Stanford men's basketball's opening game against Eastern Washington is just a week away, and right now there are plenty of questions surrounding the program after going 0-2 in exhibition play against Santa Clara and Oregon. The Cardinal fell 83-78 to Santa Clara in a close matchup, but Oregon beat them 85-57 in a lopsided loss. 

The bright side for Stanford is that their non-conference schedule isn't terribly difficult and 10 of the 14 matchups will be at home, so there will be some time before the Cardinal need to be at their best. 

Finding the right mix of incoming freshmen and veteran players will be key to making strides in the early months, which ideally will lead to a program playing with a purpose when ACC play begins. 

Based on Stanford's two exhibition games, head coach Kyle Smith looks to be using a starting lineup of freshman Julius Price, incoming junior transfer Christian Bliss, freshman Aziz Olajuwon, and junior Donavin Young as four of those five. All four of these players started both games.

The lone exception was transfer fifth-year Nick Townsend, who missed the first game out of an abundance of caution while awaiting a ruling in the Glancey v. NCAA case. On October 20, an injunction was granted in California giving all members of the Class of 2022 involved eligibility through the end of the 2026-27 college basketball season. 

It was senior Aidan Cammann who received the start in the first game with Townsend out. 

The assumption here is that Townsend will be in the starting lineup, while Cammann will be a key depth piece for the program this season. With Townsend on the floor, the starting five would look like this: 

Townsend — 6-foot-7, forward/center

Young — 6-foot-8, forward

Olajuwon — 6-foot-7, guard/forward

Price — 6-foot-3, guard

Bliss — 6-foot-4, guard

While some may be worried about Stanford's struggles before the season, it's also worth noting that this is the youngest roster that Smith has had in three seasons on The Farm. He's been focusing on getting the younger players he wants to lean on — Olajuwon and Price — more experience in the game minutes he has. 

Meanwhile, transfer Austin Maurer, who figures to be another key depth piece for the program in 2026-27, played 22 minutes against Santa Clara and just 1:47 in the second game. That seems to suggest not chasing a win, but instead using the few development minutes Smith has on, well, development. 

We'll get a good glimpse into how much to panic very early on this season, as Eastern Washington plays at Stanford on November 2 and then travels to Oregon on Friday, November 6. How those games go should provide an early measuring stick for Stanford.