Stanford-Gonzaga Could Be a Classic

The gathering of the week will be for the dedication of Nell and John Wooden Court at Pauley Pavilion Saturday before the UCLA-Michigan State game, with many luminaries of the Wooden era in attendance.

But the game of the week on the West Coast is in Oakland, where No. 9 Stanford plays No. 13 Gonzaga Saturday in the Pete Newell Challenge.

The winner will have a resume that will have earned a spot in the top 10, not just one of those rankings that have been handed out willy-nilly lately.

Gonzaga’s overtime victory over Missouri Saturday was one of the best-played games of the young season, and it was a landmark for the Bulldogs as well: Missouri, ranked No. 3 at the time, was the highest-ranked team Gonzaga has beaten in the regular season or the NCAA tournament.

This is a talented Missouri team, but Gonzaga had the talent, not just the wile or the three-point shooting, to play with the Tigers. There isn’t much doubt this is the deepest, most-talented team Gonzaga has had.

“Talent’s kind of a relative term, but we have a lot of depth and a lot of different pieces now,� Gonzaga Coach Mark Few said.

The Missouri game was so intense, guard Blake Stepp compared it to the double-overtime loss to top-seeded Arizona in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season that went down as one of the best games of that or any other NCAA tournament.

Now Gonzaga is preparing for an undefeated Stanford team that has played exceptionally well despite injury trouble, counting then top-ranked Kansas among its victims.

Point guard Chris Hernandez has missed two games because of bulging disks in his lower back but is expected to return against Gonzaga, and Josh Childress remains sidelined because of a foot injury that could be the precursor to a stress fracture.

“They’re a legitimate Final Four team after watching them,� said Few, who rates Missouri at that level too.

“[Stanford] is doing it without Josh, and that bodes really well for them. He’s a heck of a player. Stanford has inside guys, outside guys, wings who can shoot, guys who can rebound.�

Gonzaga, instead of having one exceptional player and a lot who understand their roles and know how to play, appears to have a roster deep enough to match up with more traditional powers now.

Stepp is an excellent guard in the Gonzaga tradition, capable of big scoring games and averaging eight assists.

But the eye-popping talent is forward Ronny Turiaf, who was recovering from a stress fracture in his foot when Gonzaga suffered its only loss against St. Joseph’s in its opening game.

The 6-foot-10, hyper-athletic junior has five 20-plus scoring games already, and averages almost 17 points, 5 1/2 rebounds and two blocked shots. Few thinks he’ll get better.

“He’s just now getting healthy. He’s still not quite there yet,� he said. “He had surgery on his ankle a week after our Arizona game last year and rehabbed and played for France in the European championships. That might not sound like much, but that’s with Tony Parker, Jerome Moiso, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, a bunch of NBA guys. Then he comes back with a stress fracture. He’s still on an upward swing.�

Forward Cory Violette is one of the old standbys, and a couple of the new pieces are versatile freshman Adam Morrison, who scored 17 points against Missouri, and Washington transfer Erroll Knight.

“[Morrison’s] good. He can really score, he’s long, 6-8, and fearless, really,� Few said.

There’s a little history between Stanford and Gonzaga, which actually leads the series, 2-1.

Stanford got its only victory last season, defeating Gonzaga, 81-71, after trailing at the half.

Gonzaga upset second-seeded Stanford in the NCAA tournament during the Bulldogs’ 1999 run to the Elite Eight, and also won a National Invitation Tournament game over Stanford in 1994.

Wooden Tribute

About 100 former UCLA players -- including 61 who played for John Wooden -- are expected to attend the dedication of Nell and John Wooden Court on Saturday.

UCLA is requesting that fans be in their seats by 3 p.m. for the ceremony before tipoff against Michigan State.

Among the players expected to be there are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Andre McCarter, Jamaal Wilkes, Henry Bibby, Sidney Wicks, Lynn Shackelford, Lucius Allen, Michael Warren, Keith Erickson, Fred Slaughter, Walt Hazzard, Gary Cunningham, Rafer Johnson and Willie Naulls.

Who’s (Not) No. 1?

The polls can’t figure it out, splitting this week between once-beaten Connecticut at the top of the Associated Press poll and unbeaten Kentucky in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll.

Kansas and Florida took their turns and promptly lost, as Connecticut had before them.

We say that in mid-December with 21 teams still undefeated, it’s too early to rank a one-loss team at the top.

Nor does Kentucky look much like a No. 1 team. The Wildcats are a hard-nosed, veteran group, but they’re not tremendously talented.

Count Stanford’s Mike Montgomery and Few among those who think Georgia Tech has done more than any other team to earn the top ranking.

Graves Concerns at Kansas

First, there is Jeff Graves, the burly power forward who was such a force during the NCAA tournament last season and is running afoul of new Coach Bill Self.

And then there’s the news out of Illinois about a mock funeral for Self as new Illini Coach Bruce Weber tried to exorcise the ghost of the former Illini coach whose presence lingers enough to make Weber uncomfortable.

Weber donned a dark suit last week and told his players, “This is a funeral ... It’s the end of Bill Self.... It’s over. There’s no more comparing. He’s gone.�

Self said he laughed and checked his pulse, but he is focused on Kansas. Self suspended Graves last week for oversleeping and missing an 11 a.m. practice. He reinstated Graves on Monday but wouldn’t guarantee he’ll play Saturday against UC Santa Barbara after missing the Oregon game.

Graves helped sustain Kansas last season after Wayne Simien was sidelined by shoulder surgery, and had 16 points and 16 rebounds in the NCAA title game loss to Syracuse.

This season, he has lost his starting position to freshman David Padgett and is averaging only about four points and four rebounds a game. Padgett averages eight points and five rebounds, but it’s natural to think a freshman might fade at some point during the long season, and Graves’ brawn will be needed.

Undersized, Overwhelming

At only 6-4, Arizona’s Hassan Adams has been playing power forward because of frontcourt depth issues that arose after season-ending knee surgery to Isaiah Fox. Adams is doing fine: He scored 30 points as the Wildcats defeated then sixth-ranked Texas and had 20 against then 22nd-ranked Marquette. He also averaged six rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the two games.

Arizona also is seeking to add Ivan Radenovic, a 6-9, 220-pound forward, to its roster, possibly as early as Saturday.

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Making His Mark

A look at Mark Few’s head coaching record at Gonzaga:

*--* Year Overall WCC WCC Finish 1999-00 26-9 11-3 2nd 2000-01 26-7 13-1 T1st 2001-02 29-4 13-1 T1st 2002-03 24-9 12-2 1st

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