Stanford Cardinal
2016-2017 Overall Rank: #117
Conference Rank: #11 Pac-12
After eight seasons, Stanford parted ways with Coach Johnny Dawkins. Over his tenure, the Cardinal reached just one NCAA Tournament. New coach Jerod Haase may need some time to reach his first NCAA Tournament with Stanford. Coach Haase does have some NCAA Tournament experience though as the head coach of UAB. The return of Reid Travis, if he can stay healthy, will be a big boost for the Cardinal. Travis played in just eight games last year before a leg injury ended his sophomore season. He was averaging 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds at the time of the injury. As a freshman two years ago, Travis struggled with some injuries too, but managed to average 6.2 points and 5.6 rebounds. If he can stay healthy, Travis could be the team’s top scorer and rebounder.
2015-16 Record: 15-15, 8-10
2015-16 Postseason: none
Coach: Jerod Haase
Coach Record: 0-0 at Stanford, 80-53 overall
Who’s Out:
Rosco Allen left early to pursue his professional career and that is a big loss for the Cardinal. The 6-9 forward averaged 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds and led the team with 56 three-pointers made. He was the leader on the floor and the clutch scorer that Stanford relied upon. There are other scorers on this team, but no one with the size, versatility and clutch shooting ability of Allen.
Who’s In:
With just one player lost, the Cardinal do not need to rely too heavily on their two newcomers. However, both are big men who have the potential to make an impact right away. Trevor Stanback is a big 6-11, 220 pound forward who has the athleticism to block some shots and play some defense. Kodye Pugh is not as imposing of a presence in the paint at 6-8 and 205 pounds, but he too is an athletic player who can finish above the rim.
Who to Watch:
The scoring focus could shift to the backcourt with Dorian Pickens and Marcus Allen leading the way. Pickens barely scored as a freshman, but the 6-5 wing had a breakout sophomore campaign. He averaged 12.3 points per game and knocked down 36.1 percent of his three-point attempts. With Rosco Allen gone, Stanford is lacking on shooters and Pickens is the best the team has right now. Marcus Allen could help with the shooting, but he was extremely inconsistent in 2015-2016. Allen is a double digit scorer, but he could be much more dynamic with some consistency in his outside shooting. Christian Sanders is not a scorer, but he really stepped up as a junior and dished out a team high 2.6 assists per game. Sanders will be asked to take on a bigger leadership role this year and possibly score a little bit too. Malcolm Allen, Marcus Sheffield and Robert Cartwright will provide much of the depth on the perimeter. Cartwright will compete for the starting point guard job spot with Sanders. He missed last season with an injury and barely played as a freshman the year prior, but Cartwright is a great talent who was expected to start last season prior to his injury.
Final Projection:
Stanford should again have four players who score in double digits. Michael Humphrey will join Reid in the frontcourt and he is coming off a season in which he averaged 10.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. With Grant Verhoeven and Josh Sharma, Stanford has enough bodies in the frontcourt to be a competitive team in the Pac-12. The key will be staying healthy and finding enough shooters. This is a team that ranked dead last in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals per game and three-point field goal percentage and lost their best shooter. Four players in double figures is nice, but this is not a high scoring team. The new staff will try and get the offense moving, but it remains to be seen if they have the weapons to really do it.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI / CIT / V16
Projected Starting Five:
Christian Sanders, Senior, Guard, 4.3 points per game
Marcus Allen, Senior, Guard, 11.1 points per game
Dorian Pickens, Junior, Guard, 12.3 points per game
Reid Travis, Sophomore, Forward, 12.8 points per game
Michael Humphrey, Junior, Forward, 10.3 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.6 (254th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.4 (134, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.6 (241, 10)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.2 (220, 11)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.7 (294, 12)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 32.0 (288, 12)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.4 (233, 9)
Rebound Margin: -0.9 (220, 9)
Assists Per Game: 11.7 (280, 12)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.8 (91, 3)
Madness 2016 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#92 Kodye Pugh
#116 Trevor Stanback
