Observations from Stanford's game against N92:
N92 is a very solid team and Stanford played reasonably well given this is an exhibition and their first game together. C- grade if this were a regular season game but I'll give them a B- grading on a curve.
Recap:
The starting 5 was, as expected, Bynum (PG), Jones x2, Angel and Raynaud.
PG
Jared Bynum looked like a good, classic point guard, confident ball handling and distributing with strong pressure defense. His only shot in the 1st quarter was a deep 3 to beat the buzzer that went in. He also drew a lot of (non-shooting) fouls on the defense reaching in. He's going to be a major PG upgrade for us. He missed the rest of his outside shots but they looked decent. I would have liked to see him finish around the rim more (only one inside bucket) but he will be good.
Carlyle came in to run point and immediately threw the ball away and then fouled a 3 point shooter. He got yanked for Gealer who was fine but really shouldn't be getting meaningful minutes this season. We need Carlyle to be solid as Bynum's backup with both O'Connell and Silva gone. I'm actually a bit surprised that Silva transferred as his friend/god-brother is still on the team. N92 pressed a decent amount and generated turnovers. Bynum is the only plus ball handler on this team so expect to see more pressure defense this season.
Carlyle's first shot attempt was a 2nd quarter catch and shoot 3 that missed badly. He also missed his shot badly on the play where he was injured. It was a very disappointing outing for him (hopefully he's healthy well before the season starts). At least he seemed confident shooting the ball.
Wings/Forwards
Spencer Jones knocked down two early 3s and was his usual effective scoring self. We need to get him the ball more.
Michael Jones was effective but didn't get enough touches. He's a bit of a wallflower on the court and appears destined for the "Ziaire Williams best Stanford game was his debut" hall of fame. Still, a nice player who needs to be involved more.
Stojakovic didn't flash too much but looked solid enough, a smooth handle and clearly confident with the ball in his hands. 6-6 FTs and a nice 3 pointer. He's probably our 6th man and should be a solid contributor.
Agarwal hit a deep 3 but overall was a bit too sloppy and weak on defense for my liking.
Murrell got very limited run but hit a tough 3. I'm baffled that he can't get on the court more with his combination of size, athleticism and shooting.
Center
Raynaud stayed on longer than the other 4 starters and played most of the game. Perhaps it is the France factor but Keefe barely saw the court. In fact, Angel played center some as well. I actually prefer more of a 30/10 split for Raynaud and Keefe.
Raynaud was heavily involved, catching the ball a lot at the top of the key. He has a good shot to be the team's 2nd leading scorer this season. It wasn't a great game by him, however. Too many turnovers and just didn't look as comfortable with the ball as I would like.
Same for Angel, he had some nice inside buckets and outside shot but wasn't confident enough with the ball and had some bad turnovers.
Overall
B-
The team looked similar to last year, not a strong performance, but the hope is that they should only get better from here. Bynum was the bright spot for me and I do think that he will help this team be better than last year's. The freshmen, collectively, were disappointing, though Stojakovic at least looked the part and could end up being our 2nd best scorer. Raynaud is the other key to this team and turned in a mixed performance.
The team really lacks ball handlers behind him and was very susceptible to the press. The game was very close throughout and Stanford led by 5 early in the 4th before cold shooting and multiple turnovers by Angel and Raynaud doomed them.
Stanford cut the lead to 6 points with 1:40 left and immediately tried to press out of a stoppage. N92 quickly broke the press and hit a layup... game over.
Stanford didn't once get a layup off of their opponent's pressure.
N92 is a very solid team and Stanford played reasonably well given this is an exhibition and their first game together. C- grade if this were a regular season game but I'll give them a B- grading on a curve.
Recap:
The starting 5 was, as expected, Bynum (PG), Jones x2, Angel and Raynaud.
PG
Jared Bynum looked like a good, classic point guard, confident ball handling and distributing with strong pressure defense. His only shot in the 1st quarter was a deep 3 to beat the buzzer that went in. He also drew a lot of (non-shooting) fouls on the defense reaching in. He's going to be a major PG upgrade for us. He missed the rest of his outside shots but they looked decent. I would have liked to see him finish around the rim more (only one inside bucket) but he will be good.
Carlyle came in to run point and immediately threw the ball away and then fouled a 3 point shooter. He got yanked for Gealer who was fine but really shouldn't be getting meaningful minutes this season. We need Carlyle to be solid as Bynum's backup with both O'Connell and Silva gone. I'm actually a bit surprised that Silva transferred as his friend/god-brother is still on the team. N92 pressed a decent amount and generated turnovers. Bynum is the only plus ball handler on this team so expect to see more pressure defense this season.
Carlyle's first shot attempt was a 2nd quarter catch and shoot 3 that missed badly. He also missed his shot badly on the play where he was injured. It was a very disappointing outing for him (hopefully he's healthy well before the season starts). At least he seemed confident shooting the ball.
Wings/Forwards
Spencer Jones knocked down two early 3s and was his usual effective scoring self. We need to get him the ball more.
Michael Jones was effective but didn't get enough touches. He's a bit of a wallflower on the court and appears destined for the "Ziaire Williams best Stanford game was his debut" hall of fame. Still, a nice player who needs to be involved more.
Stojakovic didn't flash too much but looked solid enough, a smooth handle and clearly confident with the ball in his hands. 6-6 FTs and a nice 3 pointer. He's probably our 6th man and should be a solid contributor.
Agarwal hit a deep 3 but overall was a bit too sloppy and weak on defense for my liking.
Murrell got very limited run but hit a tough 3. I'm baffled that he can't get on the court more with his combination of size, athleticism and shooting.
Center
Raynaud stayed on longer than the other 4 starters and played most of the game. Perhaps it is the France factor but Keefe barely saw the court. In fact, Angel played center some as well. I actually prefer more of a 30/10 split for Raynaud and Keefe.
Raynaud was heavily involved, catching the ball a lot at the top of the key. He has a good shot to be the team's 2nd leading scorer this season. It wasn't a great game by him, however. Too many turnovers and just didn't look as comfortable with the ball as I would like.
Same for Angel, he had some nice inside buckets and outside shot but wasn't confident enough with the ball and had some bad turnovers.
Overall
B-
The team looked similar to last year, not a strong performance, but the hope is that they should only get better from here. Bynum was the bright spot for me and I do think that he will help this team be better than last year's. The freshmen, collectively, were disappointing, though Stojakovic at least looked the part and could end up being our 2nd best scorer. Raynaud is the other key to this team and turned in a mixed performance.
The team really lacks ball handlers behind him and was very susceptible to the press. The game was very close throughout and Stanford led by 5 early in the 4th before cold shooting and multiple turnovers by Angel and Raynaud doomed them.
Stanford cut the lead to 6 points with 1:40 left and immediately tried to press out of a stoppage. N92 quickly broke the press and hit a layup... game over.
Stanford didn't once get a layup off of their opponent's pressure.
