This team has grit!

Running Out of Time

 

            That phrase describes both the CARD's recent game against CAL and Stanford's current season. Against CAL this still developing team showed tenacity and aggressiveness as the CARD battled back from 19 down to within two points (twice) finally losing by three.  The aggressiveness was defined by a ferocious full-court-trapping-press that forced CAL into multiple turnovers and rushed shots.  

 

                  The Cardinal scoring was led by sophomore guard Chloe Clardy's 22 points on 7-13 from the floor and 8-11 at the free throw line.  Chloe drove to the basket multiple times for two points or two free throws. A perfect response to a defense that focused on stopping the three-point shot.  Stanford's sparkplug freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye had three steals and an overall excellent game marked by speed and quickness.  Sophomore guard Courtney Ogden had two steals, three assists, and was perfect in her drives to the basket. Stanford is starting to benefit from some of Courtney's considerable talent! Nunu Agara was, as usual, Stanford's leading rebounder and scored 19 points including two clutch three-pointers to keep Stanford tantalizingly close as the fourth quarter wound down. The Cardinal actually won the fourth quarter by 10 but it wasn't quite enough to overcome a 61-42 deficit from late in the third quarter.

 

                  To some extent CAL's victory was sealed when the officials chose to call a flagrant foul on Shay Ijiwoye.  In the battle for the rebound after a missed free throw, both 5'6" Shay and CAL's 5'11" Jada Noble hit the floor.  Noble had to be helped off the floor, the officials conferenced and called the intentional foul on Shay.  Not only was that Ijiwoye's fifth foul, but also it gave CAL, up by only two points, two free throws plus the ball.  Soon CAL was back up by seven points. Still the Cardinal didn't give up, pulling back to within two points on two Nunu Agara three-pointers.  In the closing seconds with CAL up by four points, Nunu was fouled.  She hit the first free throw, pulling the CARD within three and intentionally missed the second with Chloe Clardy pulling down the rebound with 4 seconds left in the game.  Unfortunately, Stanford was not able to get a shot off before time expired.  

 

Changing of the Guard?

 

                  Although Stanford started the game with the "midseason starting five" of senior Brooke Demetre, senior Elena Bosgana, sophomore Nunu Agara, sophomore Chloe Clardy, and freshman Shay Ijiwoye, over 80% of the minutes were played by freshmen and sophomores.  Bosgana and junior transfer Tess Heal were the only upper classwomen to play double digit minutes and both played less than 20 minutes.  Chloe, Nunu, Shay, Courtney, and Mary Ashely Stevenson were in for more than 20 minutes.  Some of this was about match ups, but one wonders if this also reflects increased dependence on the talented sophomore class....

 

                  One thing is clear -- the team is playing better than it did at the start of the season.  That isn't surprising as the 2024-25 iteration of the Cardinal began the season with only one player who had averaged more than 30 minutes a game in the 23-24 season, Talana Lepolo (30.5).  Seniors Brooke Demetre and Elena Bosgana had averaged 20.9 and 18 minutes per game respectively. Nunu Agara's 13 minutes per game average was the next highest.  That's not a lot of experience -- and Talana has only played in five of Stanford's 19 games this season.  She has not dressed since failing to score or record an assist in her 22 minutes against Indiana back in November.  Transfers Tess Heal and Mary Ashley Stevenson had considerable playing time at their respective schools, more than any of Stanford's returning players except Lepolo, but they are learning a new system. Teams that have started strong with rosters made up largely of transfer portal players were full of transfer players with 30+ minute per game experience -- new teams but not lacking in game experience.  That isn't where Stanford started.  Those relatively inexperienced players are more seasoned now and it shows.

 

                  The big question is does the Stanford team have enough time to play itself back into relevance -- meaning back into the NCAA Tournament bracket?  They are currently 44th in the NET with a 10-9 record, 2-8 in the ACC, and have only one win against a "Quad -1" (highly regarded) team.  There are ten games remaining on Stanford's regular season schedule, including three with nationally ranked teams.  The good and bad news about that is that a win against one or more of those ranked teams would almost certainly earn Stanford an NCAA berth, the bad news is that a 17-12 record (which would require beating every team on the schedule NOT currently nationally ranked) probably isn't good enough to get an NCAA invitation.  Stanford can still catch fire -- the fire the team showed in the last 16 minutes of the CAL game -- but time is running out.

 

 

The New World of College Basketball

 

                  It is hard not to be a bit nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when there was no transfer portal which meant coaches could plan on developing players from rough talent into polished stars and fans could invest emotionally in players they would watch for the next four years. While it seems right that players can profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness -- being rewarded for the fame they through their play -- something feels off about the rise of "collectives" allowed to directly recruit players to their schools with offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unlike professional leagues where there are rules about when and how players can move, the new world of college sports has no "tampering" rules and miniscule limits on what players are being compensated for beyond simply putting on the team's jersey.  

 

                  Stanford, which has always prided itself on "doing it right" and having student athletes who are truly students, was slow to embrace this new world.  There is now a collective -- Lifetime Cardinal -- and the school is working on making it easier to accommodate athletes through the transfer portal.  But the school is still trying to find ways to maintain both the academic side of student athlete and Stanford's status as an elite athletic institution.  The process is on-going.  So far Stanford's sophomore class hasn't lost any players to the portal and next year's incoming freshman class is loaded with top talent.  Let's hope that Stanford is able to adjust to the new day -- and that includes fans adjusting to the need to support Lifetime Cardinal.

 

Missing the PAC-12 and even the PAC-12 Network

                  In addition to the loss of familiar foes and more convenient travel, the smaller size (twelve) of the PAC-12 compared to the 18 team ACC meant the teams mostly played a true round-robin format with a chance to see teams both at home and on the road and a conference tournament that included all the teams.  With the ACC teams only play one rival (usually a traditional rival -- for Stanford that's CAL) on a home and home and the conference tournament only includes the top 15 teams.  There were never more than six PAC-12 games on any day, making it easier to schedule a greater percentage of the games on TV. With the ACC network, most of Stanford's games end up with streaming only if available at all.  That means watching on a computer and no recording.  For this column, it had been my habit to watch games more than once -- mostly not possible now.  That and the limited involvement of Stanford in the national conversation mean there is less opportunity for the analysis this column has attempted to provide.  For example, the only team statistic where Stanford is in the top fifty nationally is Stanford's third place in three-point percentage. The only Stanford player currently in the top 50 on any individual stat is Nunu Agara who is tied for 40th in double-doubles. 

Questions:

1. Will the new look team turn the corner in the win column?

Stanford outplayed CAL over the last 15 minutes of their game. Will they continue to show that same fire?

2. Will players start driving to the basket more consistently?

When Stanford players drive strongly to the basket it opens up the three point line.  Chloe, Shay, and Courtney all have shown they can get there.  Will they keep it up?  That also takes a bit of the load off of Nunu.