Stanford University was once guard Eric Chatfield's kryptonite, but the senior on the UNM men's basketball team came full circle Saturday, conquering old demons and setting the tone for this season.
Though the Lobos weren't able to turn in an upset of the 13th-ranked Cardinal, Chatfield proved he is every bit the team leader head coach Fran Fraschilla said he was all along.
Chatfield wasn't invincible during the Lobos' 81-66 loss Saturday, but of those anchoring the Lobos' loaded backcourt, he was by far the strongest. Guards Ruben Douglas and Marlon Parmer combined for 8-of-28 shooting from the field, while Chatfield hit 6-of-10 field goals - including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
"I thought Eric's game both offensively and defensively was sensational," Fraschilla said. "He really gave us a lift."
When UNM last faced Stanford on Jan. 20, the Cardinal was ranked first in the nation. The game, which was on Stanford's home floor, ended in a 31-point Lobo loss. It was a large speed bump in the UNM's season that rattled the team as it headed into conference play.
Despite scoring 11 points, Chatfield was among the most seriously affected by the loss, which coincided with a groin injury and kidney stones. He played through both injuries, but was saddled with a shooting slump that shadowed him throughout conference play and was starting to wear off before the Lobos were ousted from National Invitation Tournament.
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"Coach knows that I would go through a brick wall for him and that I would do everything I can to help the team win, even if I'm injured" Chatfield said. "If my shot's not falling, then I work harder on defense. I always try to give it all I have."
While the junior-college transfer is known for a hot shooting touch that he dazzled fans with during the first half of last season, the question of whether he could sustain that firepower against Division I foes lingered.
Chatfield said he responded the best he way can - on the basketball court. He finished Saturday's game with a team-high 17 points, five assists and two steals in 31 minutes of play. More important, he was an integral part of the handful of Lobo runs that kept the final score respectable for the relatively young UNM team.
"We knew that Stanford was going to be tough, but since they lost their centers from last year and are a much younger team, we thought we could do a lot better," he said. "We had a lot more confidence this time around, but it just didn't come together for us. We had good practices leading up to this, but we should have had great ones to prepare for this team."
As if working past a psychological battle against a shooting slump wasn't a difficult enough assignment, Chatfield also was saddled with the unenviable task of containing Stanford guard Casey Jacobsen for most of the game. Jacobsen is a first team preseason All-American who averaged 18 points per game last season and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career as a sophomore. Chatfield held the Stanford junior to 17 points and eight assists and forced him to cough up the ball four times.
But the relatively stellar statistics weren't enough for Chatfield, who is a quiet but passionate player who says he prefers to lead by example.
"It doesn't matter how well I played because we still walked away with a loss, and I'll never be able to feel good about that," he said. "My statistics don't really matter because all I try to do out there is help my team win."
With 28 games remaining in the regular season and the next one at home tonight, Chatfield and the other Lobo veterans are well aware that they have a long way to go. Rather than patting himself on the back, Chatfield said he will use the loss to encourage his teammates, especially the new ones, to work harder.
"Some of the younger guys just don't understand what it takes to make it through the season and don't know that you have to work really hard every day in practice to win," he said. "I am going to push them until they understand."
