NCAA Basketball: 5 programs poised for resurgent years in 2020-21

Stanford Cardinal

Stanford has not experienced a ton of basketball success over the past few years. In fact, even though the Cardinal were right on the bubble during this past season, making the dance would have only been for the second time in the last 12 years. Stanford has not always experienced these long gaps in postseason appearances, though, and it was once regarded as one of the better programs in the nation.

Over a 14-year stretch from 1994-2008, Stanford reached the NCAA Tournament on 13 occasions and made the Final Four once. Former head coach Mike Montgomery led the program for the majority of this time period and the Cardinal earned a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance three times under his leadership. The program’s success has obviously fizzled out since then, but there is reason to be optimistic about a resurgence during the 2020-21 season.

This is largely thanks to Stanford’s returning crew from this past season. Oscar Da Silva, Spencer Jones, and Daejon Davis all appear poised to return for the Cardinal and Tyrell Terry could also choose to return to school rather than stay in the NBA Draft. If Terry does decide to come back, then Stanford’s core will be rock-solid and boast more experience than this past year.

Furthermore, Stanford is bringing in the No. 14 overall recruiting class in the country. This four-man group includes Ziaire Williams, a 6-foot-7 Sierra Canyon forward regarded as the fifth-best player in the entire class. He is the type of plug-and-play freshman that should instantly make a huge impact as a go-to player on the wing with a bright future.

Stanford, just by returning its main contributions from last year, should be in great shape by virtue of internal development (especially with two rising sophomore stars, if Terry comes back). Adding a top-tier freshman like Williams to the mix is what could seriously raise the Cardinal’s ceiling.