#27 Stanford Cardinal
TEAM: Stanford
CONFERENCE: Pac 10
2006 RECORD AND ENDING: 18-13 Lost to Louisville in first round of the tournament.
KEY PLAYERS RETURNING: Just like UConn, everyone on last year's team is back (C Robin Lopez, F Brook Lopez, F Lawrence Hill, G Anthony Goods, G Mitch Johnson)
WHAT'S TO LOVE: I know what you are thinking: after controversial making the tournament (ask a Syracuse or Drexel fan what they think of Stanford) and they showing their credentials by getting absolutely embarrassed by Louisville in the first round of the tournament, what the hell is there to love about Stanford? Well, if you can chalk up the Louisville disaster to a young team basically crapping its collective pants with 21 turnovers, you'll see that this team really has alot of talent returning. You've got 14 feet of the Lopez twins downlow (take that however you want) and quite possible the most underrated player in west of the Mississippi in Lawrence Hill.
WHATS NOT TO LOVE: Still no idea who is going to be the reliable point that this team needs. The Louisville game really put the Cardinals turnover problem in the national spotlight. So who takes over at point? Goods is a better scorer, Johnson lost the job last season, Fields is unproven and Shiller is a transfer. Good luck fixing that problem.
KEY PLAYER: While Brook Lopez and is triple-double threat every night, we are intrigued by Lawrence Hill. An inside-outside threat, Hill lead the team in scoring last season, and has two game winners to his credit. How many teams can boast two triple-double threats in their frontcourt?
BEST CASE: Stanford's frontcourt plays like the best in the nation, someone figures out how to handle the basketball, Goods and Fields shoot well from beyond the arc, Stanford finishes second in the Pac 10 behind UCLA.
WORST CASE: Turnover problems continue to plague this talented bunch, team once again folds under spotlight just like against Louisville, NCAA investigation leads to the discovery that one of the Lopez twins is actually Ricky Martin.
STF PREDICTION: 3rd or 4th in the Pac 10, Second round of the NCAAs
Friday, October 5, 2007
STF's Super Awesome Top 30 Team Preview: #27 Stanford Cardinal
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2 comments:
This is as good a short team breakdown as you'll see from someone that doesn't watch the program every game (I'm assuming you don't, Marco, correct me if I'm wrong). The Lawrence Hill pick for key player is dead on.
One question, though: do you really think 3rd or 4th in the Pac-10 will only be good for 27th, given the strength of the conference this year?
I don't know how Marco is going to answer this question, but I can tell you one thing - your site is going in the blogroll, Ty.
Thanks for paying us a visit.
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