Nov. 24, 1997

Stanford Travels to Big Island Invitational Tournament

Stanford (1-0 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) vs Hawai'i Hilo (0-0 overall, 0-0 Pac-West)

Friday, November 28, 1997, 7:45 p.m. hst, Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium (3,000)

F - Mark Madsen, 6-8, 235, Sophomore, Danville, Ca (18.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg)
F - Peter Sauer, 6-7, 225, Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa (6.0 pg, 8.0 rpg)
C - Tim Young, 7-1, 245, Junior, Santa Cruz, Ca (10.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg)
G - Kris Weems, 6-3, 195, Junior, Kansas City, Ks (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
G - Arthur Lee, 6-0, 175, Junior, Los Angeles, Ca (11.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 3.0 apg)

F - Ed Ellis, 6-7, 225, Junior, St. Louis, Mo (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
F - Merriel Jenkins, 6-7, 210, Junior, Philadelphia, Pa (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
F - Mario Claytor, 6-5, 215, Senior, Radford, Va (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
G - Eric Culbertson, 6-4, 200, Sophomore, San Bernardino, Ca (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)
G - Maceo Thomas, 6-2, 175, Junior, El Cerrito, Ca (0.0 ppg, 0.0 rpg)

This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Mike Montgomery is in his 12th season at Stanford ... He is Stanford's second winningest basketball coach with a record of 206-127 ... His career record (8 seasons at Montana and 11-plus seasons at Stanford) is 360-204 ... Montgomery has coached Stanford to five NCAA and four NIT appearances during his tenure at Stanford ... Jim Forkum is in his third season at Hawai'i Hilo with a record of 20-35.

Stanford begins first round play in the Big Island Basketball Tournament with a game against Hawai'i Hilo ... The winner of this game will face either Montana or Valparaiso in the second round on Saturday, November, 29, at 7:45 p.m. hst ... The championship game is slated for Sunday, November 30, at 4:15 p.m. hst ... Besides Stanford, Hawai'i Hilo, Montana and Valparaiso, the other teams are Butler, Oklahoma, Pacific and Wisconsin ... Seven of the eight teams in the tournament advanced to the 1997 NCAA Tournament ... They were Stanford, Butler, Montana, Oklahoma, Pacific, Valparaiso and Wisconsin ... Stanford beat Oklahoma, 80-67, in the first round of the NCAA tourney in Tucson ... This is Stanford's first trip to Hawaii since the 1992-93 season when the team lost three games at the Maui Classic ... During the 1989-90 season, the Cardinal dropped a 69-57 verdict to the Hawaii Rainbows in the first round of the NIT ... Stanford's last win in Hawaii took place during the 1988-89 season when the Cardinal scored a 69-56 victory over Baylor during day three of the Maui Classic.

Stanford dominated from start to finish in a 87-57 victory over the University of San Diego (11/18) ... Four Stanford players scored in double figures, led by Mark Madsen with 18 points ... Peter Sauer and Tim Young each garnered eight rebounds.

"I like our personnel, and I like our depth." Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery

The 1997-98 Stanford frontline is the tallest in school history ... Eight players are 6-foot-7 or taller ... Ryan Mendez and Peter Sauer are 6-foot-7, Mark Madsen at 6-foot-8, Jarron Collins, Mark Seaton and Pete Van Elswyk (all 6-foot-9), Jason Collins at 6-foot-10, and Tim Young at 7-foot-1 ... The 1987-88 Cardinal had seven players 6-foot-7 or above including 6-11 Greg Butler and 6-10 Derek Bruton ... The 1988-89 varsity had six players 6-foot-7 or above, including 6-10 Derek Bruton and three players at 6-9, Paul Garrett, Adam Keefe and Langtry Meyer ... The 1991-92 Cardinal had eight players over 6-foot-7.

Off the court, Mark Madsen is outgoing and is popular with his teammates, the news media and with Stanford fans ... On the court, he is known as "Mad Dog" ... Watch him play and the description fits ... Madsen is talented, tough and a winner ... The 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward is off to a great start in 1997-98 ... Madsen hit 7-of-7 shots, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out two assists and stole a pass in 20 minutes of play in the season opener against the University of San Diego (11/18) ... Madsen has been compared to former Cardinal All-American Adam Keefe ... Keefe played in a school record 125 games, finished as the school's all-time rebounder (1,119) and #2 all-time scorer (2,319).

"Mark Madsen is going to cause a lot of problems for defenses. He's tough, a great competitor and close to becoming an excellent player." Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery

Arthur Lee has inherited the point-guard position in 1997-98 and is off to a good start ... Against the University of San Diego (11/18) in the season opener, Lee hit 4-of-4 shots, scored eleven points and dished out three assists in 17 minutes of play ... The Stanford coaching staff recruited Lee three years ago with the purpose of stepping in and replacing All-American Brevin Knight when he graduated ... Knight has taken his skills to the NBA, and Lee is now the man in charge ... Lee is ready to run the Cardinal offense.

"I'm ready for it. I've been waiting for so long. Brevin Knight was a great person to play behind and learn from. He is the epitome of a point guard as far as I'm concerned." Stanford point guard Arthur Lee

Lee started 12 games last year, including a start at point-guard against Navy ... Lee responded with 18 points (6-for-8 from the floor, 2-for-3 from three-point range, 4-for-4 from the free throw line), dished out two assists and blocked two shots in 33 minutes ... Stanford utilized a three-guard offense last year, and that enabled Lee to gain valuable playing time in preparation for assuming fulltime duties in 1997-98 ... Lee's best game in 1996-97 certainly was a 26-point (career-high), four rebound, two assist, and two steal performance in 32 minutes of play off the bench at USC ... For the season, Lee averaged 7.6 ppg, and hit 79 percent from the free throw line ... Lee realizes that the focus of the offense will be to push the ball inside, and that is fine with the junior.

"I know I'm capable of doing a lot of good things just like Brevin was capable of doing a lot of good things. Brevin Knight was a great player, no doubt, but all I can do is be Arthur Lee, go out and play my game and enjoy it." Stanford point-guard Arthur Lee

Season tickets are still available for Stanford Basketball 1997-98 ... However, single game tickets for games against Arizona, California and UCLA are sold out ... For ticket information, call (650) 723-1021 or (800) Beat Cal.

The University of Hawai'i Hilo opens its 1997-98 season against Stanford ... Stanford is one of two Pac-10 opponents the Vulcans will face this year ... Hawai'i Hilo will also play Oregon State later in the year ... Merriel Jenkins, a three-time conference Pacific West Player of the Week, averaged 22.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in addition to 78 blocks and a shooting percentage of 56 percent ... Maceo Thomas, from El Cerrito, Ca. and Monterey Peninaula College, is the team's starting point-guard.

The Stanford basketball team will leave for Hilo, Hawaii, on Tuesday, November 25, at 8:50 a.m. from San Francisco on United Airlines flight #825 with a connecting flight in Honolulu on Aloha #4252 with arrival in Kona at 1:50 p.m. hst ... The team will stay two nights at the Keauhou Beach Hotel in Kona ... The phone number is (800) 367-6025 ... The team will bus to Hilo on Thursday, November 27, and stay at the Hawaii Naniloa Resort ... The phone number is (800) 367-5360 ... The team will leave for San Francisco on Monday, December 1, at 12:45 p.m. from Kona on United Airlines flight #40 with arrival in San Francisco at 8:20 p.m. ... Bob Vazquez, Media Relations Director, will travel with the team.

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