11-13-2025, 10:19 AM
I'm not sure if what I saw last night was: a) a wake-up call/kick in the pants that will provide Smith and staff with lots of teaching opportunities on their way to a season with success beyond (admittedly low) pre-season expectations; or b) a harbinger of things to come - a return to the doldrums following the fun ride provided last season by Maxime, along with Blakes & Sellers. Or maybe most likely, c) a microcosm of what this season will continue to be - a series of ups and downs that have us all alternating between tearing our hair out and standing up to cheer.
I agree with pretty much everything in the posts above during and after the game. Seeing the team in person for the first time brought me back down to earth a bit after the optimism provided by catching bits & pieces of the first 2 games on TV and reading all of your Cardboard comments. The first half turnovers and lack of production from the bench were particularly concerning. And there was way too much inconsistency at both ends of the floor. But there were glimpses of some really good basketball. In the first minute, Stanford jumped out to a 5-0 lead - thanks Benny! And in the final 8 minutes, after falling behind 61-55, Stanford dominated both ends of the floor to close the game on a 21-7 run.
After playing 3 games in 9 days, Stanford now has 5 days to get ready for another home game against an opponent that they "should" beat. Hopefully some of the illness & injury issues can get better. After 3 games it seems apparent that Stanford will be heavily reliant on a freshman and that their 4 "grizzled veterans" include 2 (Dent-Smith & Rohosy) who are adjusting to a new level and 2 (Gealer & Okpara) who are adjusting to leadership roles. Sounds like a recipe for a rocky ride. Echoing what many of you have said, I trust in Kyle Smith and staff to keep things moving in the right direction.
I agree with pretty much everything in the posts above during and after the game. Seeing the team in person for the first time brought me back down to earth a bit after the optimism provided by catching bits & pieces of the first 2 games on TV and reading all of your Cardboard comments. The first half turnovers and lack of production from the bench were particularly concerning. And there was way too much inconsistency at both ends of the floor. But there were glimpses of some really good basketball. In the first minute, Stanford jumped out to a 5-0 lead - thanks Benny! And in the final 8 minutes, after falling behind 61-55, Stanford dominated both ends of the floor to close the game on a 21-7 run.
After playing 3 games in 9 days, Stanford now has 5 days to get ready for another home game against an opponent that they "should" beat. Hopefully some of the illness & injury issues can get better. After 3 games it seems apparent that Stanford will be heavily reliant on a freshman and that their 4 "grizzled veterans" include 2 (Dent-Smith & Rohosy) who are adjusting to a new level and 2 (Gealer & Okpara) who are adjusting to leadership roles. Sounds like a recipe for a rocky ride. Echoing what many of you have said, I trust in Kyle Smith and staff to keep things moving in the right direction.