If Stanford is going to make noise to finish the 2025-26 season, it's going to be due to the play of senior guard Jeremy Dent-Smith.
The Cardinal faithful received unfortunate news this week. Senior forward Chisom Okpara was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a patellar tendon injury suffered in the loss at Virginia. For Chisom, his outstanding collegiate career comes to an unceremonious ending after more than 1100 points across Harvard and Stanford. This season he was second on the team in scoring, at 13.9 a game. That's more than double his output from a year ago.
For a Stanford team currently on the bubble, Chisom left a significant void. His all-around play is unlike anyone else on the roster, but first and foremost, the scoring slack leaves the Cardinal in a precarious situation. But Jeremy Dent-Smith has quickly answered the call.
Jeremy's pedigree at the D2 level was outstanding. He scored more than 1400 points in three seasons, and received two All-American nods. His scoring mentality helped take Cal State Dominguez Hill all the way to the national title game. But in the early season, he had struggled to find that same success at the Division 1 level. Coming off the bench, his scoring had been streaky, and confined mostly to perimeter shooting. Finishing at the rim against superior length proved a challenge.
In the two games since Chisom went down, Jeremy has averaged 19 points against North Carolina and Duke. He's shot 9-15 from three, including a game-sealing shot against the Tar Heels for a massive upset victory. And most encouragingly, he shot 4-6 at the rim, after starting the year 10-29.
Kyle Smith often says it takes transfers into conference play to get their footing. We saw that last year with Chisom transfering up from Harvard. Jeremy took time to adjust to the length and athleticism at this level, but he's set to show out in a big way for the remainder of his final collegiate campaign.
There are some lineup challenges posed by Jeremy's increased role. Ebuka Okorie and Benny Gealer are already lineup mainstays, and the only thing pushing those three guards over six feet is generosity. Playing all three at once is something of an issue defensively. They are all solid guarding their position, but none of them are particularly cut out to defend wing players.
According to Evan Miya, Stanford's tournament resume puts them as the last team in the field entering Saturday's bout with an improved Cal team. Making a tournament push starts here, and it won't be easy. But if Jeremy can continue to play the way he did against the Tobacco Road powers, it's far too early to count out the Cardinal. The 12 year tournament drought just may end.