What a move by Childress– and I’m talking about off the court.  Childress has agreed to play for a Greek team called the Olympiakos.  Usually, it is the NBA that is pulling away talent from the Euroleagues, but this situation has things reversed.  In three years, he will be making $20 million after taxes.  This is a better deal than he could’ve received as a restricted free agent with the Atlanta Hawks.  It is the biggest contract in Euroleague history.

But enough with the facts!  What does this really mean for one of Stanford’s finest ballers and what does it mean for basketball?  I’m not even going to pretend that my answers to these questions are extremely knowledgeable or profound, but instead, they will simply be my opinion on the matter.

First, I think that it is probably a good move for Childress.  As long as he stays focused and continues to improve his game, he will continue to have a bright basketball future.  Also, it is important to realize that he can opt out of his contract at the end of each year and the money is guaranteed.   Therefore, it doesn’t seem like he has a tremendous amount to lose by making this decision.  Who knows?… He may be extremely well-received in Greece and become one of the stars of the Euroleague.  Of course, being a star in the NBA and being a star in the Euroleauge are two different things all-together, but Josh was probably not destined to be a super-star in the NBA, so he might as well test the waters in Europe.  And if this reasoning isn’t enough, he’ll be making more money on top of it.

Now for a quick comment on players going to Europe instead of playing in the NBA or college for that matter.   Brandon Jennings decided to play in Italy instead of playing at Arizona for a year before trying to make it to the NBA.  Going off on a quick tangent, in the case of Jennings, I’m not sure that he made the right decision.  One fact that never really got disclosed were his SAT scores.  In order to be eligible to play NCAA Division 1 Basketball, you must fall above a sliding scale consisting of high school GPA and SAT score.  Although I don’t know, one could hypothesize that Jennings did not make the cut (or possibly cheated his second time taking the SAT).  Click here to see the sliding scale to be NCAA Division 1 eligible.

Brandon Jennings also left for Europe, but for very different reasons than Childress.

*****

My last note on players going to Europe is that although it might not be the best thing for the NBA, I do think it is a positive for the sport of basketball.  The more world recognition and appreciation the sport can gain, the better it will do.

The Stanford Cardinal did pretty well in ESPN’s prestige rankings for D1 basketball programs starting from the 1984-1985 season.  Considering there are 300+ programs, hitting number 25 is no small accomplishment.  In fact, check out some Stanford Basketball’s achievements in the graphic below.

The Cardinal will definitely be in some good company in the top 25 of ESPN’s Prestige Rankings.  Go Card!

According to ESPN, these Prestige rankings come with some very specific rules.  Starting with the 1984-85 season (before I was even 1 yr old) because it was the first season the NCAA tournament welcomed 64 teams.  Being from LA and growing up a Bruin fan, I feel that this is definitely not fair to the accomplishments of John Wooden and company.

Within this time frame, points were received for going deep into the tournament, performing well in your conference as well as in your conference tournament, not choking in high pressure situations, as well as some other factors which can be found here.

So back to the real question: Which teams still remain and where will the Stanford Cardinal fall?

Below is a letter that Coach J wrote to the Stanford 6th Man Club:

Dear Stanford Family,

When I came to Stanford, my hope was to coach here until I retired. While that isn’t able to happen, I will always cherish my seven years on the Farm.

As many of you have probably heard, I have accepted the head coaching job at Louisiana State University. Before I am off to my new home, I wanted to share a few things with you:

I believe in Stanford.

I believe in the University. I have always thought that the professors trying to cure cancer or solve major world issues would be more important than the basketball coach. Stanford is much bigger than one person and particularly when that person is some guy who gets to coach basketball for a living.

I believe in Stanford Basketball. One of the first things I did when I became the head coach at Stanford was to try to reinvigorate the basketball alumni—which I think we did. We had record attendance at our first ever alumni weekend in 2005. I was very excited about the big event in the works for this September. I was proud to be able to continue and, thankfully I believe, add to the program’s tradition.

I believe in Stanford student athletes. I have never been around a more impressive group of young men and women. I have always tried to surround myself with the best people possible. Specifically, I can honestly say I am better individual and coach because of this group of young men. I want to thank our players–and our staff–for making my job easy.

The Stanford community has been incredibly gracious to my family and me. During my time as an assistant and most recently as head coach, the fans have been great supporters of our program. I will miss the many friends I made here.

I also want to give a big plug–and a big thanks–to the 6th Man Club. You guys made Maples an absolutely brutal place to play for our opponents. You were fantastic supporters of our players and our program. Also, I always enjoyed the post season dinners with 6th Man members—you guys helped keep my job fun.

There are too many people for me to name that have made my time here extra special and are responsible for our success, but I am confident that they know who they are. Thank you.

Just know that I will always be cheering for the Cardinal—and I wouldn’t mind if you did a little cheering for the Tigers either.

Thank you again for a wonderful seven years and the opportunity to be a part of something so special.

Warmest Regards,

Coach J

The 6th man tip off went down last Sunday night in Maples Pavilion. Included in the event was singing by some of Stanford’s finest–Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt, Robin Lopez, and Landry Fields. There was also some five on five basketball: 6th man vs. the men’s basketball squad. Luckily, the taller, more athletic, and better looking players had a handicap to even out the game. The players were forced to wear red-diapered sumo suits. Not only was it impossible to jump, run fast and dribble, but it was also a challenge to bring their hands close enough together to get off a descent shot. The night featured guest appearances by the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band and by the Stanford Dollies. Below are just a couple pictures to get a feel for the night, and hopefully, I’ll be able to post video footage in the future.

In the center of campus is a giant white “birdcage” used to advertise events and hang banners. The cage is about 25 feet tall, but it rarely ever used above 10 feet. Thanks to Joel Sandler, the man pictured below, the 6th Man Club decided to be adventurous and hang our banner at the very top! Click image below for more pics.

College basketball season is almost here, and it’s time to get mentally prepared! To get this season started off right, the Stanford Men’s Basketball 6th Man Club will be holding a tip-off event in Maples Pavilion on October 20th.

Players from the nationally ranked Stanford Basketball team came out to White Plaza in the center of campus to encourage students to sign up for 6th man as well as to take on 6th man club members in some basketball and bobbing for apples. Check out some more pictures by clicking on the images below.