Last Season: 32–3, Sweet 16

	Powell will power the Cardinal this year.

Maples Pavilion is teeming with hoops talent. Lindsey Yamasaki led Stanford in scoring a year ago. Sara McGee was MVP of a hard-nosed Sacramento prep league. And legend has it Ogonna Nnamani can touch a point seven inches above the rim. Too bad they're playing for the national champion volleyball team. "We're really going to miss Lindsey," says Tara VanDerveer. But Coach won't get much sympathy. Although Yamasaki's basketball eligibility has expired, superwoman Nicole Powell (16.2 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 6.3 apg) is back. The 6'2" junior swing leads a rotation that'll rely heavily on three sophomore guards: redshirt PG Susan King and gunners Kelley Suminski (46.3% 3PT) and Sebnem Kimyacioglu (42.4%). And if the Cardinal should falter up front? Volleyball season ends Dec. 21.

One Step Ahead: We mentioned the killer spikers, but Stanford also boasts countless Olympic swimmers, as well as top-flight track and tennis programs. This infrastructure gives VanDerveer's players access to the latest training techniques and nutrition ideas. No wonder they never seem to tire when the game winds down.

One Step Behind: Tennessee has 14 games against pre-season Top 25 clubs. Stanford has two (including the Vols). The Cardinal also had two last season, before losing to the first ranked team they saw in the Tourney (Colorado). They can escape sloppy play in the Pac-10, but the weak league schedule doesn't help when March arrives.

2002-2003 NCAA PREVIEW
WOMEN
1. Duke Blue Devils	5. LSU Tigers
2. Tennessee Volunteers	6. Texas Tech Red Raiders
3. Kansas State Wildcats	7. Texas Longhorns
4. UConn Huskies	8. Stanford Cardinal

This article will appear in the November 25 issue of ESPN The Magazine.