (2-16), 10th place in conference.

* Returning starters: Four.

* Top players: Mike Batiste, Eddie House, Jeremy Veal.

* Outlook: Will Rick Majerus be here next season? Paul Westphal? That’s about the only compelling issue at Arizona State, where it all imploded on top of Bill Frieder, who couldn’t keep his top recruits on the team or out of trouble and retired under the threat of FBI and NCAA investigations.

CALIFORNIA

* Coach: Ben Braun.

* 1996-97 finish: 23-9 (12-6), tied for second in conference, lost in third round of NCAA tournament.

* Returning starters: None.

* Top players: Sean Marks, Raymond King, Geno Carlisle.

* Outlook: No team in the conference lost more to graduation, including Ed Gray, Pac-10 player of the year. With a one-year ban on postseason play hitting this season, Cal almost lost Braun, too, who decided to stay when he signed his third contract at Cal in 18 months. Key transfer guards Geno Carlisle from Northwestern and Thomas Kilgore from Central Michigan won’t be eligible until late December.

OREGON

* Coach: Ernie Kent.

* 1996-97 finish: 17-11 (8-10), seventh place in conference, lost in first round of NIT.

* Returning starters: One.

* Top players: Jamar Curry, Terik Brown, Henry Madden.

* Outlook: Jerry Green led this program to the cusp of an NCAA appearance--and home victories over UCLA and Arizona--then took off for Tennessee. Kent, a former Duck player, moves over from St. Mary’s, but the void left by the departed Kenya Wilkins at point guard is huge.

OREGON STATE

* Coach: Eddie Payne.

* 1996-97 finish: 7-20 (3-15), ninth in conference.

* Returning starters: Four.

* Top players: Corey Benjamin, Ron Grady.

* Outlook: Payne had something going here, until Carson Cunningham, a freshman point guard last season who led the team in scoring and assists, decided to bolt back home to Purdue. That puts even more of a load on the talented, but often scattered Benjamin, a swingman who averaged 14.9 points last season and could lead the conference in scoring.

STANFORD

* Coach: Mike Montgomery.

* 1996-97 finish: 22-8 (12-6), tied for second place in conference, lost in third round of NCAA tournament.

* Returning starters: Four.

* Top players: Tim Young, Mark Madsen, Arthur Lee.

* Outlook: Everybody loves the big men but, as Olson said recently, there have been plenty of teams with good big players and shaky guards who have flamed out in March. Lee served a steady, two-year internship under Knight, and will be counted on mostly for defense and to get the ball up court safely and into the post. With defenses collapsing on the middle, shooting guard Kris Weems, who started all 30 games last year, and made 42.6% of his three-point tries, should have plenty of chances to bomb away.

WASHINGTON

* Coach: Bob Bender.

* 1996-97 finish: 17-11 (10-8), sixth place in conference, lost in the first round of the NIT.

* Returning starters: Three.

* Top players: Todd MacCulloch, Patrick Femerling.

* Outlook: The Huskies aren’t as deep as Stanford up front, especially after losing Mark Sanford to the pros, but will be gigantic as long as starting 7-footers MacCulloch and Femerling can stay in the lineup and out of foul trouble. MacCulloch can be dominating at times--Washington was 7-0 when he had double figures in both rebounds and points.

WASHINGTON STATE

* Coach: Kevin Eastman.

* 1996-97 finish: 13-17 (5-13), eighth place in conference.

* Returning starters: Two.

* Top players: Carlos Daniel, Rodrigo de la Fuente, Blake Pengelley.

* Outlook: It’s transition time for the Cougars, whose recent run of relative success ended last season when three key players were either tossed off or left the team for academic and personal problems. Daniel is a consistent inside player--he led the conference in double-doubles--and there is enough young perimeter talent to keep things from falling apart.