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In terms of Stanford basketball, Fred Washington has seen it all. He’s seen the highs. A fifth-year forward, Washington was recruited by and played a year under legendary Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. Washington saw limited minutes but played on a team that won 30 games and was ranked No.1 in the nation.
Fred Washington highlights a senior class that includes Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt and Kenny Brown. The foursome has provided valuable depth off the bench for the Cardinal for years.
He’s also seen the lows. During the 2005-06 campaign he played only six games before undergoing knee surgery, watching on the sidelines as the team sputtered into the NIT with a 16-14 record.
Washington’s fellow seniors, Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt and Kenny Brown, never played under Montgomery. But all four entered the program during an era of great success and high expectations, only to struggle under a transition period with Trent Johnson.
Yet as each takes the floor for the final time at Maples this weekend, Stanford is once again a top-ten team. With the program again a contender in the Pac-10, and perhaps beyond, the team in many respects reflects the influence and impact of its senior leaders.
Showing up on the Farm as a skinny 6-8 forward from Mt. Kisko, N.Y., Finger carved out a niche as an energy-providing spark off the bench. While he averaged gaudy numbers (18 points, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks, 5 steals and 4.5 assists) in high school, Finger soon found and embraced his role as the hustle player, the type of guy every coach wants on his team.
Finger often looked to the senior leaders of those Cardinal squads, players like Rob Little and now-assistant coach Nick Robinson. Over the years, as he began to assume the mantle of leadership himself, he emulated the style of Chris Hernandez, the demanding point guard who would often lead by example.
“Everyone thinks the world of Chris,” Finger said. “If I could be thought of like Chris Hernandez, that would be pretty cool.”
Like Hernandez, Finger’s intensity is one of his defining traits. His propensity to dive for rebounds and loose balls quickly endeared him to the Maples Pavilion faithful.
A team co-captain, Finger has enjoyed a good relationship with head coach Trent Johnson since the two first came to the Farm in 2004. Perhaps more than any other player, Finger has epitomized Johnson’s hard-nosed, defensive style of play.
“He kind of gets me, and I get him,” Finger said of his coach. “We get along real well.”
Johnson, for his part, described Finger as “passionate” and “the ultimate team guy.”
Much as his coach repeats the mantra to take the season “one game at a time,” Finger is not dwelling much on his final home stand in a Stanford jersey. He plans to play overseas somewhere after graduation, but for now, Finger has his sights set squarely on winning against Washington.
“If you get caught up in all that stuff you probably won’t play as well,” he said of the pre-game Senior Night festivities. “I probably won’t really think about it until the game’s over.”
Along with the ups and downs in the win and loss columns, Washington has seen just about every injury there is. He’s had three surgeries, one on his wrist, one on one knee and two on another. Just this season, the Los Angeles native has struggled with bronchitis, pulled a groin and jammed a thumb several times.
Dealing with the injuries, as well as the sometimes-difficult transition from Montgomery to Johnson, has served Washington well. “I’m better suited to notice the good stuff more, and kind of block out the bad stuff,” he said.
One thing he blocks out is the 2005-2006 campaign. Recovering from knee injury, he kept his distance while the team struggled with injuries and a lack of cohesiveness.
“I say I wasn’t there,” is his reply when someone brings up the season. “That year is blank for me.”
Since then, both Washington and the team have recovered. The growth of Mitch Johnson, Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill, as well as the arrival of Brook and Robin Lopez, helped the team rebound from the disappointing NIT season in 2006. Washington, meanwhile, started all 31 games while developing a reputation as one of the team’s best ball handlers, most valuable perimeter defenders and hardest workers.
“What he goes through to get himself prepared to play, prepared to practice, it’s special,” Johnson said. “He’s stubborn in a very very good way. He speaks his mind in a very very good way.”
For Washington, shifting expectations has also taken work.
“I thought we were going to win the Pac-10 title every year,” he said. “I got greedy . . . It’s been weird to start off at the very very top, then go pretty far down, then come back up.”
While he’s not sure what exactly lies in his future plans — he may play overseas, and says he’ll likely eventually attend law school — Washington will check in on his former teammates next season to make sure the progress continues.
“Stanford was good before the twins, Stanford will be good after the twins,” he said of the team’s prospects if Brook and Robin Lopez declare for the NBA Draft. “They’ll find a way.”
A self-described “late bloomer” in high school, Brown was not recruited by any colleges. The Southlake, Tex., native took the initiative, however, and sent materials to several Division-I coaches.
Mike Montgomery was one who took notice. Even after Montgomery’s departure to the NBA, Brown talked with Johnson and earned an invitation to Stanford’s morning workout in the fall of his freshman year. Soon after, he had worked his way onto the team as a walk-on.
Brown played sparingly his first two seasons at Stanford, but the sweet-shooting guard broke out last year with a 22-point performance against Arizona on March 3. With several of his teammates battling food poisoning, he seized the moment and hit four three-pointers, including a game-tying shot with 6.1 seconds left in regulation, although the team eventually fell 85-80 in overtime.
“I was joking around before the game, seeing if I could administer IVs,” the human biology major said. “I had no idea what was to come.”
Brown emerged as a viable option off the bench, however, and soon became a fan favorite for his penchant for hitting the longball. The 6th Man honored him with calls for “Downtown Kenny Brown.”
While Johnson was finally able to offer him a scholarship for next season, Brown will attend dental school at Baylor University.
“I’ve gotten a lot of stuff from Stanford, the exposure to great players . . . academically, you can’t put into words how much I’ve benefited from that,” he said. “A school of this caliber will get you a lot of places.”
What can Brown do for Prowitt? A little dental work wouldn’t hurt.
Served with the unenviable duty of guarding the Lopez twins in practice, Prowitt lost his two front teeth courtesy of a Brook Lopez elbow for his troubles during a scrimmage last spring.
“I looked like I was from Virginia at that point,” the Arlington, Va., native said.
After a promising first two seasons on the Farm, Prowitt suffered a broken bone in his right knee his last fall. By the time he recovered, the Lopez twins had assumed most of the big man minutes in the rotation — leaving Prowitt the role of guarding them in practice, which is “a full time job,” he said.
“College basketball is kind of a baptism by fire,” the political science major, currently interviewing for Teach For America, said. “I’m grateful for my experience.”
Said Washington: “It’s just a miracle he’s still alive.”
He would know.

daily.stanford.edu