Welcome to The Sports Bank’s third annual college basketball season preview series. Two years we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. Last year, we were slightly more aggressive and expanded to 111 teams in 111 days and will do so again as we look ahead to the 2012-2013 season.
We will rank the 75 power conference teams and top 36 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
After winning the NIT championship last season, the Stanford Cardinal look to take the next step and get into the relevant college basketball postseason tournament. With several of their key players back, that is a very attainable goal for Johnny Dawkins and company.
STANFORD CARDINAL
Last Season: 7th, 10-8 in Pac-10, 26-11 overall
Predicted Pac-12 Finish: 3rd
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Dwight Powell (Jr)/Grant Verhoeven (Fr)/Stefan Nastic (So)/Elliott Bullock (Jr)
F: Josh Huestis (Jr)/John Gage (Jr)/Andy Brown (Jr)
G/F: Anthony Brown (Jr)/Roscoe Allen (Fr)
G: Chasson Randle (So)/Christian Sanders (Fr)
PG: Aaron Bright (Jr)/Gabriel Harris (Sr)
Gone: G-Jarrett Mann, F/C-Josh Owens, PF-Jack Trotter, PF-Andrew Zimmerman
2012-2013 Outlook:
Likely to lead the way for the Cardinal will be their returning starting backcourt of Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright. They finished one-two on the team last season in scoring, assists, and three-point percentage as each guy connected on nearly 44% of their triple tries. The duo is rather interchangeable which gives Dawkins the option of playing either of them at the point or off guard position.
Senior Gabriel Harris provides some depth and experience off the bench, and should see an increased workload with Jarrett Mann graduating. Freshman Christian Sanders should see playing time right away due to his ability to stroke it from distance.
Versatile Anthony Brown returns on the wing. While he didn’t make the strides many expected him to after a solid freshman campaign, his ability to shoot the rock, attack off the bounce, and use his length on the defensive end allows him to be effective. Freshman Roscoe Allen should see some minutes at the three as well. He plays hard on both ends and is also a threat from downtown which is a major asset for a 6’9 player.
As was the case last season, Dawkins has plenty of options up-front. The marquee player of that group is supposed to be Dwight Powell but he suffered through a massive sophomore slump seeing his production dip all across the board. Still, Powell should start alongside Josh Huestis who despite standing just 6’7, makes his biggest impact as a shot blocker and rebounder. Several guys will compete for minutes off the bench including freshman Grant Verhoeven and Elliott Bullock who returns after spending the last two years taking a Mormon mission.
With a solid backcourt, the key for Stanford reaching their potential this season will be the way Powell and Brown bounce back from underwhelming sophomore years. Of the second tier teams in the Pac-12 (Stanford, Cal, Washington, Colorado), I think the Cardinal should emerge to finish third in the conference and put on their dancing shoes come March.
Player to Watch: Dwight Powell
Potential has been the word linked to this late bloomer who didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14 years old. We saw that upside during this freshman year but for whatever reason, Powell took a step back a year ago. He is long, wirey, and athletic but in order to take his game and the team to the next level, Powell needs to show more confidence and assertiveness on the offensive end.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/18 vs. Belmont
11/22 vs. Missouri (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/23 vs. Duke/Minnesota (Battle 4 Atlantis)
11/24 vs. Louisville/Northern Iowa/Memphis/VCU(Battle 4 Atlantis)
12/18 at N.C. State
12/21 at Northwestern
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#43 UMass Minutemen
#44 St. John’s Red Storm
#45 Butler Bulldogs
#46 Florida State Seminoles
#47 Drexel Dragons
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.