2008-09 In Review: Another 20-Win Season, Postseason Berth

Stanford closed out the 2008-09 campaign at 20-14 overall and 6-12 in Pac-10 play.

	Stanford closed out the 2008-09 campaign at 20-14 overall and 6-12 in Pac-10 play.

April 17, 2009

Final Release in PDF Format

2008-09 Final Record: 20-14, 6-12 Pac-10 (9th)
Stanford closed out the 2008-09 campaign at 20-14 overall and 6-12 in Pac-10 play. For the 20th time in school history, the Cardinal reached the 20-win plateau. Following up last year's 28-8 mark, this is the first time since 2002-03 (24-9 overall) and 2003-04 (30-2 overall) that Stanford has posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Stanford secured a winning record for the 16th consecutive season and notched at least 18 victories for the third year in a row.

Postseason: College Basketball Invitational (CBI) Semifinals
Stanford owns a 30-20 all-time postseason record after advancing to the semifinals of the CBI. In its second year, the CBI featured a single-elimination, 16-team field with the first three rounds of competition played at campus sites. Oregon State defeated UTEP in the best-of-three championship series, winning two of the three possible games.

Stanford 96, Boise State 76 - Mar. 18 - First Round - Stanford, CA
Jeremy Green scored 19 points to lead three players in double-figures, helping lift Stanford past Boise State 96-76 in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) at Maples Pavilion. Lawrence Hill added 18 points on 8-12 shooting while Landry Fields contributed 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Hill and Fields, along with Green, paced a solid offensive attack that resulted in 53.5 percent shooting and 20 assists on 38 buckets. Sticking with a season trend, Stanford was able to use the three-point basket to its advantage on offense and defense. The Cardinal made 8-21 attempts while the Broncos were just 5-22. Boise State held a 34-33 edge in the rebounding department but Stanford racked up 13 steals. This one was in control by halftime, as Stanford raced out to a 51-31 lead at intermission. Stanford's lead hit double-digits at 18-7 just five minutes into the game following a lay-up from Fields. The Cardinal closed out the first half on 22-9 run. Stanford continued to pour it on in the second half, taking its largest lead of 27 points at the 5:29 mark following a two-handed jam by Anthony Goods.

Stanford 70, Wichita State 56 - Mar. 23 - Second Round - Wichita, KS
A first-half scoring barrage coupled with a stingy defensive effort resulted in a 70-56 Stanford victory in the quarterfinals of the 2009 College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Much like last week's win over Boise State, Stanford raced out to a huge lead and coasted the rest of the way. Leading the charge was Lawrence Hill with a game-high 21 points on 8-13 shooting while Anthony Goods added 18 points on 7-15 shooting. Stanford shot 50.9 percent overall, including a blistering 60.7 percent in the first half, and held a 37-31 advantage in the rebounding department over Wichita State. Stanford was in front 42-26 at intermission, leading by as much as 20 points early on after Josh Owens converted on the second of two free throws for a 30-10 lead with 6:17 remaining in the first half. Meanwhile, a stifling Cardinal defense limited the Shockers to just 32.1 percent shooting from the field over the first 20 minutes. Stanford maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half, extending its lead to 19 on a triple from Hill at the 16:50 mark. The Cardinal held a 24-20 points in the paint edge and dished out 13 assists compared to the Shockers' six.

Oregon State 65, Stanford 62 (OT) - Mar. 25 - Semifinals - Corvallis, OR
Roeland Schaftenaar sparked a 7-0 overtime run and Oregon State rallied for a 65-62 win against Stanford in Wednesday's semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Lathan Wallace had 16 points and three steals for Oregon State, which lost a six-point lead in the final 2:30 of regulation, but overcame a five-point deficit in overtime. Schaftenaar added 14 points for the Beavers. Anthony Goods led Stanford with 20 points while Lawrence Hill recorded a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Fields added 11 points and eight rebounds. Oregon State took a 28-26 halftime lead after Haynes had a steal and basket with one second left. Drew Shiller's three-pointer capped a 9-0 run that put Stanford ahead 35-30 with 14:15 remaining in regulation. But Oregon State regained the lead with Seth Tarver's bucket giving the Beavers a 51-45 lead with 2:36 left. Then Stanford came back, and Hill's 15-foot shot at the buzzer sent the game into overtime tied at 54-54. A triple from Fields gave Stanford a 61-56 lead with 2:30 left in overtime but the Cardinal was held to one point after that. Schaftenaar scored the first five points of that late 7-0 run, then found Tarver at the basket for two more to secure the win.

