Sept. 29, 2015
THE FLATS – Each week up until the beginning of basketball season, Ramblinwreck.com takes a look at an opponent on Georgia Tech’s non-conference schedule. This week, we look at Stanford, an opponent the Jackets haven’t beaten since 1986, and a possible foe the day after Thanksgiving at the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Date: November 27, 2015
Location: Stanford, Calif.
Conference: Pac-12
Home arena: Maples Pavilion (7,392)
2014-15 Record: 24-13 overall, 9-9 in the Pac-12 (5th place), 34th in NCAA RPI
Post-Season: NIT Championship, beat Miami 66-64 in overtime
NCAA Championship Appearances: 17 (last in 2014)
All-time series record: Stanford leads 2-1 (First meeting 11/28/1986)
Head coach: Johnny Dawkins (entering 8th season, 141-100)
Starters returning/lost: 2/3
Top scorer returning: Rosco Allen (7.3)
Top rebounder returning: Rosco Allen (4.4)
Quick preview for 2015-16
In Johnny Dawkins’ seven years at Stanford, the Cardinal have reached the NCAA Tournament once. Dawkins took his team to the Big Dance in 2014. He has won 20 or more games four times, including last year’s 24-win season. To build off of recent success, Stanford will look to rising senior forward Rosco Allen and rising junior guard Marcus Allen. They are the only returning starters for the Cardinal. In 23 starts, Rosco averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Marcus averaged 6.4 points per game and dished out the most assists of any Cardinal returner. Stanford will need to mature rapidly especially on the offensive end. Last season, seniors Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown, and Stefan Nastic accounted for almost 48 points per game. Dawkins will need several players to step up and fill these shoes.
Quick recap of 2014-15
Last year Stanford got off to a slow start and finish to the regular season. The Cardinal won just three of their last nine games. After going .500 in the conference and getting blown out by Utah in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament, Stanford went on to run the table in the NIT Tournament. The Cardinal won five games in a row, including an overtime victory over Miami in the NIT Championship. The 2014-15 Cardinal team ranked in the top three of the Pac-12 in scoring offense, free throw percentage, three point field goal percentage, offensive rebounding, and turnover margin. While the team had no glaring weaknesses, Stanford was last in the conference in assists per game. Dawkins will want Marcus Allen to improve that ranking in 2015-16.
Greatest program accomplishment
1942 National Champions and 2014 Sweet Sixteen Appearance – Stanford basketball began in 1914, joined the Pac-12 in 1918, and has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 17 times. However up until 2014, Stanford hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2008. In 2014, Dawkins took the Cardinal to the Sweet Sixteen for the fifth time in school history. The tournament run ended there with a 10-point loss to the Dayton Flyers. Stanford made the NCAA Tournament 11 consecutive years from 1996-2005. The Cardinal have won five Pac-12 conference championships. The last came in 2004, when Stanford beat Washington to end a 24-year championship drought. The Cardinal have won 13 conference regular season championships, including five from the Pac-12 and three in the early 2000s (2000, 2001, 2004). Stanford has made it to the Elite Eight three times, most recently in 2001, and went to the Final Four in 1998. The Cardinal were eliminated by the Kentucky Wildcats in the ’98 Final Four with a one-point overtime loss.
Greatest player in program history
Chasson Randle (2011-2015) – Born in Rock Island, Ill., Chasson Randle graduated last season as Stanford’s all-time leading scorer (2,375 points). He also graduated as Stanford’s all-time leader in three point field goals made (304), games started (142), and minutes played (4,791). Randle averaged 16.5 points per game over the course of his Cardinal career, and averaged nearly 20 points per game as a senior. As a junior, he averaged almost 19 points per game and helped lead Stanford to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2008. At the end of his senior season, Randle was voted first-team All-Pac-12 for the second straight year. He was also named Pac-12 scholar-athlete of the year for the 2014-15 season. In his final game as a Cardinal, Randle scored 25 points versus Miami to help Stanford win the NIT Tournament. He earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award. Randle helped lead Stanford to 92 victories and two NIT Championships (2012, 2015). After college, Randle agreed to join the Golden State Warriors for NBA Summer League competition.
Place to visit on campus or in the city
Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University – Located on Stanford’s prestigious campus, the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts is a must-see art museum that opened in 1894. Open six days a week and free to the public, the Cantor Center houses one of the largest collections of Auguste Rodin sculptures with 199 works by Rodin. The center also is home to over 500 works of African art and over 450 Oceanic and Indonesian objects and textiles. About 200 Mesoamerican works are on display, including terracotta works from West Mexico and ancient ceramics from other areas.
