The widespread view of Stanford's men's basketball team as they prepared to enter the 2015-2016 season was that while the Cardinal frontcourt had the pieces to emerge as one of the conference's better units, the backcourt was lacking in scoring punch and explosiveness, particularly with Robert Cartwright and Marcus Allen sidelined. That certainly appeared to be the case in the first half of the Cardinal's come-from-behind victory over Green Bay this evening at Maples Pavilion. Stanford was 0-7 from three-point range and generally didn't receive a ton from the perimeter. Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey combined for 15 of Stanford's 28 points.
But in the second half and overtime, it was the combination of Christian Sanders, who blew by his previous career high (12 points) to post a team-high 23, and Dorian Pickens, who also notched a career-high in scoring with 14, who helped the Cardinal overcome a 14-point second half deficit. Malcolm Allen also chipped in 10 points. Sanders got to the free throw line 15 times (he made 10), and drove to the basket very effectively. His 23 points came on only nine field goal attempts. Pickens, meanwhile, was also effective in the lane, and had one of the game's key defensive plays, blocking a Green Bay layup, late in regulation.
Not exactly going out on a limb here, but if Stanford can get double digit scoring from that trio - or even two of those three players - on a semi-consistent basis it would bode quite well for the success of this year's team. Shooting better than 50 percent from three-point range in the second half/OT (the Cardinal was 6-11) was also beneficial.
Of course, the fact that Stanford found itself in a 14-point hole is of some concern. Can the Cardinal count on getting such significant contributions from its backcourt when the level of competition increases? And can the Cardinal consistently make its perimeter shots, which, hypothetically, gives their post players a bit more room to operate? We shall see.
And there were a number of mistakes that could have derailed the Cardinal - a lane violation, a backcourt violation following the tip in overtime, several costly turnovers, and so on. But a win, even a tightly contested one that required overtime to decide, is obviously preferable to starting the season with a home loss to a Horizon League program (albeit one that did win 24 games last year - I'm not sure if Green Bay is supposed to be good this season).
-Michael Humphrey didn't start (Marcus Sheffield, Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Christian Sanders and Rosco Allen did), but he played 35 minutes and approached triple double territory with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks. He was also 5-6 from the foul line. There were a few offensive missteps here and there, but he's clearly going to be an integral part of what Stanford does this year.
-Reid Travis is a very good ball handler for a post player and it was interesting to see Stanford rely on him relatively heavily to break the press. I'm not sure that's an ideal long-term solution, but he was pretty solid when called upon tonight.
-Travis produced the game's biggest highlight, a ferocious dunk (I'll try to link video if/when I find it) and was probably the Cardinal's most indispensable player. He was on the floor for 44 of 45 minutes, scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. And he commanded a ton of attention in the post, which freed up other players.
-Rosco Allen scored 15 points (6-14 shooting) and grabbed 11 rebounds.
-Stanford shot 60 percent (25/42) from the free throw line tonight.
-Josh Sharma scored the first points of his collegiate career on a putback dunk and also managed to block three shots in nine minutes. Between him and Humphrey, Stanford does not lack length or athleticism in the post.
-Marcus Sheffield played only eight minutes despite receiving the start and didn't do much that was very notable one way or the other.
-Cameron Walker didn't play tonight with a minor injury but it's not a long-term issue.
But in the second half and overtime, it was the combination of Christian Sanders, who blew by his previous career high (12 points) to post a team-high 23, and Dorian Pickens, who also notched a career-high in scoring with 14, who helped the Cardinal overcome a 14-point second half deficit. Malcolm Allen also chipped in 10 points. Sanders got to the free throw line 15 times (he made 10), and drove to the basket very effectively. His 23 points came on only nine field goal attempts. Pickens, meanwhile, was also effective in the lane, and had one of the game's key defensive plays, blocking a Green Bay layup, late in regulation.
Not exactly going out on a limb here, but if Stanford can get double digit scoring from that trio - or even two of those three players - on a semi-consistent basis it would bode quite well for the success of this year's team. Shooting better than 50 percent from three-point range in the second half/OT (the Cardinal was 6-11) was also beneficial.
Of course, the fact that Stanford found itself in a 14-point hole is of some concern. Can the Cardinal count on getting such significant contributions from its backcourt when the level of competition increases? And can the Cardinal consistently make its perimeter shots, which, hypothetically, gives their post players a bit more room to operate? We shall see.
And there were a number of mistakes that could have derailed the Cardinal - a lane violation, a backcourt violation following the tip in overtime, several costly turnovers, and so on. But a win, even a tightly contested one that required overtime to decide, is obviously preferable to starting the season with a home loss to a Horizon League program (albeit one that did win 24 games last year - I'm not sure if Green Bay is supposed to be good this season).
-Michael Humphrey didn't start (Marcus Sheffield, Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Christian Sanders and Rosco Allen did), but he played 35 minutes and approached triple double territory with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks. He was also 5-6 from the foul line. There were a few offensive missteps here and there, but he's clearly going to be an integral part of what Stanford does this year.
-Reid Travis is a very good ball handler for a post player and it was interesting to see Stanford rely on him relatively heavily to break the press. I'm not sure that's an ideal long-term solution, but he was pretty solid when called upon tonight.
-Travis produced the game's biggest highlight, a ferocious dunk (I'll try to link video if/when I find it) and was probably the Cardinal's most indispensable player. He was on the floor for 44 of 45 minutes, scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. And he commanded a ton of attention in the post, which freed up other players.
-Rosco Allen scored 15 points (6-14 shooting) and grabbed 11 rebounds.
-Stanford shot 60 percent (25/42) from the free throw line tonight.
-Josh Sharma scored the first points of his collegiate career on a putback dunk and also managed to block three shots in nine minutes. Between him and Humphrey, Stanford does not lack length or athleticism in the post.
-Marcus Sheffield played only eight minutes despite receiving the start and didn't do much that was very notable one way or the other.
-Cameron Walker didn't play tonight with a minor injury but it's not a long-term issue.
