Stanford's Kanaan Carlyle Highlighted As One Of College Basketball's Freshmen To Watch
Stanford's men's basketball program badly needs a spark, and they just as badly need a positive season or there could be a possible regime change.
Over the past couple of weeks, it has been abundantly clear who will provide that spark, as freshman guard Kanaan Carlyle has taken the college basketball world by storm. He formally introduced himself with a 28-point showing against No. 4 Arizona on New Year's Eve in Stanford's upset win. A performance that led to him being named AP National Player of the Week, and one that may have also asserted him as the premier scorer on a veteran-heavy team.
His strong showings have since brought more attention to his game and even led toOn3's Jamie Shaw naming him as one of the Power 6 freshmen to watch out for this season.
Stanford freshman Kanaan Carlyle
Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Shaw highlighted the scoring surge he has provided the Cardinal despite getting a later start into the season.
"Kanaan Carlyle sat for Stanford’s first eight games for non-injury-related reasons. However, he quickly jumped into the lineup and made his presence felt, scoring in double figures in four of his six games including a 28-point outburst against then No. 4 ranked Arizona. Through his first six, Carlyle is averaging 12.7 points with shooting splits of 50.0 FG/46.4 3P/88.2 FT. Stanford is now 2-2 in PAC 12 play," wrote Shaw.
The Cardinal will need more big nights out of Carlyle, and will also need fellow freshman and former five-star Andrej Stojakovic to hit a stride of his own to really lift this team that has been in a rut. Stanford is set to take on Oregon State in Corvallis on Thursday, before returning home to host Utah, Washington State, and Washington. They are favored by ESPN's matchup predictor in all four meetings, and are also expected to beat Bay Area rival Cal to finish out the month.
If the Cardinal do in fact win their next five games, one would have to assume that Carlyle is at the forefront of the win streak.
