Score another potential star for Stanford men's basketball coach Johnny Dawkins. Rock Island (IL) senior point guard Chasson Randle announced his decision to attend Stanford during a press conference Wednesday. Randle, who chose the Cardinal over Illinois and Purdue, told ESPN he is excited about learning the point guard position from his future coach.
"I chose Stanford because the program is growing and it's a great fit both academically and athletically. I wanted the chance to learn the point guard position from one of the greats in coach Dawkins."
The 6-foot-1 Randle, who is ranked No. 68 in his class by Rivals.com, visited Illinois during Midnight Madness, one week after making his official visit to Stanford. According to the Quad-City Times, it was the distance Randle would be living from his Illinois home that weighed most heavily on his mind in the days leading up to his decision.
In other Stanford basketball news...
Landry Fields, who led the Cardinal in nearly every offensive category last season before the Knicks selected him in the second round of the NBA draft, was impressive in his professional debut. Fields started at shooting guard and finished with 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including three 3-pointers, in 30 minutes. New York defeated Toronto, 98-93.
Brook Lopez picked up where he left off last season. While commanding double teams, Lopez scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in New Jersey's 101-98 win over Detroit. Brother Robin had a quieter debut on Tuesday night, with five points and five rebounds in Phoenix's loss at Portland. Josh Childress had an uneventful return to the NBA in that game, scoring four points in 17 minutes off the bench for the Suns.
No surprise here: The Stanford women's basketball team was the unanimous pick of the Pac-10 coaches to win the conference this season. UCLA and USC were predicted to finish second and third, respectively.