Pac-10 Tournament Finish: 1-1
Stanford owns an 11-11 all-time record in 22 Pac-10 Tournament games. Appearing in the play-in round for the first time in school history, Stanford defeated Oregon State 62-54. But the Cardinal was then bested by Washington 85-73 in the quarterfinals.

Stanford 62, Oregon State 54 - Mar. 11 - Play-in Round - Los Angeles, CA
Anthony Goods scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half when Stanford rallied to beat Oregon State 62-54 in a first-round game of the Pac-10 Tournament Wednesday night. The eighth-seeded Beavers (13-17) swept Stanford in the regular season for the first time since 1992-93 and twice got within one in the final 3:45. But they missed some big free throws and failed to hit a field goal in that stretch. Trailing 28-21 at halftime, Stanford outscored Oregon State 41-26 down the stretch. After being held scoreless (0-3 FG, 0-2 3FG, 21 min.) in the last meeting in Corvallis, Anthony Goods led all scorers with 23 points on 6-17 shooting. He was 4-9 from three-point territory, 7-9 from the foul line and grabbed seven rebounds in 36 minutes.Stanford held a 35-28 edge in the rebounding department and forced Oregon State into 14 turnovers while limiting the Beavers to just 39.2 percent shooting from the field.

Washington 85, Stanford 73 - Mar. 12 - Quarterfinals - Los Angeles, CA
Jon Brockman scored 20 points, Isaiah Thomas sparked a decisive second-half spurt with nine points and No. 13 Washington defeated Stanford 85-73 in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals. Anthony Goods scored 26 points after getting 23 in a win against Oregon State on Wednesday night for the Cardinal. Landry Fields had 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and freshman Jeremy Green added 13 points for Stanford. Those two, along with Goods, combined for 55 of Stanford's points, while starter Lawrence Hill finished with four points on 2-of-14 shooting. The Cardinal kept it close throughout the first half, when the game was tied eight times. Tied at 27-all, the Huskies outscored the Cardinal 11-8 to end the half ahead 38-35. A 16-11 Washington run opened the seond half and put the Huskies ahead for good, 54-46. Isaiah Thomas finished with 14 points and a career-high nine rebounds.

Annual Awards Banquet Wraps Up 2008-09
Anthony Goods walked away with five awards, including a share of the Hank Luisetti Most Valuable Player honor, highlighting the Stanford men's basketball team annual awards banquet. Joining Goods as the team's co-MVP award winner was Lawrence Hill. Goods also claimed the Best Defensive Player award and shared the honor of team captain with Mitch Johnson, who also received the Most Inspirational award. Landry Fields picked up two traditional awards as well, being named the Most Improved Player in addition to capturing the Roy Young Toughness award. Kenny Brown was the recipient of the Howie Dallmar Coaches award for the second straight season. Six statistical awards were given out this year representing the following categories: free throw percentage, assists, points, rebounds, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage. Matei Daian was recognized for attaining the team's highest GPA.

20 In The Books...Again
With a 70-56 win at Wichita State on Mar. 23, Stanford recorded its 20th season with at least 20 victories. Following up last year's 28-8 mark, this is the first time since 2002-03 (24-9 overall) and 2003-04 (30-2 overall) that Stanford has posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns. Furthermore, Stanford managed to extend a pair of lengthy streaks with its 75-63 rout over USC back on Feb. 28. That triumph clinched a winning record for the 16th consecutive season and gave the Cardinal at least 16 wins for the 16th straight year. This was only the second 20-win season for Stanford over the last five years.

Stanford Joins Elite Company With Non-League Success
Stanford finished the 2008-09 campaign as one of three teams in NCAA Division I competition with an undefeated record (13-0) against non-conference competition. The other programs who did not lose a non-league game were NCAA champion North Carolina (20-0) and NCAA Final Four participant Pittsburgh (16-0). Stanford has finished non-conference play unbeaten on five other occasions, most recently in 1955-56 with an 8-0 mark. As one would expect, Stanford's non-conference numbers were outstanding. Nine of the 13 victories were decided by double-digits, the club's victory margin was +17.0, four players averaged at least 10.6 points per game and Stanford reached the 100-point plateau twice while averaging 80.2 points per game.

Stanford All-Time In The Postseason
Advancing to the postseason for the 16th year in a row, Stanford has now compiled a 30-20 record in 22 postseason appearances. The Cardinal, which sports a 21-15 record in 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, captured the 1942 championship, reached the Final Four in 1998, advanced to the Elite Eight in 2001 and moved on to the Sweet 16 in 1997 and 2008. Stanford is also 7-4 in five NIT appearances. The Cardinal most recently played in the NIT three years ago and also claimed the 1991 championship. And after this year's postseason effort, Stanford is now 2-1 in CBI competition.

