[skip75]

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the exhibition vs. Oregon and I will also miss the Portland State and Montana games.  Kyle Smith and Maxime Raynaud (with help from Jaylen Blakes, Oziyah Sellers, and others) rekindled my enthusiasm for Stanford basketball last season.  I was cautiously optimistic that Smith and his staff would be able to overcome the loss of the Big 3 and ramp up the enthusiasm even more this season.  Based on what I've heard about the exhibition, I'm hopeful that Stanford will once again make the pre-season polls look bad.  Just like last season, Stanford is picked to finish 17th in the ACC media poll, ahead of only Boston College.  Duplicating last season's 7th place finish could be a stretch, but I have a lot more faith in Kyle Smith, et al. than I do in the ACC media.

The first time that Stanford will encounter an opponent rated higher than Oregon will be when Louisville comes to Palo Alto for the 2nd ACC game on Jan. 2.  The only time they leave California before an ACC trip to VaTech & UVa in January, is for a neutral site game vs. Colorado in Phoenix.  The only true road game before that is at San Jose State.  So hopefully they can use a favorable non-league schedule (they should be favored in at least 9 of the 13 games, and the others should all be "winnable") to  develop their rotation, teamwork, and a winning culture before heading into the ACC schedule.  It will be interesting to see how the 4 freshmen and 2 transfers fit in, and how the returnees have stepped up their development.

The first official game takes place on Tuesday vs. Portland State.  The Vikings are picked to finish 2nd in the 10-team Big Sky Conference (Saturday's opponent, Montana is picked to finish 1st, and next weeks opponent, Montana State is picked to finish 6th).

The 6-player pre-season All-Big Sky team includes 3 Portland State players.  These are:
#23 Terri Miller Jr. - 6'8"/250 Sr. F from Fresno (Clovis North) via College of the Sequoias and La. Tech.  He was 2nd team All-Big Sky last season averaging 12.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 2.0 apg.  He had 50 steals to lead the team and shot .515 from the field.  Something to watch for according to their media guide is that he is said to be an ambidextrous shooter.
#5 Jaylin Henderson - 6'3"/175 Sr. G from Seward County CC & La. Tech.  He was honorable mention All-Big Sky last season, leading the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and 3s (56).  The media guide claims he has a 47-inch vertical leap and that his 32 dunks could fill a highlight reel.
#4 Tre-Vaughn Minott - 6'10"/245 Sr. C from the NBA Academy Latin America & South Carolina (where he achieved his main claim to fame - being the fiance of Aliyah Boston).  He was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year last season.  He led the team with 7.6 rpg, 54 blocks, and shooting .669 from the field on his way to averaging 7.6 ppg.  He shot just under 60% from the line, so I'm guessing most of his scoring came from very close range.

I'm sorry that I will miss this one, but I'm looking forward to checking out your reports on the Cardboard!

[skip75]

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the exhibition vs. Oregon and I will also miss the Portland State and Montana games.  Kyle Smith and Maxime Raynaud (with help from Jaylen Blakes, Oziyah Sellers, and others) rekindled my enthusiasm for Stanford basketball last season.  I was cautiously optimistic that Smith and his staff would be able to overcome the loss of the Big 3 and ramp up the enthusiasm even more this season.  Based on what I've heard about the exhibition, I'm hopeful that Stanford will once again make the pre-season polls look bad.  Just like last season, Stanford is picked to finish 17th in the ACC media poll, ahead of only Boston College.  Duplicating last season's 7th place finish could be a stretch, but I have a lot more faith in Kyle Smith, et al. than I do in the ACC media.

The first time that Stanford will encounter an opponent rated higher than Oregon will be when Louisville comes to Palo Alto for the 2nd ACC game on Jan. 2.  The only time they leave California before an ACC trip to VaTech & UVa in January, is for a neutral site game vs. Colorado in Phoenix.  The only true road game before that is at San Jose State.  So hopefully they can use a favorable non-league schedule (they should be favored in at least 9 of the 13 games, and the others should all be "winnable") to  develop their rotation, teamwork, and a winning culture before heading into the ACC schedule.  It will be interesting to see how the 4 freshmen and 2 transfers fit in, and how the returnees have stepped up their development.

The first official game takes place on Tuesday vs. Portland State.  The Vikings are picked to finish 2nd in the 10-team Big Sky Conference (Saturday's opponent, Montana is picked to finish 1st, and next weeks opponent, Montana State is picked to finish 6th).

The 6-player pre-season All-Big Sky team includes 3 Portland State players.  These are:
#23 Terri Miller Jr. - 6'8"/250 Sr. F from Fresno (Clovis North) via College of the Sequoias and La. Tech.  He was 2nd team All-Big Sky last season averaging 12.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 2.0 apg.  He had 50 steals to lead the team and shot .515 from the field.  Something to watch for according to their media guide is that he is said to be an ambidextrous shooter.
#5 Jaylin Henderson - 6'3"/175 Sr. G from Seward County CC & La. Tech.  He was honorable mention All-Big Sky last season, leading the team in scoring (13.1 ppg) and 3s (56).  The media guide claims he has a 47-inch vertical leap and that his 32 dunks could fill a highlight reel.
#4 Tre-Vaughn Minott - 6'10"/245 Sr. C from the NBA Academy Latin America & South Carolina (where he achieved his main claim to fame - being the fiance of Aliyah Boston).  He was the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year last season.  He led the team with 7.6 rpg, 54 blocks, and shooting .669 from the field on his way to averaging 7.6 ppg.  He shot just under 60% from the line, so I'm guessing most of his scoring came from very close range.

