05-21-2014, 04:09 PM
See KLS thread for Tara Vanderveer comments. From the other coaches (trying not to repeat comments that we have heard regularly in other settings):
Johnny Dawkins
He used the clips of the KU players during the pre-game press conference to motivate the Cardinal. He showed them the clips of Andrew Wiggins and other KU players saying that they did not know Chasson Randle. Coach Dawkins told the team, "If they don't know Chasson Randle, they sure don't know you either." It proved to be an effective tactic.Â
Coach Dawkins talked about each of the seniors, their majors and their plans for post-graduation. You can criticize Coach Dawkins (as many have on the CardBoard), but his team is a group of young men that should make us all proud. In fact, Stanford will have three players next year who will be working on their masters degrees - Nastic, Anthony Brown and Randle (if true, he must be completing his bachelors work in 3 years which is a tremendous achievement).
Asked about recruiting priorities, he said that he will be focusing on wing players. Said that Anthony Brown is the only real pure shooter on the team. I was going to ask him if Randle is slotted to play PG, but he stopped taking questions before getting to me.
Stanford will again take on some tough non-conference competition including a tournament in New York that also includes UNLV and Duke.
David Shaw
Not much that we have not already heard. No really tough questions for Coach Shaw. But everything that he says and does reinforces that he is perfect for Stanford. A very impressive person.
Question about how he evaluates recruits. Shaw has told his coaches that they if they have to look under rocks to find evidence of the recruit's leadership and character then the guy may not be a Stanford fit. When Stanford coaches show up at a high school and the office staff says "We know who you are here to talk to and he is in AP Science," then they know he may be a Stanford guy. Everyone on campus recognizes that special player who fits the Stanford profile.
Shaw loves the incoming LBs in this class. Said they are going to be special.
He hates the way that game times move around, especially 7:30 or 8 pm Saturday games. Can affect the players' academics too. They use Sunday as a recovery and schoolwork catch up day, but Sunday seems to be shorter after a late Saturday game. But he knows that there is nothing that can be done to change things.
Bernard Muir
Reiterated that Stanford will operate athletics on a different model if the athletes unionize.Â
No plans to add a 36th sport.
I asked about the possibility of rebalancing the home football schedule between even and odd years. Not likely to happen. Too many constraints with a 9 game conference schedule and ND on the schedule every year. The news to me is that Stanford wants to continue the ND series as much as they do. Personally, I would be willing to give it up to get more flexibility. Others think differently. Going to South Bend in October means that Stanford has to play a conference game early in Sept. Don't be surprised to see USC on the schedule in Sept every even year. Also (though Bernard did not say so explicitly) don't be surprised if Big Game gets moved around again.
I asked if we should get used to Stanford teams being underseeded, disrespected and sent 2 and 3 time zones away in the postseason. He expects that the Pac 12 Network will help to raise the profile of the conference across the country and help make the selection committees more knowledgeable about the quality of Stanford's teams. A very diplomatic statement. I'll believe it when I see it. Tara was less polite. I told her that I was planning to watch her team at Pauley Pavilion in the 1st and 2nd rounds until they were sent to Ames, IA. She does a fantastic job of making sure that her team stays focused in hostile environments, but she seemed peeved at the way her teams have been treated. She said, "We were #1 in the country one year and did not receive a #1 seed."
Johnny Dawkins
He used the clips of the KU players during the pre-game press conference to motivate the Cardinal. He showed them the clips of Andrew Wiggins and other KU players saying that they did not know Chasson Randle. Coach Dawkins told the team, "If they don't know Chasson Randle, they sure don't know you either." It proved to be an effective tactic.Â
Coach Dawkins talked about each of the seniors, their majors and their plans for post-graduation. You can criticize Coach Dawkins (as many have on the CardBoard), but his team is a group of young men that should make us all proud. In fact, Stanford will have three players next year who will be working on their masters degrees - Nastic, Anthony Brown and Randle (if true, he must be completing his bachelors work in 3 years which is a tremendous achievement).
Asked about recruiting priorities, he said that he will be focusing on wing players. Said that Anthony Brown is the only real pure shooter on the team. I was going to ask him if Randle is slotted to play PG, but he stopped taking questions before getting to me.
Stanford will again take on some tough non-conference competition including a tournament in New York that also includes UNLV and Duke.
David Shaw
Not much that we have not already heard. No really tough questions for Coach Shaw. But everything that he says and does reinforces that he is perfect for Stanford. A very impressive person.
Question about how he evaluates recruits. Shaw has told his coaches that they if they have to look under rocks to find evidence of the recruit's leadership and character then the guy may not be a Stanford fit. When Stanford coaches show up at a high school and the office staff says "We know who you are here to talk to and he is in AP Science," then they know he may be a Stanford guy. Everyone on campus recognizes that special player who fits the Stanford profile.
Shaw loves the incoming LBs in this class. Said they are going to be special.
He hates the way that game times move around, especially 7:30 or 8 pm Saturday games. Can affect the players' academics too. They use Sunday as a recovery and schoolwork catch up day, but Sunday seems to be shorter after a late Saturday game. But he knows that there is nothing that can be done to change things.
Bernard Muir
Reiterated that Stanford will operate athletics on a different model if the athletes unionize.Â
No plans to add a 36th sport.
I asked about the possibility of rebalancing the home football schedule between even and odd years. Not likely to happen. Too many constraints with a 9 game conference schedule and ND on the schedule every year. The news to me is that Stanford wants to continue the ND series as much as they do. Personally, I would be willing to give it up to get more flexibility. Others think differently. Going to South Bend in October means that Stanford has to play a conference game early in Sept. Don't be surprised to see USC on the schedule in Sept every even year. Also (though Bernard did not say so explicitly) don't be surprised if Big Game gets moved around again.
I asked if we should get used to Stanford teams being underseeded, disrespected and sent 2 and 3 time zones away in the postseason. He expects that the Pac 12 Network will help to raise the profile of the conference across the country and help make the selection committees more knowledgeable about the quality of Stanford's teams. A very diplomatic statement. I'll believe it when I see it. Tara was less polite. I told her that I was planning to watch her team at Pauley Pavilion in the 1st and 2nd rounds until they were sent to Ames, IA. She does a fantastic job of making sure that her team stays focused in hostile environments, but she seemed peeved at the way her teams have been treated. She said, "We were #1 in the country one year and did not receive a #1 seed."
"We have an unwritten rule around here not to do anything stupid."
-Casey Jacobsen, Feb 3, 2000
