[Leftcoast]

Long time observer here - old enough to have watched BOTH Keefe's run the floor at Maples.

I was pleasantly surprised by Stanford at last week's Oregon and Oregon St games, easily the best games I've seen from Stanford this season.  Oregon was athletic and talented with at least one likely NBA talent.  Sure they are down from past years but the Stanford I saw earlier this season would have been rolled by those guys.  Instead we led wire to wire and survived a late in the game run.  

Stanford players didn't shoot well late in the game after a hot first half but we contested against a muscular Oregon squad in the paint throughout, finished athletically near the rim, and (in general) played solid defense.  Side note, I'm not sure why Haase continues to stick with zone for so much of each game given we seem to have the tools to play man to man.  We lose shooters as they play across our zone and leave lanes open on switches.  I'd like to see more nose-to-nose man defense but maybe that's the Montgomery era fan in me.

Negatives? Stanford's parts look better than their sum and we don't have a solid identity offensively.  That's on the coaches.  However there are some good pieces on the floor to build on.  It wouldn't surprise me if February results are better than January.

[Leftcoast]

Long time observer here - old enough to have watched BOTH Keefe's run the floor at Maples.

I was pleasantly surprised by Stanford at last week's Oregon and Oregon St games, easily the best games I've seen from Stanford this season.  Oregon was athletic and talented with at least one likely NBA talent.  Sure they are down from past years but the Stanford I saw earlier this season would have been rolled by those guys.  Instead we led wire to wire and survived a late in the game run.  

Stanford players didn't shoot well late in the game after a hot first half but we contested against a muscular Oregon squad in the paint throughout, finished athletically near the rim, and (in general) played solid defense.  Side note, I'm not sure why Haase continues to stick with zone for so much of each game given we seem to have the tools to play man to man.  We lose shooters as they play across our zone and leave lanes open on switches.  I'd like to see more nose-to-nose man defense but maybe that's the Montgomery era fan in me.

Negatives? Stanford's parts look better than their sum and we don't have a solid identity offensively.  That's on the coaches.  However there are some good pieces on the floor to build on.  It wouldn't surprise me if February results are better than January.