Category: Stanford Cardinal

Letter from Solomon Thomas to the Stanford Family

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gocardinal.com photo: Stanford Cardinal defensive lineman Solomon Thomas (90) who turns pro next season is congratulated during a recent game

by Jerry Feitelberg

Stanford and Solomon Thomas released the following statement about Thomas’ decision to turn pro.

Courtesy: Stanford Athletics

01/04/2017

To my Stanford family,

Since pulling out a symbolic Stanford tree and donning nerd glasses on National Signing Day in 2014, I have had the most amazing time of my life. I have grown and matured more than I ever could have imagined. I arrived at Stanford somewhat shy and uncertain; now I stand a curious, intelligent, dedicated, and motivated man who is ready to take on any challenge, including the NFL. With the support of my family, I have decided to forgo my last years of eligibility at Stanford and enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

To my Stanford brothers, you all mean the world to me and I love you all. You each helped mold me into a better man. From laughing in the locker room, to sweating in the weight room, to grinding on the field — you are the reason I have loved every second of my time here. Our collective goal to not only be the best team, but also the best individuals, connects us on another level. You are all men I look up to as role models and aspire to be like. We have a special bond at Stanford, one that I am so proud to be a part of. I’m so lucky to have you as brothers: this is the most amazing blessing in my life.

 

Coach Shaw, you are the ultimate role model. Your influence and your values, have been permanently ingrained in me. Your loyalty to this program and your players is something that I will never forget.

I am so thankful to you for recruiting, coaching, and mentoring me.

I love you, Coach Shaw.

Coach Reynolds, you have taught me things that go far beyond football. Because of you and the lessons you have instilled in us, I have not only grown as a football player, but have grown tremendously as a man.

I love you, Coach Reynolds.

Coach Turley, you are one of the most respected men in this program. You push me past my limits and comfort –mentally and physically — to a new level as a man, athlete, and player.

I love you, Coach Turley.

I want to thank God, as without Him, nothing is possible. I want to thank my family for their unconditional love. I want to thank my brothers and coaches for all that we have shared in making these years the best of my life. I want to thank the entire Stanford family. Your kindness, generosity, and love have transformed me into the man I am today. You have changed my life in ways you will never know.

I am so honored, thankful, and grateful for my time at Stanford. I love this game so much and playing in the NFL has been my dream since I was six years old. The lessons I have learned at Stanford have more than prepared me for this next step. I am so blessed by all of the people who have touched my life here. These qualities will stay with me my entire life.

I am ready.

Forever a tree.

Forever a nerd.

Forever Cardinal.

With much love,

Solomon Thomas

Statement from head coach David Shaw on Thomas declaring for the draft:
“Solomon is explosive, strong, athletic, relentless and he’s worked extremely hard to put himself in the position to be an early draft pick. He’s ready for the next challenge.

I’m looking forward to hearing his name called early in the 2017 Draft.”

On both Thomas and Christian McCaffrey declaring for the draft:
“Two great players and great leaders are moving on to play at the next level. I thank them both for the daily example they set for our football team. I know we have multiple Stanford men who will step up to lead our 2017 team.”

Stanford Cardinal basketball Sunday game recap: Arizona manhandles Stanford 96-51 at Maples

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gostanford.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal Reid Travis (22) goes for the finger roll against a defensive potent Arizona Wildcat team on Sunday night at Maples Pavilion

By London Marq

Early conference play has not treated Stanford (8-6) well. After a close defeat at the hands of Arizona State University (8-7) 98-93, the Cardinal hosted the tough Arizona Wildcats (13-2). The Cardinal so far this season have played, going 8-5 coming into this matchup.

The Wildcats were 12-2 entering play, holding the second seed in the PAC-12 Conference, and they played like they knew it.  Rawle Alkins, lead all scorers with 19 points, and was perfect from the free throw line with eight makes. Arizona had four players in double digits. They went 63% from the floor as a team and hit 10 of 14 three pointers.

Stanford held a small two point lead at the very beginning of regulation, but were otherwise completely outclassed by the Wildcats. Reid Travis, star big man, and Dorian Pickens were the only Cardinal players who cracked doubles digits with ten apiece. Travis went 41% while Pickens shot 30% from the floor. Arizona locked them down on defense, allowing Stanford to shoot 34% on the night with only three long balls out of 16 converted.