Goods, Hill Earn All-Pac-10 Recognition, Green Named To Freshman Team
Seniors Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill received all-conference honors for the second time in their careers while Jeremy Green earned a spot on the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team, highlighting Stanford's selections among the 2008-09 Pac-10 men's basketball award winners. Both Goods and Hill received Honorable Mention recognition, with Goods receiving the honor for the second straight season and Hill adding to his All-Pac-10 honor from two years ago. Goods averaged a team-best 16.2 points per game to go along with 3.3 rebounds per game. He led the Cardinal in scoring on 15 different occasions, registered a career-best 10 20-point games while scoring in double-figures 30 times. An All-Pac-10 honoree two years ago, Hill ranked second on the club in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) and scored in double-figures in 25 contests. Stanford's first All-Freshman selection since Brook Lopez in 2007, Green averaged 6.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in 34 contests. Green quickly developed a reputation as one of Stanford's most dangerous three-point shooters, connecting on 47-103 (45.6 percent) tries.

Drew Shiller Named To Pac-10 All-Academic Team
Drew Shiller was named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team, picking up his second career honor as he was also a Pac-10 All-Academic Honorable Mention pick in 2007-08. To be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and be either a starter or significant contributor. Shiller participated in 24 games this year, all in a reserve role. He averaged 2.5 points per game, totaled 36 assists and knocked down 14-40 three-point attempts. He scored a season-best eight points in a 96-76 win over Boise State in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI).

Will Paul Ineligible For 2009-10 Campaign Due To Academic Reasons
Will Paul has been placed on academic suspension and is ineligible for competition during the 2009-10 campaign, as announced by head coach Johnny Dawkins. Paul is currently not enrolled at Stanford this quarter and will be eligible to re-enroll at the University in the spring quarter of 2009-10 academic term. Dawkins has left open the possibility that Paul could return to the team. Paul averaged 4.0 points and 1.3 rebounds per game in 2008-09. He played in 23 contests, making six starts, and shot 48.6 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point territory. He scored in double-figures twice, including a career-best 13 points in a victory against Washington State on Feb. 5. Paul sat out the 2007-08 campaign as a redshirt and averaged 1.2 points and 1.4 boards per game in 17 contests as a freshman.

Hot Start, Undefeated Record Highlight First Half
Stanford reeled off 10 victories in a row to begin the year, matching the seventh-best start to a season in school history and best overall since the 2003-04 club opened the year with 26 consecutive wins. In addition, the 10-game winning streak was Stanford's best since that same 26-0 stretch four years ago. Even more impressive, Stanford was one of six unbeaten teams remaining in Division I competition (joining Clemson, Illinois State, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Wake Forest) prior to suffering its first loss on Jan. 2.

Dawkins Among Nation's Top Rookies, Best All-Time At Stanford
Johnny Dawkins completed his first season at the helm with a 20-14 record and goes in the books as Stanford's winningest first-year head coach, surpassing Robert Burnett's 19-9 mark in 1951-52. Furthermore, of the 21 first-year head coaches in Division 1 with no prior college head coaching experience, Dawkins ranked third for the distinction of winningest rookie coach. The top of the list reads as follows:
Head Coach (School)......Record......Postseason
Ken McDonald (Western Kentucky)......25-9, 15-3 Sun Belt......NCAA Tour. Second Rd.
Russ Pennell (Arizona)......21-14, 9-9 Pac-10......NCAA Tour. Sweet 16
Johnny Dawkins (Stanford)......20-14, 6-12 Pac-10......CBI Semifinals
Mark Phelps (Drake)......17-16, 7-11 Missouri Valley......CIT First Round
Don Verlin (Idaho)......17-16, 9-7 WAC......CIT Quarterfinals
John Groce (Ohio)......15-17, 7-9 MAC......-

Cardinal In The Pac-10, National Statistics
Stanford ranked second in the Pac-10 in turnover margin (+2.4) and fourth in the following categories: scoring (73.2), three-point field goal percentage (38.4), three-pointers per game (7.3), assists per game (15.0) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2). In the final edition of the national rankings, the Cardinal ranked 26th in three-point field goal percentage, 38th in assist/turnover ratio and 47th in turnover margin. Anthony Goods was the Pac-10's fifth-best scorer (16.2 ppg) and ranked fourth in threes made per game (2.2). Mitch Johnson ranked third in assist/turnover ratio (1.9) and seventh in assists per game (4.5). Meanwhile, Landry Fields ranked sixth with 6.6 rebounds per game.

