Denver Pioneers vs. Stanford Cardinal Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 4th 2024
Preview and Prediction
The reign of Kyle Smith begins on Monday afternoon as Stanford takes on Denver and their revamped coaching staff in a non-conference matchup.
Smith, who led Washington State to 25 victories and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year, was brought in to replace Jerod Haase, who had a record of 126-127 in his eight years as head coach of the Cardinal.
Smith inherits 7-foot-1 forward Maxime Raynaud, who was named the preseason first-team center by a national publication in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Raynaud spent the summer training with the French National Team, helping them prepare for their gold-medal game against Team USA.
However, Smith knows that it will take more than just a standout season from Raynaud for Stanford to improve upon their back-to-back 14-win seasons.
"We will need to focus on improving our defense, rebounding, and ball control," he stated. "This is my fourth program that I have taken over, and these have always been the key areas of focus. I believe I have a solid blueprint for success."
To strengthen the supporting cast for Raynaud, Smith utilized the transfer portal to bring in Jaylen Blakes from Duke, Oziyah Sellers from USC, Chisom Okpara from Harvard, and Derin Saran from UC Irvine.
Denver, who only won two games in 2021, has shown improvement under head coach Jeff Wulbrun with 11, 15, and 17 victories in their first three seasons. However, they have yet to defeat Stanford in their seven previous meetings.
With their top scorer Tommy Bruner graduating, the Pioneers will look to sophomore guard DeAndre Craig to lead the team this season. Craig finished strong last year, averaging 13.3 points in Denver's run to the finals of the Summit League tournament.
The season opener will also introduce two new additions to the Denver program - assistant coaches Shammond Williams, a three-time NCAA Final Four player at North Carolina, and Bill Peterson, who has experience in player development with the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.
"Both of these coaches have brought so much to our program," Wulbrun praised. "They have reached the level that every college basketball player aspires to be at."
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