7. Stanford Cardinal
Stanford sits at 2-1 on the season with two solid victories over Seattle University and UNC Wilmington. Their only loss of the season came against No. 7 UNC.
Their fourth matchup of the young season was scheduled to be against Wofford, but like most sporting events scheduled for this past week in NorCal, it was postponed due to weather conditions.
Stanford has always been solid. Last year, the team was filled with rough riders and a single star in Reid Travis. That team really knew how to ball, but with each new season comes a set of questions. Who will step up? Who makes the leap and turns into a star?
For the Cardinal, that player has been KZ Okpala. Last year, Okpala displayed his athletic prowess and defensive potential in the Pac-12 tournament.
So far this season, he has put it all together. In three games he has been averaging 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds two steals and 1.7 blocks per game. Okpala has made the leap and is charging forward with the world’s brightest minds cheering him on from the student section.
Cormac Ryan and Daejon Davis have also played very well this season, averaging 14.7 and 10.7 points per game, respectively.
We learned a little more about this Stanford team tonight in a 62-46 loss to No. 25 Wisconsin. But for now, they’re still that same old solid Stanford squad who gives a great defensive effort and plays a tough 40 minutes.
– Geraffo