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Stanford Cardinal (2001: 31-3)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

It's safe to say coach Mike Montgomery never has suffered such huge personnel losses in any of his 23 seasons as a Division I head coach. Of course, he's never had so much talent to lose, either.

Four starters departed from a program that compiled a four-year record of 114-19 with three Pac-10 Conference titles and a trip to the 1998 Final Four. By historical standards, what the Cardinal has achieved since the mid-1990s is borderline science fiction.

Twins Jason and Jarron Collins, wing Ryan Mendez and point guard Michael McDonald arrived as freshmen that magical Final Four season and helped run Stanford's string of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to seven.

Before 1989, remember, Stanford hadn't been to the tournament once since 1942.

Stanford isn't exactly starting from scratch. Junior guard Casey Jacobsen is an All-America selection, and Montgomery's recruiting has netted a higher level of player in recent years than ever before at the school.

Still, the Cardinal enters the season without four players who combined in their careers to score 2,637 points and grab 1,331 rebounds.

It's a tribute to Montgomery's program that rivals will shed few tears over his personnel departures. Stanford won't be the premier team in the country, but it won't be anyone's victim, either.

Projected starters

PG - Tony Giovacchini (6-2, 180 lbs., SR, #25, 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 12.3 minutes, .345 FG, .182 3PT, .600 FT, Judge Memorial HS/Salt Lake City, Utah)

Giovacchini will get the first shot at winning the vacant point guard slot, and it's likely he'll be in the starting lineup for the opening of the season. He is steady and competent, knows the system, and he's a senior.

Giovacchini enhanced his position with a solid performance during the Cardinal's summer tour of Australia. He averaged 6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the five games, pleasing the coaching staff.

Giovacchini has played 88 career games, all of them off the bench. He had a career-high seven points against both Memphis and UNC-Greensboro, and had an eight-assist, zero-turnover effort against Cal.

SG - Casey Jacobsen (6-6, 210 lbs., JR, #23, 18.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 31.7 minutes, .508 FG, .472 3PT, .813 FT, Glendora HS/Glendora, Calif.)

Jacobsen is the Cardinal's lone returning starter, but he's a terrific starting place.

Jacobsen was the third-leading scorer in the Pac-10, but it's his willingness to take -- and make -- the big shots that separates him. He vaulted into the national spotlight when he scored 26 points and made the winning basket with 3.6 seconds left in a December win over Duke.

Jacobsen led the Cardinal in scoring 20 times, reaching double figures 33 times in 34 games. He scored a career-high 27 points against Cincinnati in an NCAA Tournament game, one of 14 games he notched at least 20 points.

A superb perimeter shooter, Jacobsen led Stanford with 84 three-pointers and was fourth in the nation at .472 from beyond the arc. He had 14 games with at least three three-point baskets.

SF - Josh Childress (6-7, 190 lbs., FR, #1, 24.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 bpg at Mayfair HS/Lakewood, Calif.)

A McDonald's All-America selection, Childress ranks among the most coveted players Stanford has recruited.

Although Montgomery anticipates a training camp battle for the small forward spot, it will be surprising if Childress doesn't eventually earn the starting role.

Childress had a 39-point, 22-rebound effort in a triple-overtime game against Long Beach Poly. He was an all-state selection and was voted MVP of Suburban League. As a junior, he averaged 22 points and seven rebounds, helping his team to a 27-3 record. He had a 40-point, 20-rebound game in just three quarters of play as an 11th grader.

PF - Justin Davis (6-8, 230 lbs., SO, #22, 3.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 11.6 minutes, .514 FG, .442 FT, St. Joseph-Notre Dame HS/Berkeley, Calif.)

The Cardinal expects Davis this season to blossom into a physical and explosive presence at power forward. He redshirted two years ago because of the team's glut of big men, then missed the first six games last season with a strained abdominal muscle and ankle sprain.

Those injuries, combined with plain rustiness, prevented Davis from showing his dynamic qualities on a consistent basis last season. But there were encouraging glimpses.

Davis had nine points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes against Fordham in a non-conference game, and had 10 rebounds, seven points, three steals and a block at Oregon. In a career-high 21 minutes, he had eight points, three rebounds and two blocked shots against UCLA.

C - Curtis Borchardt (7-0, 230 lbs., JR, #11, 6.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 16.5 minutes, .534 FG, .429 3PT, .768 FT, Eastlake HS/Redmond, Wash.)

Stanford fans are holding their breath that Borchardt's delicate right foot holds up this season. If it does, the Cardinal may be capable of another special season.

Borchardt missed the final 14 games of last season and the last 11 as a freshman after sustaining separate stress fracture injuries in the foot. He had surgery last spring, with two screws implanted into the navicular bone to help stabilize the area.

Borchardt did not play on the team's Australian summer tour, but began playing half-court games in August. Montgomery said the team expects him to be ready for the season.

Key reserve

G - Julius Barnes (6-1, 180 lbs., JR, #24, 4.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 14.6 minutes, .381 FG, .317 3PT, .727 FT, Rowland HS/Rowland Heights, Calif.)

Originally recruited as a quick and explosive athlete with the potential to become a point guard, Barnes still is learning the position. As a result, his role this season is most likely to play as a backup at both guard positions.

Barnes gives the Cardinal a dimension of speed and aggressiveness. He was voted his club's most improved player last season, when he played double-digit minutes in 26 games.

Barnes had his best game against Duke, contributing nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 17 minutes. He scored a career-high 15 points in a win over Oregon State.

Bottom line

It's easy to look at what Stanford lost from a year ago and discount the Cardinal as a serious threat to win the Pac-10 title. But Montgomery is among the nation's top coaches -- in his 24th season, he needs 27 victories to reach 500 -- and he is working with a better caliber athlete the last few years than ever before.

Jacobsen's evolution will be interesting to watch. He was so good, so cool under pressure as a sophomore last year it's sometimes hard to imagine him getting much better. But Montgomery expects more and Jacobsen's fire burns so intensely he should take his game up another step this season.

Without question, there are issues.

"Certainly depth at the post has got to be a consideration," Montgomery said. "We can't afford to lose people there. We just don't have alternatives. Our perimeter will be fine. The development of freshman kids will be critical."

If Borchardt and Davis remain healthy, and if Childress and Chris Hernandez are able to deliver as freshmen, Stanford will be a handful. The three-time defending Pac-10 champs aren't ready to concede their title just yet.