The Kyle Smith era tips off Monday afternoon when Stanford hosts Denver and its beefed-up coaching staff in a nonconference game.
Smith, who directed Washington State to 25 wins and into the NCAA Tournament last season, was hired to replace Jerod Haase, who went 126-127 in eight years with the Cardinal.
Smith inherits 7-foot-1 forward Maxime Raynaud, who was selected by one national publication as the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason first-team center. The big man trained with the French National Team over the summer, helping get his countrymen prepared for their run to the gold-medal game against Team USA.
It’s going to take more than just a big-time season from Raynaud for Stanford to improve upon its consecutive 14-win seasons, Smith assured.
“We’re gonna have to defend better, rebound better and take care of the ball,” he said. “This is my fourth program that I’ve taken over, and that’s kind of always been the mantra, so I feel like I’ve got a good blueprint on how to do this thing.”
Smith used the transfer portal to find an improved supporting cast for Raynaud. Stanford lured Jaylen Blakes from Duke, Oziyah Sellers from USC, Chisom Okpara from Harvard and Derin Saran from UC Irvine.
A two-win team in 2021, Denver has improved to 11, 15 and 17 victories in its first three seasons under Jeff Wulbrun. None of those wins have come over Stanford, a team the Pioneers have never beaten in seven all-time head-to-heads.
With top scorer Tommy Bruner having taken his 24.0 points per game to graduation, the Pioneers are expected to be led this season by sophomore guard DeAndre Craig. He came on strong late last year, averaging 13.3 points in Denver’s run to the finals of the Summit League tournament.
The season opener will debut two new members of the Denver program — assistant coaches Shammond Williams, who played in three NCAA Final Fours at North Carolina, and Bill Peterson, who has worked in player development in the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors organizations.
“These guys have added so much to our program,” Wulbrun said. “They have been at the level that every player in college basketball aspires to be at.”
–Field Level Media
