During Temple’s Big 5 opener against Drexel on Nov. 12, guard Zion Stanford put on a show for his hometown crowd. He stormed out of the gate by scoring the Owls’ first 10 points and finished the night with a then career-high 23 in the 69-61 win.
Stanford received mixed playing time last year during his freshman season and came off the bench in the first game this year. Against the Dragons, he logged a career-high 37 minutes and he took full advantage of every second.
“My mindset is just to get in and make an immediate impact, no matter how much time I get,” Stanford said. “Any time that I step on the floor, I’m just trying to do the best for my team and do whatever my team needs me to do.”
The sophomore showed promise in his first season on North Broad Street and has continued that momentum this season. Stanford has become Temple’s third-leading scorer with 12.1 points per game while hauling in three rebounds per contest through the first nine games. More importantly, Stanford has stepped up for a team that returned only six players from last year’s roster.
“[Stanford] matured a lot on the court and off the court,” said guard Shane Dezonie, one of the few returners from last season. “His offensive game is already perfect in my opinion, his defense has gotten a lot better. He’s becoming the complete player he’s supposed to be.”
Stanford sprinted to an impressively fast start last season, notching 14 points in his collegiate debut while looking like one of the team’s primary scorers. He followed that performance up with five straight games with double-digits before suffering an injury that left him out of the rotation, when he returned he went scoreless for the next six straight games.
After working his way back in the rotation in the back half of the season, Stanford became a vital part of Temple’s unexpected run to the American Athletic Conference championship game in March. Stanford spent the summer refining his craft hoping to build off his late-season play.
“I took some time in the summer to improve on a lot of things that I lacked during last year,” Stanford said. “It’s good to see my work is being able to be displayed.”
His hard work resulted in an increased role in head coach Adam Fisher’s offense. Stanford started in just one of the 34 games he played last season and averaged six points in less than 15 minutes per contest. This year, he’s been in the starting lineup six times and has had more playing time, averaging 25 minutes per game.
The Owls’ offense struggled last season because it was forced to funnel the offense primarily through one player, former guard Hysier Miller. This season, multiple players are able to put the ball in the basket consistently — including Stanford. The Philadelphia native’s scoring talents have played a pivotal role in spreading out offensive responsibilities.
In Temple’s matchup against Drexel, Stanford picked up the slack when guard Jamal Mashburn Jr., the Owls’ leading scorer, went cold. He did the same against Florida State on Nov. 22, pitching in with 15 points to help Temple nearly come back against the Seminoles.
“Zion [Stanford] has done some really nice things,” Fisher said. “He can score 20 [points] any night, some of it is playing within the offense, keeping the ball moving a little bit more. Super talented offensive player.”
Stanford has carved out a consistent role by being a grave downhill threat off the catch. He feeds off scenarios where he drives to the basket as soon as the ball touches his hands, looking to draw contact and score at the rim or unleash his mid-range repertoire.
In a basketball landscape that is so reliant on generating shots near the three-point line, Stanford’s mid-range creation serves as a reminder of the value of three-level scoring.
Stanford’s ability to muscle through defenders and find his spots 10-16 feet from the basket can blow up zone defenses — a coverage many teams utilize to contain dribble penetration.
“The mid-range shot, not a lot of people use it, so not a lot of people know how to guard it,” Stanford said. “I know I’m comfortable with shooting around the mid-range area, so I tend to do that more than anything else.”
Since Fisher’s hiring, he has prioritized shooting from behind the arc. The Owls are shooting 20 threes per game so far this season. Both Mashburn and guard Jameel Brown have led the effort as they are shooting 53% and 37%, respectively from three. Fisher’s expectation is the same for Stanford — to expand his offensive game.
Stanford has continued to improve his game and broke his career-high in points with 25 during the matchup against Holy Family on Dec. 10. Stanford has been shooting 36% from three on two attempts per game this season, with a career-high three makes against Holy Family. An increased ability to space the floor has the chance to help the Owls make a potential postseason run in March.
Fisher knows Stanford’s potential and has pushed him to maximize it. If Stanford is able to hit its ceiling with the progression that he has shown, Fisher believes his team will be able to make an impact.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been really hard on Zion Stanford,” Fisher said. “I’ve been screaming at him in practice because I think he can be so good. He doesn’t talk back. He just is like, ‘gotcha, coach. I’ll be better. Let me work on this. Let me see that again.’ So I’m really proud of him.”
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