Taking a Shot at the NBA
On June 27, Twin Towers Jarron and Jason Collins, both '01, were drafted into the NBA—Jason by the Houston Rockets (then traded to the New Jersey Nets) with the 18th pick and Jarron by the Utah jazz as the 53rd overall selection. Jason, who redshirted twice because of injuries, is the first Stanford basketball player to enter the draft with college eligibility remaining. His first-round selection guarantees him a three-year NBA contract—and leaves a large gap in Stanford's front line. Junior center Curtis Borchardt—whose collegiate career has also been plagued by injury—will try to fill his shoes.
A Golden Bear Joins the Gymnasts
Fresh from its second Pac-10 title in four years, the women's gymnastics team welcomed new head coach Kristen Smyth June 19. Smyth, recently an assistant coach at Arizona State, is no stranger to the Bay Area; a Cal grad, she was recently named Berkeley's gymnast of the '90's. She'll take over for 2001 Pac-10 Coach of the Year Mark Cook, who resigned in May to join the University of Arkansas. He and his wife René will coach the Razorbacks' brand new team.
Summer's No Vacation for Tom, Powell
When DuBose Heyward penned the lyric "summertime, and the living is easy," he didn't have Stanford athletes in mind. Two Cardinal stars—basketball player Nicole Powell and volleyball player Logan Tom—spent their "vacations" in international competition. Powell, '04, topped the junior national team with 6.3 rebounds per game during the mid-July Women's Junior World championships in the Czech Republic. Not to be outdone, Tom, '03, led Team USA with 30 kills in the team's three-match sweep of the World championship qualifiers in Puerto Rico later that month. With national team competitions in East Asia through August 26 and Stanford's first game August 31 in Charlottesville, Va., Tom's schedule has been a little bit crowded. "I kind of want a couple days off," she told the Stanford Daily.
For Volleyball, a New Coach—and an Old One
Women's volleyball head coach Don shaw didn't have far to move following his June 22 resignation. His new job? Coaching the men's squad. Shaw, whose .863 career winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I history, will be replaced as coach of the women's team by John Dunning, the head coach at University of the Pacific. Dunning will look to steady a squad coming off its worst Pac-10 finish in history (fourth), while Shaw will join an optimistic men's team led by senior Marcus Skacel. Neither will miss playing the other; Stanford was 12-10 against Pacific during their tenures.
