Last year was a major turning point for Stanford basketball as there was a lot of new for this program. It was Kyle Smith’s first year as head coach after great success with former league rival Washington State. Last season was also the first for the Cardinal in the ACC which certainly represented quite the change of scenery for the athletics department as a whole. All things considered, year one was a success, with 21 wins and a mark above .500 in their new league, something they hadn’t done in the Pac-12 since 2018.
One byproduct of being an academic institution like Stanford is that the Cardinal don’t have as many moving parts as the average power conference school. Unfortunately, while a majority of the roster does return, Stanford lost last year’s three top scorers, including Oziyah Sellers to the transfer portal. Maxime Raynaud’s fantastic career came to an end while a laundry list of faces will return.
The replacements for Jaylen Blakes, Raynaud, and Sellers will come largely from the roster as returning pieces like Ryan Agarwal and Benny Gealer take on much larger roles. The Cardinal didn’t just stand pat and did add a few pieces, though most of the additions were freshmen from the recruiting trail. After all, those rigorous academics and NIL shortcomings make it difficult for the Cardinal to wheel and deal like other ACC programs.
In actuality, Stanford did land one transfer in the offseason, but Jeremy Dent-Smith wasn’t exactly making headlines, as he’s never been a D1 player. He arrives at Stanford after three years of brilliant work at Cal State Dominguez Hills, helping that program to phenomenal success as one of its best players in program history. Dent-Smith averaged 19.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game while leading the Toros to the D2 national championship game.
Now a graduate student at Stanford, Dent-Smith was a late move in the offseason and despite those gaudy figures is taking an enormous leap up to the ACC. He’ll add depth and the coaching staff lauds his IQ and athleticism, but it’s hard to really know how he’s going to handle that adjustment. He could become a solid contributor though those other returning faces will see more significant minutes.
No major splashes are saving the day this offseason, but Smith and his staff seem to like the talent they’ve accumulated entering his second year with the Cardinal. This program needs Agarwal and others to really step up and take on those roles because replacing Raynaud’s 20 points per game won’t come easy. Hopefully Dent-Smith can be one of those pieces who eat important minutes and makes good plays on the court.