Early Test: Passed with Flying Colors!

 “We’re Still Here!”

        Stanford, ranked by the pundits as the 15th or 16th team in the country, took on 9th ranked Big Ten Indiana in a nationally televised game (or at least nationally televised once the pickle ball match was over).  It was billed as a battle of ranked teams and a battle of pre-season All Americans.  Instead it was what Indiana Coach Terri Moren called “an old fashioned butt kicking.”  

        The Cardinal dominated, winning 96 to 64 in a game that wasn’t as close as the lopsided final score.  Stanford opened up an 11 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, leading by 28 at halftime and 33 after three quarters. Stanford led in almost every statistical category: out shooting Indiana 50% to 34.9%  overall and 37.9% to 15.6% from three, out rebounding Indiana 50 to 27, and recording 6 blocks to Indiana’s 2.  The CARD came up slightly short on free throw shooting — hitting “only” 13 of 15 (87%) while Indiana hit 15 of 16.  

        Indiana (and the Big Ten generally) may be somewhat over rated, but this game provided compelling evidence that Stanford is seriously UNDER rated.  It seems, as was pointed out previously in this Blog, that folks were focused on what Stanford lost and not what the CARD had back and added.  Obviously, as Kiki Iriafen, who recorded her second double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) of the seasons first two games, put it, “We’re still here.”  Speaking of Kiki, and I suspect we will be often this year, she is showing that, as predicted, she belongs in the constellation of Cardinal stars!!! Cameron Brink calls her the most improved player in the country. Iriafen is delivering on the promise her talents have long suggested.  She is playing with strength and confidence: driving to the basket, hitting from the top of the key, and finishing at the rim on what the ESPN announcers called “weight room buckets” — the shots through contact you only complete if you have strength.  

Battle of the All Americans

        Before the season started, some pundits asked whether Cameron Brink could have the kind of season that would put her firmly in the National Player of the Year conversation.  Before this game, some of those pundits suggested that a showdown between two pre-season All American post players was a significant measuring stick.  The stat lines speak for themselves. In less than 28 minutes on the floor Brink scored 20 points on 6 of 11 shooting, going 2 of 3 from the three point line and 6 of 6 from the free throw line, grabbed 17 rebounds, and delivering 4 blocks.  Holmes played almost 32 minutes, scored 8 points on 3 of 12 shooting, collected 2 rebounds, and had one block.  Notably, Cameron’s first block of the game was the 300th of her Stanford record setting career.  Going back to last season, Brink has now hit 58 free throws in a row.  She has transformed herself from a player whose trips to the line filled Stanford fans with concern to a player whose free throw shooting is virtually automatic. IMPRESSIVE!!! It demonstrates her work ethic as much as it shows her immense talent.  

Running Hard and Raining Threes

        In her remarks to season ticket holders before the season, Coach VanDerveer said that this year’s team was going to “play with pace” and shoot a lot of threes.  Playing with pace means a lot of up and down the floor and requires both conditioning and a deep bench.  Check!  So far Stanford’s LOWEST point total is the 87 points the CARD scored in their dominating win against the University of Hawaii — that comes out to more than 2 points a minute!  Of course it is easier to score two points a minute when a team is getting those points three at a time.  Against Indiana nine different players attempted Stanford’s 29 three point shots with seven of those players hitting 50% or better from three.  In her post game comments, Indiana’ coach expressed dismay that so many Stanford players were hitting from three.  In the past teams have basically thought that shutting down Hannah Jump and maybe Brooke Demetre would end Stanford’s three point threat. Not anymore!  Five of Stanford’s 29 three point attempts (and three of the 3 point makes) came from POST players!  Let it RAIN!

The Tree-o’s Continue to Impress

        Nunu Agara continues to impress.  In this game she was Stanford’s third leading scorer with 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting from the floor and 2 for 2 from the free throw line.  She was also the third leading rebounder although her four rebounds stand out less than her 13 points. In addition to demonstrating impressive “bumper car” strength around the basket, Nunu has great body control and “hang time.”  Furthermore, Agara’s five made baskets included a three pointer and a made basket from the top of the key!  Double digit scoring in her first two games as a college player is exciting — and she plays defense!  Agara’s fellow freshmen are also pulling their weight and showing improvement.  They are appear to be adjusting well to the college game and it will be fun to see how much better they all are by the end of the season.

Questions

1.  Can this team avoid a let down?

The question for this week was how would Stanford do against a top opponent?  We got our first answer — just fine thank you.  But, can they keep it going? One of the bugaboos for Stanford (and lots of other teams) has been the problem of falling in a “trap games” — the game against a less impressive opponent that follows a big win against a top team.  Can this edition of the CARD avoid that against Cal Poly on Thursday night? I’m pretty sure they can — but since I sit in the stands my opinion isn’t going to get it done…Guess we’ll need to show up Thursday night at 7 pm to find out!

2.  How much better will they get?

Tara said in the postgame “behind the bench” talk that there are things to fix and room for improvement.  That is true — but it leaves us wondering, how good will this team be by the end of the year?  Pretty darn good, I think!

Juniors Iriafen and Demetre listening to the coach