Kyle Smith has Stanford basketball playing like an NCAA tournament worthy team

It has been a while, but could the Cardinal finally be back in the mix to earn a spot in March Madness?

Dec 3, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Kyle Smith reacts after the play against the Utah Valley Wolverines during the second half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images / Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

With the college basketball season now in full swing and teams having played over a month’s worth of games by this point, things are starting to become clearer as to which teams are ones to keep an eye on and which ones are going to endure some struggles. For years now, the Stanford Cardinal have struggled to be a force, finishing 14-18 last year and missing the NCAA tournament yet again, failing to make it in the eight years that Jerod Haase was the head coach.

But something is very different this year. Hiring a new head coach in Kyle Smith, who was coming off of a tenure at Washington State in which he led the Cougars to their first NCAA tournament berth in 16 years, the Cardinal were able to bring in a guy who had a strong reputation for turning every program he has coached around. And since arriving on The Farm, it appears that trend could continue, so much so that it feels that this year’s team will be tournament bound.

When Smith was hired, he brought a more analytical approach to coaching, relying more on numbers to make decisions. A plethora of players opted to leave the program when he came in after Haase left, most notably Andrej Stojakovic who left for Cal, bringing up questions as to what would come of a program that had already seen years of struggle.

But quickly, he was able to get many players to buy in, with star Maxime Raynaud withdrawing his name from the portal after being convinced by Smith to stay and managing to lure in talent from other top basketball schools, such as landing graduate transfer Jaylen Blakes from Duke.

With the roster of players that Smith has been able to assemble, he has Stanford playing its best basketball in years, with the team currently possessing an 8-2 record, its best start since 2019-20, while also getting the best out of his players.

Blakes, who played a minimal role while at Duke and never averaged more than 3.4 points per game there, is having the best season of his career by a mile this year, not only evolving into an everyday starter, but also averaging a career high of 16.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists.

Raynaud, who was already considered one of the most intriguing players going into this season, has been one of the best players in the country so far, averaging 22.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Currently, both his points per game total and rebound per game total are top five in the nation.

Raynaud and Blakes are just two examples of the strong play that Smith has gotten out of his players, with guys such as Oziyah Sellers, Ryan Agarwal and Benny Gealer being other players who have thrived in Smith’s system.

Now, the strong start can be attributed partially to the favorable slate of games that the Cardinal have played in so far, with only Cal being a Power Five opponent and the two losses coming against two lower tier opponents in Grand Canyon and Cal Poly. However, the Cardinal have also had multiple statement wins, with its win against Cal on the road to open up ACC play being an example of how this year’s team has exemplified growth.

With the ACC featuring teams such as Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse and Miami, this will be a year where the Cardinal will be tested a lot, with many of the games being playoff caliber matchups. Taking care of business like how they did against Cal is a positive step towards being competitive in their new conference.

There is still a lot of season left, with ACC play soon becoming the focal point. But so far, it looks like Smith has instilled new life into the program and has seemingly brought all the tools needed to not only promote a consistent winning culture, but also put the team in position to earn a coveted March Madness berth.