Head Coach Jerod Haase is looking to make the most out of his inaugural coaching season at Stanford. He’ll need to have his team in better form as the season continues if he hopes to be competitive in the PAC-12 this season.

Arizona manhandles Stanford 91-52.

They are now tied for the best record in the conference at 13-2.

 

 

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Matt Harrington: Cardinal can’t stop Wildcat offense in 39 pt loss 91-52

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Jan 1, 2017: Arizona Wildcats forward Lauri Markkanen (10) dunks the ball during the second half of the game against Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion.(Photo: Stan Szeto/USA TODAY Sports

It was way too much Arizona Wildcats on Sunday night at Maples Pavilion the Wildcats passed the ball around the Stanford Cardinal defense like the Harlem Globetrotters were playing the Washington Generals in the mismatch 91-52 loss. With the win the Wildcats improve their record to 13-2 (2-0) and the Cats Rawle Alkins lead the club with 19 points and seven rebounds.

This was Stanford’s second straight Pac 12 loss after opening the game with a two point basket the Cardinal saw the Cats blow past them for a 12-4 run after the game’s first timeout the Cats rested their starters and came out with their second unit and the Cardinal took advantage with a seven to nothing run. The Cats ended up taking over the pace of the first half and the Cardinal would have to work to try to keep up with Arizona.

Also Matt reviews the Cardinal loss to the ASU Sun Devils at Maples Pavilion on Friday on the podcast. Catch the Cardinal game recap with London Marq at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

ASU’s hot shooting offsets Sheffield’s big night 98-93

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Arizona State guard Torian Graham, right, dribbles next to Stanford forward Cameron Walker (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in Stanford, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

By Jeremy Harness

STANFORD – Marcus Sheffield had a huge night, and it progressively got bigger as the game went along.

Arizona State, however, trumped everything that Sheffield and his Stanford teammates did Friday night with a remarkable shooting performance in holding off the Cardinal, 98-93, inside a half-empty Maples Pavilion in both teams’ Pac-12 season debuts.

Sheffield finished the night with 35 points by making an astonishing 11 of his 15 shots, including connecting on four of his six attempts from behind the 3-point line. He had 15 points in the first half and helped keep the Cardinal in the game.

Although Stanford hung tough, Arizona State’s shooting proved to be too much to handle in the opening 20 minutes. The Sun Devils made seven of their 12 shots from behind the 3-point line – which is good for 58 percent – while also making 59 percent of their field goals overall.

The two teams went back and forth for the better part of the half, thanks to Sheffield’s efforts, but ASU broke the game wide open in the final minutes while the Cardinal cooled off from the field.

Arizona State extended their lead to 40-33 when Shannon Evans II knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:16 left in the first half. At this point, the Sun Devils had hit an astonishing six of their 11 shots from beyond the arc, which is good for 55 percent.

To clearly illustrate how hot Arizona State was in the first half, Torian Graham drove the length of the court and hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Sun Devils a commanding 52-39 lead at the break.

Graham scored 19 first-half points himself, and he played a pivotal part in racing away from the Cardinal just before halftime, and he continued his stellar play through the second half, finishing with 30 points.

However, coming out of the break, it was the Cardinal who came out swinging, quickly narrowing ASU’s lead to eight points in the first two minutes of the second half.

Stanford, to its credit, shot the ball fairly well. The Cardinal shot 53 percent from the field, but they only made only eight of their 24 shots from 3-point territory, and that proved to be the biggest difference on Friday.

They eventually narrowed the lead to four on Dorian Pickens’ baseline jumper with 12:40 left. But the Sun Devils, as they had in the first half, thwarted any attempt by Stanford to get as close as one possession.

By the time the Cardinal got that close, it was too late, because the Cardinal were forced to play the fouling game in the hopes that Arizona State would start missing key free throws. The Sun Devils did not allow that to happen, as they made just about every clutch foul shot they needed to make.

The team made 33 of their 43 free throws on Friday, which was good for 77 percent, which is a very good mark for an entire team.

