PACIFIC 10 BASKETBALL / DAN HAFNER : Arizona’s Stoudamire Makes His Own Plays

During a recent conference call among Pacific 10 coaches, Arizona point guard Damon Stoudamire’s magnificent play was one of the main topics of conversation.

Almost every coach talked at length.

Finally, in exasperation, after hearing so much praise for the 5-foot-10 senior, Oregon State Coach Jim Anderson said, “We have to play this guy in the next few days, and sitting here listening to what the other coaches are saying doesn’t make me feel very good. Isn’t there any way to stop him?”

Anderson found out Saturday night, when Stoudamire had 26 points and nine assists in the Wildcats’ 111-98 victory.

Stoudamire, from Portland, had guaranteed a sweep in his final appearance before his home area fans, and didn’t leave anything to chance. He also had 28 points and eight assists in last Thursday’s 97-89 victory that was Oregon’s first home loss.

Oregon Coach Jerry Green, when asked about Stoudamire’s guarantee, said he knew his Ducks were in for a long night.

The Pac-10 is top heavy with outstanding point guards. Almost every team has a good one. Three are a bit above the rest--UCLA’s Tyus Edney, Stanford’s Brevin Knight and Oregon’s Kenya Wilkins. That Stoudamire stands above them is high praise.

Usually, the point guard runs the offense. It is his responsibility to set up shooters for the easiest shots. Last season, Stoudamire had Khalid Reeves as his shooter. This season, the Wildcats don’t have an outstanding shooter. That leaves Stoudamire in the unusual role of playmaker and shooter.

For that reason, he leads the conference in scoring at 22 points per game and assists at 7.4. He also is fourth in three-point shooting at 46.3% and third in free-throw percentage at 81.6%. It also explains why the Wildcat offense sputters on occasion. If enough pressure is put on Stoudamire, he’ll sometimes try to do too much.

California Coach Todd Bozeman is one of Stoudamire’s biggest boosters. After Stoudamire had a big game against Cal, Bozeman said, “There are reasons why he’s the premier guard in the country, and he showed us.”

Perhaps Stoudamire’s best game was the overtime victory at Stanford in which he scored 45 points.

Of course, Arizona Coach Lute Olson is a big booster. After Stoudamire’s performance at Stanford, Olson said, “Damon is Damon. We know who our guy is and he knows who our guy is. He will have nights like this because he is so quick and because we try to run a lot of things for him.”

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With the Pac-10 proving to be deeper than in many seasons, it was expected to be difficult to win on the road.

It hasn’t turned out that way. Visiting teams have a 17-19 record, and only Washington State is unbeaten at home. The Cougars are 5-2 in the conference, with both losses on the road.

The biggest road upset came last Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, where Cal jolted UCLA. But maybe that shouldn’t have been so unexpected. The victory over the Bruins gave Cal a 6-1 road record. At home, the Bears are 5-4, 0-3 in conference play. One road victory was over Cincinnati, a nationally ranked team.

Notes

Kevin Eastman, in his first season as Washington State’s coach, gives much of the credit for the 5-0 home record to Friel Court fans. “The people who watch here are as important as the people that play here,” he said. “The other night, the 9,000 fans were so noisy the players couldn’t hear me.” When the Cougars play in Arizona this week, their position--half a game out of first place--might be in jeopardy. They play the Wildcats at Tucson tonight. Although Arizona has won 112 of its last 116 at home, the Wildcats lost to UCLA in their last game there. . . . Despite two convincing victories in the Northwest, Arizona remained 12th in the Associated Press rankings. With the loss to Cal, UCLA dropped to seventh, highest ranking for a conference team. Connecticut, soundly trounced by Kansas, dropped only to fourth. . . . Washington State, the nation’s best shooting team (53.3%), will go against the stingiest Pac-10 defense at Arizona, whose opponents are shooting 40.6%. . . . The Oregon schools are in the Bay Area is week . . . Oregon State forward Mustapha Hoff, comparing UCLA and Arizona: “I think Arizona is a lot tougher than UCLA. Their attitude toward the game is more physical. Every time we turned our heads, they were on the boards.”.