Pac-12 Media Day Recap
SAN FRANCISCO-- Stanford has been picked to finish fifth in the 2013-14 Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason media poll, as announced on Thursday morning at the conference’s Media Day.
Head coach Johnny Dawkins and senior guard Chasson Randle were in attendance on Thursday representing Stanford. Led by Randle and fellow returning starters Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic, the Cardinal is expected to build on last year’s success and once again contend for the Pac-12 title.
Throw in the arrival of a top-20 recruiting class, and it’s easy to see why Stanford is poised for another memorable postseason run after reaching the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for only the fifth time in school history. The Cardinal tied for third in the highly-competitive Pac-12 last year at 10-8 after being projected to finish sixth.
Following a Nov. 6 exhibition, the 2014-15 campaign gets underway eight days later with Stanford hosting Wofford in the opening round of the Northwestern Mutual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
This year’s complete poll is as follows:
1. Arizona – 383 votes (31 first-place votes)
2. Utah – 317 votes
3. Colorado – 316 votes
4. UCLA – 290 votes (1 first-place vote)
5. Stanford – 264 votes
6. Washington – 189 votes
7. California – 188 votes
8. Oregon – 159 votes
9. Arizona State – 155 votes
10. USC – 106 votes
11. Washington State – 84 votes
12. Oregon State – 45 votes
DAWKINS: “Coming off last season, we lost a few very good players. We're trying to figure out how to continue to grow and get better from the losses of Dwight Powell and Josh Huestis. But also excited to have a number of returners that have a lot of experience in Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic.”
DAWKINS: “Chasson is our point guard, he's the guy who led us and has grown into the position. While these other young players are learning on the job, he's going to be our guy that we know we can count on. He's been dependable and we're going to keep him there. I'm excited to see how he's grown his game and understanding when and when not to, not only playing at a high level himself, but he's done a great job of making his teammates better.”
RANDLE: “Coach Dawkins has brought my game to another level in terms of the way I prepare for games, also just learning the position at point guard. He was in a similar situation as me. He had to transition. He's definitely helped me in that area, as well as some of the other coaches.”
RANDLE: “I think our preparation this year has been attention to detail oriented. We've been focusing on the little things, just making sure that we're doing everything we can to have a successful year. We're working really hard every single day in practice.”
DAWKINS: “It's about standards. Last year we were able to set the bar. What we want to do is you can never take that for granted. You have to have standards to meet or exceed what you've accomplished. That's what we try to give our guys. Hopefully that can become our culture. Fortunately, we have young men like Chasson who are returning, along with Stefan Nastic, Anthony Brown. All those kids have that experience. Even with our younger players who weren't able to share those moments, we do have guys who have a reference point now going forward. We need to rely on that as we continue to build.”
DAWKINS: “Anytime you have an opportunity to play an opponent like UConn, you want to try to take advantage of that moment. We were able to get a two-for-one and beat them at their place last year. As it turned out, the best time for us to play them based on scheduling was during Pac-12 play. There have been years where we played during our bye week. I think it's great for us because it's an amazing opportunity to go outside of our conference, yet also keeps us ready and sharp for conference play because they'll be that caliber of an opponent.”
This year’s schedule features 16 regular-season home games, 11 NCAA Tournament opponents from last season and the program’s third appearance at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. since last November.
Highlighting the challenging non-conference slate is a matchup against defending NCAA champion Connecticut on Jan. 17. Stanford’s 53-51 upset of then-No. 10/10 Connecticut last December in Hartford represented a signature victory for the Cardinal, which was the only non-conference opponent to defeat the Huskies on their way to winning the national title. Connecticut had won 54 straight home games against non-conference foes dating back to 2007.
Meanwhile, road games against BYU and Texas, along with a potential tournament matchup against Duke, should provide the Cardinal with an opportunity to quickly establish a high RPI before Pac-12 competition gets underway in January.
Boasting an alumni network that extends coast to coast, the Cardinal places an emphasis on annually maintaining a strong national presence. The 2014-15 campaign is no different, with Stanford scheduled to play games in the New York, Chicago and Los Angeles markets, along with a trip to Texas and its usual home slate in the Bay Area.