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« Sunday « March 21, 2004
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Stanford runs out of miracles
(FoxSports.com)
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This time, there was no fantastic finish for the Cardinal.Hope slips away, again. It seems like every year at this time, and definitely since I began blogging back in 1999, that I'm in full condolence mode for my poor, beloved Stanford men's basketball squad. But after a 27-0 start, you really started to think that this was going to be our year. It was filled with record win streaks, improbable comebacks, and magical buzzer-beaters ... until last night. I don't know what to say, except, wait until next year. What else can a die-hard alum do? (And now I know how Red Sox fans must feel year after year after year ... hope springs eternal but it is never fulfilled.)About 10 yeas ago, when Stanford was manhandled and bounced out of the NCAAs by a big, physical UMass team led by Marcus Camby, Stanford coach Mike Montgomery insured that the Cardinal would never again be pushed around when he started recruiting size. But quick, athletic teams caused problems. So with the addition of recruits like Brevin Knight, Stanford started to become more athletic. Well, this year's team was both big and athletic; you couldn't punch them in the mouth, and you couldn't run all around them. But the thing that seems to be lacking now is that fabled killer instinct. These kids may be too nice.
They had Alabama down 13 points with 8 minutes to go, and let them back in. Teams like Duke and Kentucky would have doubled that margin and completely demoralized the other guys. Crush, kill, destroy: not so cool in real life, but completely necessary in championship sports. Now, I know you can recruit size, and you can recruit speed. But can you recruit players who have the desire rip an opponent's heart out when they get the chance? And how much does the head coach's own mentality figure into that? Time will tell. I guess that East Coast media bias isn't really a bias at all; now that Stanford, Gonzaga, Arizona, and Washington are all out, it may be true: college basketball on the Left Coast isn't as good. Thanks for a great season, Cardinal. Better luck next year. UPDATE (4:30pm): Well, I now feel only slightly better about things because overall Number 1 seed, Kentucky, went down in flames in Round Two as well; but losing this early still stinks.
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