 

Cardinal defense preserves Sun Bowl win for Stanford 25-23

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Stanford linebacker Jordan Perez celebrates after defeating North Carolina in the Sun Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec., 30, 2016, in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Mark Lambie)

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Friday, December 30, 2016

Even without Christian McCaffrey, No. 16 Stanford still found a way to persevere and win the 83rd Sun Bowl. It was the first time in program history that the Cardinal has won three consecutive bowl games.

McCaffrey remained back at Stanford to recover from a series of lingering injuries so he could prepare for the NFL Draft. Meanwhile, in El Paso, Texas, the Cardinal used clutch defensive play and a strong rushing attack to hold off North Carolina 25-23. Cardinal running back Bryce Love gained 115 rushing yards on 22 attempts and made a 49-yard touchdown catch.

Junior quarterback Keller Chryst, 5-0 as a Stanford starter, suffered a right knee injury late in the second quarter. He was replaced by Ryan Burns, who completed 6 of 11 passes for 86 yards. Before leaving the game, Chryst was 3 of 6 for 68 yards.

After the Tar Heels (8-5) pulled to within two on a 2-yard pass from Mitch Trubisky to Bug Howard with 25 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, defensive lineman Solomon Thomas sacked Trubisky on a 2-point conversion attempt.

The Cardinal (10-3) surged ahead to stay 47 seconds into the fourth quarter when Dallas Lloyd delivered a pick-six.

On the day, Lloyd had two interceptions and a forced fumble.

A 44-yard field goal by Conrad Ukropina early in the second quarter broke a 7-7 deadlock. Another Ukropina field goal, from 33 yards out, gave the Cardinal a 13-7 halftime lead.

Ukropina’s third field goal – a 43-yarder at 10:18 of the third quarter, put Stanford up 16-7. But the Tar Heels responded with a 37-yard field goal by Nick Weiler and took a 17-16 lead at 3:17 of the third on Jordan Brown’s 5-yard run.

North Carolina opened the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Trubisky to Ryan Switzer at 8:58 of the first quarter. The Cardinal answered with Love’s TD reception less than three minutes later.

T.J. Logan led UNC with 75 rushing yards on 19 carries. Trubisky added 67 yards on 14 attempts. Austin Proehl led Tar Heel receivers with 7 catches for 91 yards

The Tar Heels outgained Stanford 398 total yards to 284, and had a 25-15 advantage in first downs.

Stanord Cardinal podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Stanford to open Pac 12 season against ASU on Friday

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UNIVERSITY PARK, TX – DECEMBER 19: Stanford Cardinal guard Dorian Pickens (11) protects the ball during the NCAA men’s basketball game between SMU and Stanford on December 19, 2016 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

The Stanford Cardinal come into Maples Pavilion 8-4 having just narrowly defeating the Idaho Vandals 86-80 and the Cardinal started off the season with four easy games. They beat Harvard, Cal State Northridge, Weber State, and they beat Colorado State. Then in the last eight games they went 4-4 and lost to the University of Miami, St Mary’s, and they lost to a powerhouse Kansas and they lost to Southern Methodist.

Remember last year SMU they were coached by Larry Brown they were at Stanford and they ran the Cardinal right out of the building and again this year they just trounced them again in Dallas. It’s unbelievable they held them to 39 points in that game. Then Cardinal went home and they faced Cal State East Bay and won and then they hosted Idaho and thought it was going to be an easy game but it wasn’t.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

NCAA/Stanford-North Carolina Sun Bowl podcast with Matt Harrington: McCaffrey’s absence understood by team but corporate sponsors not happy

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PALO ALTO, CA – NOVEMBER 26 Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey runs for a touchdown during a NCAA football game against the Rice Owls on November 26, 2016 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Tommy LaPorte/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

The corporate sponsors of the Sun Bowl can be none happy after the key player of this bowl Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey chose to not participate in the game in order to prepare for the NFL draft and avoid any possible injuries so he won’t be damaged goods for next NFL season. There is no doubt the fans are upset about it at the very end of the day McCaffrey is not getting paid anything in this bowl other than the gift bags they hand out.

