In a Nutshell
Kyle Smith’s first year on The Farm marks a distinctly new era. Stanford returns just two guards from last year’s roster in Benny Gealer and Ryan Agarwal. The duo combined for roughly 600 minutes and only a single start.
The only certainty in this backcourt is that things will be different.
Out of the seven guards on the roster, Kyle Smith listed Benny Gealer, Oziyah Sellers, Jaylen Blakes, and Ryan Agarwal as the ones most in contention for starting roles. He has also frequently talked about Derin Saran, who ought to figure into the rotation.
Jaylen Blakes appears to be one of the keys to the year-one goals for this new staff. They see him as a truly elite point-of-attack defender, the first this program has seen in several years. Gealer, Sellers, and Agarwal have all drawn praise for their outside shooting, and look to provide spacing for Maxime Raynaud and the other forwards to work inside.
Departures
Jared Bynum ran the show at point at the start of last season, entering Thanksgiving as one of the nation’s leaders in assists and racking up an unsustainably good assist/turnover ratio. The wheels ultimately fell off due to injuries and personal disagreements with the coaching staff. Stanford failed to fill the playmaking void left behind. Jared ultimately attended the Pac-12 tournament as a spectator.
Kanaan Carlyle missed the majority of the non-conference slate due to academic issues, before bursting onto the scene with dominant performances that briefly got him first-round hype. He went through ups and downs, and ate up some of the point guard minutes.
Carlyle’s fellow freshman, Andrej Stojakovic, had an uneven freshman campaign that showcased high level scoring instincts but a lack of efficiency and consistency.
Stojakovic and Carlyle both transferred away, leaving the only logical conclusion that they liked Jerod Haase more than they liked Stanford. In all seriousness, they were chasing money. Their kind will not be missed when it comes down to program-building.
Super-senior Michael Jones was one of the most efficient scorers nationally. He provided a semblance of stability for a team that desperately needed it. After six years of college basketball, he exhausted his eligibility.
Walk-ons Roy Yuan and Josue Gil-Silva provided highlight fodder late in games. They, too, are out of eligibility.
Returners
Benny Gealer
Gealer looks to play an increased role in his junior season. After playing sparingly as a walk-on freshman, Benny earned a spot in the rotation last season, playing 18 minutes per game at the 1 and 2. He finished second on the team in assists, and fourth in steals.
“Benny Gealer has been rock solid,” said Kyle Smith. “What he's done this spring, summer and the fall, just his consistency, his skill level, his quickness, his improvements.”
He will look to be more of a threat this season in the pick-and-roll. His outside shooting will make it tougher for teams to defend.
“You better not go under a screen on him,” said Smith.
Ryan Agarwal
The second of the two returning guards, Ryan received a redshirt last year after appearing in only 5 games. As a true freshman two seasons ago, he shot 16 for 35 from three point range and was in and out of the rotation. Now as a redshirt sophomore, Kyle Smith sees him as a potential starter, and a key to spacing the floor.
Newcomers
Jaylen Blakes
Jaylen joined Smith and Maxime Raynaud at ACC Media Day. This was not merely to give the Duke transfer a free trip to North Carolina. It also signaled that he is a key part of the plans for this season.
Stanford ended up recruiting Jaylen in large part to Athletic Director Bernard Muir’s daughter, Millie. As a Duke volleyball student-athlete, Millie personally got to know Jaylen. She knew he had graduated early, and spoke strongly of his character to her father, who passed the news along to Smith.
Stanford recruited Jaylen Blakes out of high school at Blair Academy. They ultimately did not receive his commitment, but in the process they came across a lacrosse recruit who turned out to have a fair amount of hoops skills to boot. His name was Michael O’Connell.
Jaylen averaged about 10 minutes per game during his three year Duke career, leading the team in steal rate two of the three years and providing a spark off the bench.
“Jaylen’s a 6'1”, 205 pound guard with a 6’8” wingspan that can corral the ball, get his hands on the ball, and put you on your heels,” said Smith.
And Smith has emphasized that Jaylen as a point-of-attack defender is a major emphasis for the team in what he saw as a significant weakness of last year’s squad.
His game is more raw offensively, but Smith thinks he will find ways to contribute.
“I think Jaylen finds a way to get paint touches and draw fouls,” said Smith. “He was in a more limited role at Duke, but I feel like he's gonna help us in that regard.”
Oziyah Sellers
Stanford fans may recognize Oziyah from his time at USC. He played his high school ball with Stanford forward Jaylen Thompson before being a key reserve for Andy Enfield’s Trojans the last two seasons.
Now a junior, Oziyah seems primed to take on a bigger offensive load. Last year he had shooting splits of 47/43/83, scoring the sixth most points on USC and finishing second in true shooting percentage.
When college hoops pundit Jon Rothstein observed Stanford practice, he remarked that Oziyah seems primed to be Stanford’s second leading scorer after Maxime Raynaud.
Kyle Smith lists Oziyah as part of his trio of elite shooters, alongside Agarwal and Gealer.
“They should create a lot of space for Maxime to operate,” said Smith.
Derin Saran
Sophomore Derin Saran comes to the Farm after a productive debut campaign at UC Irvine. He finished third in points per game and second in steals per game despite coming off the bench in each of his 31 appearances.
The Anteaters of Irvine finished first in the Big West last season and seemed poised to be a trendy NCAA tournament pick before being upended by Long Beach State in their conference tournament. They ultimately lost in the first round of the NIT, where Derin scored 16 points against former Pac-12 opponent Utah.
“Derin is a scorer,” said Smith. “He’s probably a little better suited right now off the ball, but we’re hoping he can play both [guard] spots.”
Smith credits Derin as being super aggressive, and able to score in a variety of ways. He’s capable of getting into the paint, and also is a respectable outside shooter. The hope is that he will continue to develop as a playmaker, too.
Anthony Batson Jr.
Anthony joined the team late in the recruiting cycle. He ranked as a three-star recruit out of Arizona, and is an athletic combo guard who can do a bit of everything. He holds a whole slew of records at his high school, including points, steals, blocks, and wins.
Batson will have an uphill battle to crack the rotation right away. The path to important minutes this season will come by impressing Kyle Smith on the defensive end as an understudy for Jaylen Blakes.
Ethan Kitch
Ethan is the newest member of the Stanford roster, joining the team as a walk-on. The Palo Alto native was a prolific scorer for Gunn High school, which is not a traditional basketball powerhouse. He earned an All-Bay Area nod as a senior, and a place on the team over the summer. Walk-ons in this program have at times earned significant opportunities. Look no further than Benny Gealer.