Pac-12 preview: Stanford

This is the ninth in an annual 12-part series previewing the Pac-12 teams for the upcoming season.

These are some different days for Stanford.

The long Cardinal reign atop the Pac-12 Conference faded last season, as they ended tied for third place and lost to both Oregon and Arizona for the first time in many years. Arizona State beat them twice, and they split the series with Bay Area rival Cal yet again. Stanford surprised with an upset to win the conference tournament, but were routed by Notre Dame in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

This season promises to be much the same, as the Cardinal lost starting point guard Amber Orrange and another top-scorer in Bonnie Samuelson. In a coaches poll, Stanford was picked to finish second in the conference – the first time since 1999 that they haven’t been tabbed to win it.

But Tara VanDerveer, who enters her 30th season as the Cardinal head coach, is optimistic about the returnees and four freshmen.

“We’ve had some great practices and I’m really impressed with the condition our team came back in,” VanDerveer said. “I think this is going to be one of the most deep teams we’ve had at Stanford. There are a lot of people contributing and everyone is doing very well.”

Returning starters include junior guard Lili Thompson (13.3 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3 rpg) and sophomore forward Kaylee Johnson (5.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg). Junior guard Karlie Samuelson (6.4 ppg) and junior forward Erica McCall (5.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg), who split starting duties last year, are also back. So is junior guard Briana Roberson, sophomore guard Brittany McPhee, junior forward Kailee Johnson and senior forward/center Tess Picknell.

With a new team, VanDerveer came in with a plan. And some of it includes a partial return of her storied “triangle offense,” which she scrapped last season.

“Pace is really key for us, and I think we’re going to be running better than we ever did last year, honestly,” she said. “We’re looking to really play up-tempo and move the ball. We’re doing some things differently defensively, being more aggressive and hopefully forcing more turnovers. Offensively, a little bit of triangle is back, but mostly just more ball movement and more spacing.”

Freshmen include New Mexico guard Alexa Romano, ranked 22nd in last year’s class; Australian standout forward Alanna Smith; Marta Sniezek, an award-winning Washington D.C. point guard; and Ohio forward/center Shannon Coffee. Sniezek will take Orrange’s place as floor general.
VanDerveer said the quartet has assimilated with the team flawlessly.

“They’re doing really well because our upperclassmen are being great mentors and ‘big sisters’ to them,” she said. “It’s amazing - they’ve stepped on the court and are playing like they’ve been here forever.”

“We’re really excited about Marta at the point and are really excited about Alexa’s speed. Alanna gives you a whole different dimension with her size and her 3-point shooting ability. Shannon is a big body inside that is doing a great job for us.”

The Cardinal have their usual tough preconference schedule, including their annual face-off with Tennessee in December. They will also take on Gonzaga, George Washington, Santa Clara, Texas and Chattanooga before beginning Pac-12 play Jan. 2, at Arizona.

Last year was VanDerveer’s first since 2008 without either stars Nneka or Chiney Ogwumike on the roster, and Stanford did flounder a bit. But could they rebuild that quickly? VanDerveer likes what she sees so far from her team.

“They really do seem to have fun competing – good competition,” she said. “They go hard against each other, but then they’re joking with each other off the court. It has a really good feel to it. We’re very excited about how things are going and just want to keep it going, keep everyone healthy and keep everyone working hard.”