McCaffrey didn’t want to be anything close to damaged goods. The Cleveland Browns might be vying for a draft pick like McCaffrey. McCaffrey certainly doesn’t want to miss out on a pay check in the NFL. One thing that McCaffrey is very aware about is concussions as his father Scott had his share of concussions in the NFL. It’s about the importance of getting as many pay checks as you can while you can in the NFL.

Matt Harrington is doing the NCAA podcast for Michelle Richardson this week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal basketball Thursday game wrap: Cardinal get out shot but get six point win over Idaho 86-80

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gostanford.com photo: The Stanford Cardinal guard Dorian Pickens (11) drives the offense in the Cardinal’s win over the Idaho Vandals on Thursday night at Maples Pavilion

by London Marq

PALO ALTO–The Vandals traveled from Idaho and they brought defense with them. They applied a full court press from the opening tip and kept the Stanford Cardinal from gaining a rhythm on offense for a large portion of the game as Stanford gets a six point win over the Idaho Vandals at Maples Pavilion 86-80.

Despite the tough defense being played, Stanford shot 50 percent in the first half.

Through the first period, Idaho out shot Stanford, hitting 60% from the floor, and they got to the free throw line twice as often.

The game became truly competitive when Stanford got hot in the middle of the second half, particularly from the line. Stanford was granted 25 free throw attempts, on plethora of questionable home calls, in the second half. Compared to the 8 attempts Idaho had in the second. The momentum in the game switched and the comeback was on.

Dorian Pickens, Cardinal guard, led all scorers with 25 points including 21 from beyond the arc. Stanford comes back from being down by 11 to win a game they led for less than nine minutes. They advance to an 8-4 record.

Stanford def. Idaho 86-80

SMU stampedes Cardinal in Big D 72-49

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photo courtesy gostanford.com: The floor of Southern Methodist University the site of the Stanford stomping on Monday night where it was SMU Mustangs offense all night over the Cardinal

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, December 19, 2016

Southern Methodist built a huge halftime lead and never looked back, as the Mustangs trounced Stanford 72-49 Monday in non-conference men’s basketball at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

The Mustangs (9-3 overall) took a 48-19 lead into the locker room, and put Stanford (7-4) away with a balanced scoring attack. Sterling Brown led the SMU scoring parade with 16 points, followed by Semi Ojeleye with 13, Shake Milton with 11 and Ben Moore with 10.

Moore also pulled down nine of the Mustangs’ 36 rebounds.

The Cardinal shot a woeful 21 percent (5 of 24) from the field in the first half, including 1 of 8 behind the arc. SMU, meanwhile, started the game with a 12-0 run, and connected on 19 of 32 field goals (59 percent), including 8 of 19 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

SMU finished the game with 11 3-pointers.

Stanford trailed by as many as 32 during the game and cut its deficit to 21 twice in the second half.

Marcus Sheffield led Stanford with 13 points, followed by Robert Cartwright with 11 and Reid Travis with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

The Cardinal complete their nonconference schedule on Thursday, when they return home to Maples Pavilion to host Idaho. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. PDT.

Stanford’s McCaffrey will not play in the Sun Bowl

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Stanford Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey breaks a tackle on a run for a touchdown during a NCAA football game against the Rice Owls on November 26, 2016 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Tommy LaPorte/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)

by Jerry Feitelberg

Stanford’s Alan George released a press release this morning regarding Christian McCaffrey.

//FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE//
December 19, 2016

McCaffrey to Miss Bowl
Running back will begin NFL Draft training

STANFORD, Calif. – Christian McCaffrey will not play in the Sun Bowl, the junior running back announced Monday. McCaffrey will direct his focus and efforts toward training for the 2017 NFL Draft.

“We understand that this was a very difficult decision. For three years Christian has not only been a great player, but a great teammate as well,” said David Shaw, Stanford’s Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. “We wish him great success at the next level, as we continue our preparation for the Sun Bowl.”

Stanford makes its 28th all-time — and school-record eighth straight — bowl appearance Dec. 30 when it faces North Carolina in the Sun Bowl. It is the third meeting between the programs and first since 1998. The game will be broadcast on CBS with kickoff set for 11 a.m. PT.