Post by mhbruin on Jul 30, 2021 10:23:53 GMT -8
Next are the Stanford Cardinal who tied for 6th place. Early in the season, they looked like they were going to be a tournament team. Then a raft of injuries left them on the bubble and eventually the injuries left them on the outside. Five straight losses at the end of the season sealed their doom.
They had the best OOC win for the Pac-12 over Alabama, and they also beat UCLA and Arizona (twice). But losses to Cal and a 14-13 record were too much to overcome. This is in spite of playing the high-quality defense Jarod Haase teams at Stanford have been known for. They held opposing teams to under 42% from the floor.
You might think that a team that loses their best player and a McDonald's All-American might take a step back. Instead Stanford might be better this season.
It is well-documented that they had to live and play off-campus. I actually think it helped them, just as the time in the Indianapolis bubble helped teams to focus and bond without a lot of distractions.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
Oscar da Silva intends on entering the 2021 NBA Draft. First, however, he will play professional basketball in his home country. da Silva has reportedly signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He joins the team mid-season and will play through their season's end in May.
Stanford freshman Ziaire Williams was the highest-ranked recruit in Stanford history at No. 6 in the nation, but he mostly had a disappointing season.
Williams scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Stanford’s season-opening 82-64 victory against Alabama on Nov. 30, 2020. He posted Stanford’s second-ever triple-double in the men’s game on Jan. 7 against Washington. Although he had a disappointing season overall, he’s projected as a late lottery or mid-first-round pick in the July draft. The top-ever Cardinal draft pick is Josh Childress, taken No. 6 overall in 2004.
For some reason I cannot fathom, Bryce Wills stayed in the draft. Predictably, he was not drafted.
TRANSFERRING OUT
Davis has looked like he was on the edge of stardom for a couple of seasons, but was hampered by injuries this season. Perhaps with the emergence of O'Connell and with Isa Silva coming in, he felt he might not get to play as big of a role in his final season. Or he might have wanted to return home for his last season and to start graduate school.
RETURNING
The good thing about Stanford's injuries is that they had to play a bunch of guys who might have spent last season on the bench. And, for the most part, they stepped up.
Jaiden Delaire started to look like the Top 100 player he was out of high school. He will need to continue to do it, now that daSilva isn't attracting so much attention from opposing defenses. However, incoming freshman Harrison Ingram will attract a lot of attention. In any event, Delaire could be their best player and All-Pac-12.
Jones provided depth and some needed outside shooting. At 37% he was their best outside shooter on a team that didn't shoot the 3 that well.
Michael O'Connell may be the surprise of the group. He was mostly recruited out of HS as a lacrosse player, but he wanted to play basketball. When David sent down, he was pressed into action and led the team in assists and steals. He also shot fairly well and had a good 1.8 A/TO ratio.
They had the best OOC win for the Pac-12 over Alabama, and they also beat UCLA and Arizona (twice). But losses to Cal and a 14-13 record were too much to overcome. This is in spite of playing the high-quality defense Jarod Haase teams at Stanford have been known for. They held opposing teams to under 42% from the floor.
You might think that a team that loses their best player and a McDonald's All-American might take a step back. Instead Stanford might be better this season.
It is well-documented that they had to live and play off-campus. I actually think it helped them, just as the time in the Indianapolis bubble helped teams to focus and bond without a lot of distractions.
GRADUATING
- None -
IN THE DRAFT
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Can Return? |
| Oscar da Silva | 32 | 19 | 7 | 2 | No |
| Ziaire Williams | 28 | 11 | 5 | 2 | No |
| Bryce Wills | 26 | 8 | 4 | 2 | Yes |
Oscar da Silva intends on entering the 2021 NBA Draft. First, however, he will play professional basketball in his home country. da Silva has reportedly signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga. He joins the team mid-season and will play through their season's end in May.
Stanford freshman Ziaire Williams was the highest-ranked recruit in Stanford history at No. 6 in the nation, but he mostly had a disappointing season.
Williams scored a season-high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in Stanford’s season-opening 82-64 victory against Alabama on Nov. 30, 2020. He posted Stanford’s second-ever triple-double in the men’s game on Jan. 7 against Washington. Although he had a disappointing season overall, he’s projected as a late lottery or mid-first-round pick in the July draft. The top-ever Cardinal draft pick is Josh Childress, taken No. 6 overall in 2004.
For some reason I cannot fathom, Bryce Wills stayed in the draft. Predictably, he was not drafted.
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Destination |
| Daejon Davis | 27 | 10 | 3 | 3 | Washington |
Davis has looked like he was on the edge of stardom for a couple of seasons, but was hampered by injuries this season. Perhaps with the emergence of O'Connell and with Isa Silva coming in, he felt he might not get to play as big of a role in his final season. Or he might have wanted to return home for his last season and to start graduate school.