Season Scoring
For the eighth straight year, a different player led Stanford in scoring. Anthony Goods finished the year with a team-best 16.2 points per game, following Brook Lopez (19.3 ppg in 2007-08), Lawrence Hill (15.7 ppg in 2006-07), Matt Haryasz (16.2 ppg in 2005-06), Dan Grunfeld (17.9 ppg in 2004-05), Josh Childress (15.7 ppg in 2003-04), Julius Barnes (16.0 ppg in 2002-03) and Casey Jacobsen (21.9 ppg in 2001-02).

Road Warriors...Outside The Pac-10
Stanford has won six straight non-conference road games, a streak that began with a 67-43 victory at Colorado back on Dec. 2, 2007.

Three-Point Shot A Key In 2008-09
Stanford finished the year with 249 three-pointers, its best total since making 252 triples in 2000-01. The 249 makes also rank third-best in school history. Meanwhile, Stanford's 649 three-point attempts are the most-ever in a single season.

Stanford Opening Up On Offense
Coming into this year, head coach Johnny Dawkins promised a more up-tempo offensive attack due to increased team speed and experienced guard play. And he was right on point as Stanford ranked fourth in the Pac-10 at 73.2 points per game. Stanford scored at least 70 points in five straight games to begin the year, representing the first time that has happened since a five-game stretch at the end of the 2001-02 campaign. The Cardinal was 15-5 when scoring at least 70 points and failed to reach 60 points only twice all year.

Share The Ball, Force Mistakes
Two of Stanford's trademarks were the ability to share the basketball and force mistakes. Stanford was 17-4 when making fewer turnovers than its opponent. The Cardinal ranked second in the Pac-10 and 38th in the country in assist/turnover ratio with a 1.2 clip.

Battle Of The Boards
One of the top rebounding teams in the nation in 2007-08 with nearly 40 boards per game, Stanford averaged only 32.1 rebounds this year. Not that there were many shots to clean up, as Stanford shot 46 percent overall while opponents connected at 47.5 percent. Of Stanford's 1093 total rebounds, 66.5 percent have come on the defensive glass.

Finding Scoring Balance
Stanford placed at least four players in double-figure scoring on 16 different occasions.

Dialing Long Distance, Opponents Not So Much
Stanford averaged 7.3 three-pointers per game and made 38.4 percent from beyond the arc- totals that ranked fourth in the Pac-10. Anthony Goods was the leading sharpshooter, connecting on 71-183 attempts. Meanwhile, opponents made just 35.1 percent from three-point territory. Stanford has made at least one triple in 253 consecutive games, including a program record-tying 15 treys against Arizona on Mar. 7.

Moving Up The Charts
With five assists against Oregon State on Mar. 25 in his final collegiate game, Mitch Johnson increased his career total to 534. He leaves The Farm in sole possession of second place in the school record books, as only Brevin Knight recorded more assists (780) during his career. Johnson finished his senior year with 145 handouts, also averaging 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while making 32 starts.

Delivering The Goods
Anthony Goods emerged as Stanford's top scoring threat, averaging a team-best 16.2 points per game. He shot 41.7 percent overall but was even more impressive with team-high marks from three-point territory (71-183, 38.8 percent) and the free throw line (142-182, 78.0 percent). Goods eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in a win over Oregon on Jan. 22 and led the Cardinal with 10 20-point games. His performance at the foul line surpassed the production over his first three seasons combined (125-165, 75.7 percent).

Hill Returning To All-League Form
Another positive was the performance of Lawrence Hill, an All-Pac-10 selection two years ago as a sophomore when he averaged 15.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Hill ranked second on the club in scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg), and scored in double-figures 25 times. Hill notched his third double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 boards in a loss at Oregon State on Mar. 25.

Fields Excelling In Starting Role
After coming off the bench in his first 63 career games, Landry Fields averaged 12.6 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 49.8 percent in 34 games while making 33 starts. Fields notched his fifth career double-double with 16 points and 15 boards against Washington on Mar. 12. He scored in double-figures 24 times, led the Cardinal in rebounding 17 times and racked up a team-high 42 steals.

Green's Rookie Year Ranks Among The Best
One of Stanford's most dangerous three-point shooters, Jeremy Green ranks second in three-pointers made (47) and attempted (103) among freshmen all-time at Stanford. Only Casey Jacobsen (74-170) tallied higher marks in his rookie season on The Farm. Meanwhile, Green's 45.6 percent success rate from beyond the arc is second only to Dion Cross' 46.2 percent clip among rookies.

Home Sweet Home
Stanford owned a 14-4 record at home in 2008-09 and reached the 10-win mark at Maples Pavilion for the 16th consecutive year with a 77-55 win over Oregon back on Jan. 22. In 2007-08, the Cardinal set a record for home victories (16) in a single season. Additionally, the Cardinal is 30-5 in its last 35 home games dating back to the start of last year.