Pac-10: Lopez brothers lead streaking Cardinal

Strangers always have to ask who’s who when encountering Stanford’s nearly identical 7-foot Lopez twins. Among the telltale signs:

One has short hair, the other an Afro explosion.

One wears No. 11, the other 42.

One looks to score, the other to prevent points.

One – and proceed with caution when venturing down this particular two-way street – is better than the other.

Nothing galls these oversized siblings more than when people attempt to separate them at basketball birth, or simply pass judgment.

Doesn’t matter that Brook Lopez averages 18.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season, while the other brother, the one with the longer hair and larger jersey number, collects a more modest 8.8 and 5.9 totals, respectively.

“That bothers me a lot,” Brook Lopez said, his voice rising as he offers a loyal retort. “In practice, he’s as good or better than me. I guess people are just looking for another way to differentiate the two of us. We don’t bother with that stuff. I like to focus on offense, Robin on defense. When we play each other, we make each other better.”

When they play together, the results lately have been staggering. The Lopez brothers more and more tend to terrorize opposing Pac-10 teams, as the first half of the league schedule has ably demonstrated.

With UCLA (20-2 overall, 8-1 league) attempting to put some distance between itself and the rest of the Pac pack, the Cardinal (18-3, 7-2) have been better than expected and stubbornly hung close.

Two Lopez brothers are more than most opposing teams can handle inside, particularly when entering the lane and attempting to attack the basket. There are far too many Lopez hands hovering way above the basket, slapping away shots with emphasis.

In a 65-51 victory over Washington in Seattle last week, Brook Lopez had five blocked shots, Robin two of his own, and the Cardinal limited their hosts to an atrocious 28.8-percent shooting night.

Two days later, Stanford upended Washington State in overtime, 67-65, as Brook Lopez came up with five more blocks, his brother one, just enough to unsettle the Cougars.

It’s no wonder the Cardinal mascot is a tree. It’s no wonder Stanford leads the Pac-10 in blocks by a healthy margin, with 4.86 per game. Robin Lopez, in spite of his meager rejections on the trip in comparison to his brother, remains second in the league in blocks, with 2.l4 per game. Brook Lopez, who has appeared in just 12 games after serving an academic-related suspension, now averages 2.08 per game.

Washington never had a chance, watching its shots knocked all the way to nearby Lake Washington. Brook Lopez hurt the Huskies badly on the other end as well, connecting on 11 of 17 from the floor and 9 of 12 from the foul line, while piling up a career-high 31 points.

“I just tried to keep doing what I was doing,” he said. “I was getting good looks. I was just trying to finish. We usually try to pound it inside and see how the other team reacts.”

Everyone was a little surprised when this Lopez – no one wants to say the dumber one – passed up a chance to become an NBA lottery pick and chose to return for his sophomore season, only to quit going to class and have to sit out his team’s first nine games as punishment. Why didn’t he just turn pro if he wasn’t interested in sitting through class anymore?

Lopez had to convince his coach, Trent Johnson, that he was serious about playing and prove it on his report card before he was re-instated.

“For the most part, he was embarrassed by the situation he put himself in and I expect him to play well,” Johnson said shortly after waving the twin back on the floor.

A refocused Brook Lopez has been impressive, posting some huge numbers. He came up with 19 points and 16 rebounds against Arizona State, and that career-best 31 points supplemented with 13 rebounds at Washington.

“The biggest thing is his ability to keep his composure and play through situations,” Johnson said. “He played hard when he came here, but he had not been able to sustain it that much. He makes better decisions coming out of double-teams now.”

Considering what he’s been through, with all of those books getting in the way, will Brook Lopez be more serious about the NBA after this season?

He conveniently blocks that shot. He deflects the subject.

“I just want to gain more experience on the college level,” he said. “I like my teammates a lot. It isn’t a supreme sacrifice. I feel the NBA isn’t going anywhere. I’d really like to graduate.”

That loud groan was nine other schools reacting in unison to this possibility. Four years of Brook and Robin Lopez could be shell-shocking, not to mention tough on the neck as defenders try to do their thing.

While the Cardinal field the league’s tallest and most imposing front line, UCLA remains the best overall team by far. The Bruins have slipped just once, to crosstown rival USC (14-7, 5-4) a few weeks back. More recently, they absolutely destroyed the desert schools at Pauley Pavilion, posting a crushing 84-51 victory over Arizona State and following that up with an 82-60 pasting of Arizona. These guys have so much firepower it’s not fair. Freshman center Kevin Love supplied a combined 46 points and 21 rebounds in the two-game set. Josh Shipp came up with 21 points against the Sun Devils, Russell Westbrook 21 points against the Wildcats. Darren Collison had a combined 16 assists.

“We played one of our best games of the season,” Bruins coach Ben Howland said of the Arizona outcome.
They actually played most of the game against the Wildcats without starting forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who sprained an ankle and has been lost for at least a week. The junior was just bouncing back from a concussion that forced him to miss couple of games when he was injured again.

The league has turned suffocating for most members and settled little below the top two rungs in the standings. Consider that Washington State (17-4, 5-4), Arizona (15-7, 5-4) and USC (14-7, 5-4) are tied for third, while Arizona State (14-7, 4-5), California (13-7, 4-5) and Oregon (13-8, 4-5) share sixth place.

The Cougars and Wildcats have been wildly inconsistent, but not the Trojans. Freshman guard O.J. Mayo has been the reason for steadying the Los Angeles entry, providing leadership beyond his years to go with his high-level basketball skills. Mayo ranks second in the league in scoring, at 20.1 ppg. He leads his team in coach’s confidence.