I'm sorry that I will miss this one, but I'm looking forward to checking out your reports on the Cardboard!

[BobK]

Thank you. Excellent. One other trip to Palm Desert Thanksgiving and the day after

[BobK]

Thank you. Excellent. One other trip to Palm Desert Thanksgiving and the day after

[JJJ]

My first time watching the team this season—I’m going to keep needing to peek at the roster to get the names right. True frosh PG Ebuka Okorie (#1) is an exciting player to watch! Chisom Okpara has 5 and Okorie has 10, and we’re up 15-12 with 13min to go 1H.

---

”The Ok boyz”?

[JJJ]

My first time watching the team this season—I’m going to keep needing to peek at the roster to get the names right. True frosh PG Ebuka Okorie (#1) is an exciting player to watch! Chisom Okpara has 5 and Okorie has 10, and we’re up 15-12 with 13min to go 1H.

---

”The Ok boyz”?

[needle]

Okpara and Okorie are a good "big two", at least from what we've seen so far. Okpara is playing really hard and, to my eye, has improved compared to last year.

Is there someone else on the roster who can step up and be a scoring leader/offensive focal point?

Portland State is a pretty decent team. Not pencilling in any victory just yet, that's for sure. (And when the camera points to Stanford's bench, Kyle Smth looks extremely nervious, FWIW.)

[needle]

Okpara and Okorie are a good "big two", at least from what we've seen so far. Okpara is playing really hard and, to my eye, has improved compared to last year.

Is there someone else on the roster who can step up and be a scoring leader/offensive focal point?

Portland State is a pretty decent team. Not pencilling in any victory just yet, that's for sure. (And when the camera points to Stanford's bench, Kyle Smth looks extremely nervious, FWIW.)

[needle]

Stanford leads 37-30 at the half.

I think if Stanford gets to 70, it wil be a victory. But it seems like too much to ask for frosh Okorie to double up his halftime total of 16 points. Okpara started strong but became a non-factor after getting his second foul, finishing the half with 8 points. Stanford started forcing Portland State turnovers as the half went on, and that team effort might be what it takes if Okorie comes back down to earth in the second half.

[needle]

Stanford leads 37-30 at the half.

I think if Stanford gets to 70, it wil be a victory. But it seems like too much to ask for frosh Okorie to double up his halftime total of 16 points. Okpara started strong but became a non-factor after getting his second foul, finishing the half with 8 points. Stanford started forcing Portland State turnovers as the half went on, and that team effort might be what it takes if Okorie comes back down to earth in the second half.

[JJJ]

We start 2H with 3 bigs and score 7 straight. Okorie threatening to rewrite the “frosh debut game scoring record” that Ziaire Williams established (19).

---

Portland State is no cupcake. Lead is down to 4.

[JJJ]

We start 2H with 3 bigs and score 7 straight. Okorie threatening to rewrite the “frosh debut game scoring record” that Ziaire Williams established (19).

---

Portland State is no cupcake. Lead is down to 4.

[needle]

Stanford wins, 89-79!

Much to be said about the game's stars, Okorie and Okpara, so I'll let others say it.

I will add that transfer Dent-Smith maybe hit the game's biggest shot, a three-pointer that chilled a mini-run by Portland State that had cut the lead to nine.

The road will get tougher as teams gameplan around stopping Okorie and getting Okpara into foul trouble, but tonight is a pretty sweet victory.

[needle]

Stanford wins, 89-79!

Much to be said about the game's stars, Okorie and Okpara, so I'll let others say it.

I will add that transfer Dent-Smith maybe hit the game's biggest shot, a three-pointer that chilled a mini-run by Portland State that had cut the lead to nine.

The road will get tougher as teams gameplan around stopping Okorie and getting Okpara into foul trouble, but tonight is a pretty sweet victory.

[Sam Leopold]

A very palatable start to the campaign.  Several new faces (Okorie, Dent-Smith, Rohosy) greatly impress me.  Okpara and Gealer will be given the challenging task of taking on veteran leadership roles but they should take to it in time.  PS has some dudes, look at Sebastian Tidor popping off for 22 points off the bench.  They might just take the Big Sky.

By the way, that Oregon team we beat in our exhibition is in a two-point game with Hawaii with less than 8 minutes to go.

[Sam Leopold]

A very palatable start to the campaign.  Several new faces (Okorie, Dent-Smith, Rohosy) greatly impress me.  Okpara and Gealer will be given the challenging task of taking on veteran leadership roles but they should take to it in time.  PS has some dudes, look at Sebastian Tidor popping off for 22 points off the bench.  They might just take the Big Sky.

By the way, that Oregon team we beat in our exhibition is in a two-point game with Hawaii with less than 8 minutes to go.