WOMEN
AT LAST CHECK: All-American Chiney Ogwumike, '14, graduated after leading last season's team to a 33-4 record (with a Final Four loss to Connecticut). But the depth of the remaining talent made the Cardinal the No. 6-ranked squad nationally entering this season.
YOU PROBABLY KNOW: The team's headliner is expected to be senior guard Amber Orrange, right, one of the conference's elite ballhandlers and defensive standouts.
THE NEWS IS: After 12 seasons of running a triangle offense that relied on powerful inside players, Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer sought advice from pro coaches and the Stanford men's staff to install a pick-and-roll system that spreads out players for shot opportunities and capitalizes on her team's quickness. "We try to maximize strengths," she says of her revamped approach. "You shouldn't ask a fish to climb a tree."
IF YOU WATCH CLOSELY: VanDerveer hopes to get substantial contributions from a lot of players off the bench. Keep an eye, for instance, on the progress of redshirt junior guard Alex Green and sophomore guard Briana Roberson.
FOR AN OUTSIDE OPINION: Consider the perspective of USC coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, who said in the fall that she was looking forward to not seeing an Ogwumike after six seasons of Stanford teams with either Chiney, her older sister Nneka, '12, or both.
MEN
Nastic 'centers' the cardinal. (Photo: John Dodd)AT LAST CHECK: After a six-year absence, Stanford returned to the NCAA tournament last season with an electrifying run into the Sweet 16. But success this season depends heavily on replacing the rebounding and scoring of NBA draftees Dwight Powell, '14, and Josh Huestis, '14.
YOU PROBABLY KNOW: Chasson Randle, '14, a first-team Pac-12 selection last season, is the hub of the action as both point guard and go-to scorer (18.8 average in 2013-14).
THE NEWS IS: The team has an unusually strong nucleus of experience and off-the-court maturity. Randle and fifth-year seniors Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic are all working on master's degrees. "It translates into leadership," says coach Johnny Dawkins, adding that the squad's veterans now have "a clear understanding of what they have to do in order to continue to play in March."
IF YOU WATCH CLOSELY: The front-line combo of bruising 6-foot-8 freshman forward Reid Travis and 6' 11" center Nastic has game-controlling potential. And Dawkins says not to overlook redshirt sophomore Rosco Allen, a 6' 9" forward with "guard skills" as a ballhandler.
FOR AN OUTSIDE OPINION: It takes a while to count up every preseason forecast that penciled Stanford into the national tourney bracket; expectations have been raised.
Editor’s note: Since the completion of the preview on the men’s team, Reid Travis has been sidelined indefinitely because of an injury.