“He’s been more than I expected,” USC coach Tim Floyd said. “He’s the best college player that I’ve ever coached. He’s had an incredible type of year as a freshman. There have been times I’ve asked him to incorporate everyone. He’s the most competitive, the most coachable and the most skilled player I’ve coached. He’s destined to have a tremendous NBA career.”

Only Washington (12-10, 3-6) and Oregon State (6-15, 0-9) have effectively ruined their postseason chances and turned hopeless, with the Beavers reeling with an 11-game losing streak that hasn’t budged even with a midseason coaching change.

The Huskies were swept in a Pac-10 home series for the first time in four seasons, and just the third time in Romar’s career, a shocking development for these guys. Their homecourt advantage had been near impenetrable.

“It’s something I can think about all the time, and it hasn’t changed,” UW forward Jon Brockman said, his team now hosting two more games against the Los Angeles teams. “We have to get ready for two really good schools. We’ve got to bring it.”

From Lopez to Mayo, the challenge each week in the Pac-10 is enormous. Nothing is sacred anymore, including Seattle’s Edmundson Pavilion. There are too many 7-footers and not enough comfort.

Rising Team: Stanford

The Cardinal were accused of playing a soft non-conference schedule, padding their record before entering Pac-10 play supposedly to appear tougher than they were. So much for that theory, as these guys traveled to the Northwest and swept the Washington schools. Besides the Lopez twins, Lawrence Hill’s 18-point, 7-rebound game in his return to a starting role at Washington State was encouraging and timely after eight consecutive mundane outings that had cost this All-Pac-10 player his first-team job. “It’s hard not to feel good about 18-3 and 7-2 in the conference,” Cardinal coach Trent Johnson said. “We could easily be where some of the others are.”

Falling Team: Washington State

By getting swept at home by the Bay Area schools, the Cougars dropped consecutive games for the first time in two seasons, or since Tony Bennett took over as coach. Junior center Aron Baynes wasn’t much of a factor against Stanford, supplying just 3 points and 2 rebounds, and senior guard Derrick Low had an off game against California with a 5-point output. “I thought we played a high-level game against Stanford,” Bennett said. “Whether it’s missing a few free throws down the stretch, it hurts to lose a couple at home. But you have to bounce back.”

Player of the Week: Ryan Anderson, F, California

This guy delivers, regardless of the lineup around him. Without starting center DeVon Hardin (viral infection) and starting forward Theo Robertson (hip, out for the season) as back-up, Anderson came up with a 33-point, 17-rebound game at Washington, this after delivering 27 points and 9 rebounds at Washington State. In the two road games, he hit 20 of 32 shots, 9 of 14 from 3-point range. “I think he’s more than worthy for player of the year,” Cal coach Ben Braun said of Anderson, stumping for his guy.

Freshman of the Week: Kevin Love, C, UCLA

Every week, this kid is either player of the week or freshman of the week. Against the Arizona schools, he collected two more double-double performances, giving him six consecutive and 13 for the season. He supplied 20 points and 10 rebounds in a rout of Arizona State, and 26 points and 11 boards in an equally lopsided game against Arizona. The NBA would take right him now if it could. It will have to wait until the June draft.

Stats of the Week:

17 and 10: Artem Wallace’s double-double outing against California was unexpected. It was the first in the Washington forward’s collegiate career, the first double-digit rebound game for him and just the second time he’s been in double-figure points in 68 games.

23: As good as he is, this was senior guard Kyle Weaver’s first 20-point scoring game in 107 outings for Washington State, the breakthrough made against Stanford.

28.8: Coming at home of all places, this was Washington’s field-goal shooting percentage against Stanford, weighted down by a 24.1 percent second half (7 for 29). These poor-shooting Huskies then missed 14 of their first 15 3-point shots in their next game against Cal.

32: The number of consecutive free throws made by UCLA guard Darren Collison before he misfired on his first one against Arizona.

They Said It

“We weren’t trying to miss on purpose.” – Washington forward Artem Wallace, when his team suffered through yet another tepid free-throw shooting performance against California, hitting just 8 of 18 attempts in a 79-75 setback.

Key Upcoming Games

Thursday, Feb. 7
Oregon at Stanford, 7 p.m. PT
The Cardinal wouldn’t mind a little payback, hosting one of two teams to beat them (UCLA was the other) during the first half of the conference schedule. These teams played a close one last month in Eugene, Ore., with the Ducks pulling out a 71-66 victory. Stanford, however, is 10-1 at home this season.

UCLA at Washington State, 7:30 p.m. PT
These teams played a wildly entertaining game in Los Angeles in the closing moments after the Bruins had pounded on WSU most of the way. Inside the final two minutes, the Cougars somehow dropped in seven consecutive 3-pointers in a late blitz and nearly pulled the game out before losing 81-74. UCLA is the only Pac-10 team that WSU veterans Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill and Weaver haven’t beaten, which means extra incentive for an upset in the Palouse.

Sunday, Feb. 10
Arizona State at Arizona, 12:30 p.m. MT
Both these teams have had big moments this season, pulling off impressive wins, getting nationally ranked and creating fan excitement before hitting the skids. For the Sun Devils, probably their most enlightened time of the season has been beating Arizona 64-59 in overtime at home last month. Lately, they’ve suffered mightily with five consecutive defeats. The Wildcats are no happier, coming off an 82-60 pounding at UCLA, relegating it from contender status to hopeful challenger again.

Dan Raley has covered the Washington Huskies and the Pac-10 for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for nearly three decades.

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