College Hoops: Stanford

I am Orso'Grande.

Western basketball. Yup, college hoops not in the East. Sure enough basketball outside the Big East or the ACC.

Not just a team or two here or there. Not just Gonzaga, Memphis, Nevada, Texas, or Illinois, who would do better to form their own conference rather than continue to play wherever the heck they play.

But a real, honest to God, CONFERENCE!

That would be the Pacific 9, plus Stanford. The aforementioned nine being the teams the Cardinal get to play prior to the NCAA Tournament. Thereafter, the Palo Alto 5 make it to the Elite Eight before being eliminated by a team from the Big East or the ACC. (Sorry.)

Oh, sure, 'Zona gets to dance cause everyone loves Lute; UCLA goes because you really don't want to miss their cheerleaders, and Washington puts in an appearance because somebody besides Gonzaga has to go from that upper left-hand corner of the country.

But the Men from Maples will dominate the Pac10, in large part because Player of the Year Chris Hernandez would rather have 10 assists than 20 points. Look for clutch shooting from Grunfeld, and for Haryasz to lead the way down low. I boldly predict that Tim Morris will live up to some of the hype he got (but didn't deliver on) last year. And don't overlook Jason Haas as a very solid backup for their star PG.

Stanford: End of message.