Stanford loses its top perimeter player to a stress fracture
The best player in an already thin Stanford backcourt likely won’t be available next month when the Cardinal open the season.
Junior guard Marcus Allen sustained a stress fracture in his right foot and is out indefinitely, the school announced Monday night. The stress fracture is not expected to be season-ending for Allen, however, such an injury can often sideline a player several months.
“We want to make sure Marcus is fully healthy before returning to the court,” Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said in a statement. “Marcus played at a high level during our summer exhibition competition in Italy, where he was one of our leading scorers. We will certainly miss him as we continue to prepare for the season, but we are fortunate that this happened now and he will be back before he knows it.”
Even though Allen averaged a modest 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds as a part-time starter last season, those numbers don’t demonstrate how damaging a loss this is for Stanford.
Allen showed breakout potential late last season when he attacked the rim off the dribble with confidence and scored eight or more points in 15 of Stanford’s final 19 games. Secondly, with stars Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown having graduated, Allen is the only member of the Cardinal backcourt who averaged more than two points per game last season.
Without Allen, Stanford appears to lack a perimeter threat capable of consistently scoring in double figures or breaking down the defense off the dribble in late shot clock situations.
Sophomore Robert Cartwright will likely inherit the starting point guard job and should be more comfortable as a sophomore after struggling in his debut season. Malcolm Allen, Marcus’ athletic but less heralded twin, is a wildcard after playing sparingly as a freshman and redshirting last year. Dorian Pickens is a capable spot-up shooter and Christian Sanders can handle the ball a bit, but neither appear capable of playing a significant role.
Having to rely on such an unproven backcourt could bury Stanford by the start of conference play given the Cardinal’s challenging non-league schedule. Prior to Christmas, Stanford will play Villanova, SMU, Texas, DePaul, Saint Mary’s and either Georgia Tech or Arkansas.
What Stanford will probably do is slide 6-foot-9 Rosco Allen to small forward, start sophomores Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey and rely on Grant Verhoeven and freshman Josh Sharma to provide interior depth.
That’s a deep, talented frontcourt that fits together well. However, it will have to carry Stanford in Allen’s absence because the unproven backcourt may not be capable of pulling its own weight.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
