Enquirer wire services

Stanford won't get Josh Childress back for a week, but that hasn't slowed the Cardinal from beginning the season 8-0, including impressive victories over Kansas and Gonzaga.

Don't expect Stanford to match its 20-0 start in 2001, but it should saunter into a potential top-five matchup with Arizona the second weekend of the Pacific-10 Conference season at 12-0. After beating up Harvard today, the Cardinal will play Washington State and Washington at home before traveling to Arizona State and then Arizona.

And the Cardinal are doing it with Chris Hernandez's back crankier than an elf after Christmas and with Childress hoping to be able to practice.

"(Stanford) is as good as any team we've played, easily," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, whose team has played Maryland, Saint Joseph's and Missouri.

MORE FROM OUT WEST: Arizona lost one of its top frontcourt players when 6-foot-9 junior Isaiah Fox went out for the season with a knee injury. Coach Lute Olson's team will add height and depth when 6-9 Ivan Radenovic becomes eligible. Radenovic had a chance to sign a pro contract with a team in his native Serbia, but he wanted to attend college in the United States.

Radenovic didn't know where Arizona was and had never heard of Olson, a Hall of Fame coach. A telephone call to a friend playing basketball at Monmouth College in New Jersey helped clear the confusion.

"I asked my friend, 'What is this place called Arizona?' " Radenovic told the Arizona Daily Star. "He said they were one of the top five schools for basketball. He said, 'Coach Olson is a legend in America. He is the best coach in America.' "

I said, 'OK, that is good enough for me.' "

THE HALL: Count Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien as a Seton Hall fan after his Buckeyes lost to the Pirates 75-59.

"They're every bit as good as anyone we've played to this point, in my mind, including Georgia Tech," he said. "They've got answers all over the place, they guard you pretty tough and they're very good offensively. They can score inside, they've got guys that can shoot, they've got good size and they've got arguably the best point guard in the country (in Andre Barrett)."

TRASH TALK: Nevada senior guard Todd Okeson, who is from Weskan, Kan., and scored 12 points in Nevada's 75-61 upset of Kansas: "I still have goose bumps. It hasn't really set in that we just beat Kansas. I'm sure the whole county was watching, not just Weskan."