RETURNING
The good thing about Stanford's injuries is that they had to play a bunch of guys who might have spent last season on the bench. And, for the most part, they stepped up.
| Player | Games | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Jaiden Delaire | 24 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 1 | Sr | 4 | 77 |
| Spencer Jones | 26 | 28 | 8 | 4 | 1 | Jr | 3 | 160 |
| Michael O'Connell | 25 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 3 | So | Unranked | |
| Noah Taitz | 24 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | So | 3 | 171 |
| Lukas Kisunas | 26 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Jr | 3 | 289 |
| Max Murrell | 21 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | So | 4 | 120 |
| Brandon Angel | 17 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1 | So | 3 | 216 |
| James Keefe | 24 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Jr | 3 | 339 |
Jaiden Delaire started to look like the Top 100 player he was out of high school. He will need to continue to do it, now that daSilva isn't attracting so much attention from opposing defenses. However, incoming freshman Harrison Ingram will attract a lot of attention. In any event, Delaire could be their best player and All-Pac-12.
Jones provided depth and some needed outside shooting. At 37% he was their best outside shooter on a team that didn't shoot the 3 that well.
Michael O'Connell may be the surprise of the group. He was mostly recruited out of HS as a lacrosse player, but he wanted to play basketball. When David sent down, he was pressed into action and led the team in assists and steals. He also shot fairly well and had a good 1.8 A/TO ratio.
RECRUITS
(#21 class, #2 in Pac-12)
You lose a da Silva and you bring in a Silva. Interesting strategy.
You lose a da Silva and you bring in a Silva. Interesting strategy.
| Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Isael Silva | 6-3 185 | PG | 4 | 44 | UCLA, Texas, Gonzaga, Arizona |
| Harrison Ingram | 6-7 210 | SF | 5 | 12 | UCLA, North Carolina, Michigan, Kansas |
| Jarvis Moss | 6-4 170 | SG | 3 | 265 | Alcorn State, Bucknell, Buffalo |
| Maxime Reynaud | 7-0 200 | C | Unranked | - None - |
This is a GREAT class. I saw Silva as a high-school player and fell in love with him. He may be underrated. He broke my heart, by going to Stanford. He's dead to me. Maybe Silva will end up playing behind Michael O'Connell. It would serve him right. ISA, YOU'RE DEAD TO ME!
Ingram is a McDonald's All-American and was expected to be an instant impact player. A less than stellar performance in the U19 World Championships calls that into a bit of a question.
Moss isn't a great athlete, but he can shoot and has a high BB IQ. It's the kind of player Stanford seems to like, and they can use some shooting.
Raynaud emerged as a high major prospect in 2019 playing for France U16 at the FIBA European Championships in Udine, Italy and averaged 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds through four games with Nanterre U18 this season.
Raynaud emerged as a high major prospect in 2019 playing for France U16 at the FIBA European Championships in Udine, Italy and averaged 14.5 points and 11.5 rebounds through four games with Nanterre U18 this season.
TRANSFERRING IN
| Player | Size | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| - None - |
CONCLUSION
Stanford has never finished better than 3rd in the Pac-12 under Jarod Haase, and they have never been to the NCAA tournament in his five seasons on the farm. He has a losing conference record.
So why should there be reason for optimism in Palo Alto? They return a talented roster with lots of experience. They could be returning EIGHT players who played significant minutes. That is right up there with UCLA.
Also, Haase's teams consistently play great defense. Even with all the injuries, they were #28 in Kenpom. (We were #46.) It's hard to be a bad team when you play good defense (unless you are the Washington Huskies.)
Now throw in a great recruiting class. I expect them to be in the top half of the league and on the tournament bubble.
One change for the Cardinal is new assistant coach Rob Ehsan, who is joining the Cardinal after serving as the head coach of University of Alabama at Birmingham for four years. Ehsan was hired as UAB head coach on April 4, 2016, replacing Stanford head coach Jerod Haase.
There is a lot of disagreement among the picker about the Cardinal. I picked them to finish 6th. Less picks 5th, Willner and Vrooman say 10th, and Torvick says 7th. That averages out to 7th or 8th.
If they finish in the bottom half of the league, we will probably witness Haase's hot seat.
So why should there be reason for optimism in Palo Alto? They return a talented roster with lots of experience. They could be returning EIGHT players who played significant minutes. That is right up there with UCLA.
Also, Haase's teams consistently play great defense. Even with all the injuries, they were #28 in Kenpom. (We were #46.) It's hard to be a bad team when you play good defense (unless you are the Washington Huskies.)
Now throw in a great recruiting class. I expect them to be in the top half of the league and on the tournament bubble.
One change for the Cardinal is new assistant coach Rob Ehsan, who is joining the Cardinal after serving as the head coach of University of Alabama at Birmingham for four years. Ehsan was hired as UAB head coach on April 4, 2016, replacing Stanford head coach Jerod Haase.
There is a lot of disagreement among the picker about the Cardinal. I picked them to finish 6th. Less picks 5th, Willner and Vrooman say 10th, and Torvick says 7th. That averages out to 7th or 8th.
If they finish in the bottom half of the league, we will probably witness Haase's hot seat.