NIT Special, Episode 5: Another Trophy In The Case
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Release: 03/30/2012
March 30, 2012
Final Season Stats | Looking Back: 1991 NIT Champions
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STANFORD, Calif.- It's totally worth one last look. Here's the final installment of our NIT Special series, which can be viewed in sequence below with the most recent postings at the top.
Episode 5 features interviews with head coach Johnny Dawkins, Jarrett Mann, Josh Owens and Aaron Bright. It all starts with an intense morning shootaround and finishes off with a wild net-cutting ceremony.
EPISODE 5: ANOTHER TROPHY IN THE CASE
Stanford Routs Minnesota 75-51 To Win NIT
Sophomore point guard Aaron Bright came off the bench to spark Stanford to an NIT title.
Bright had 15 points and six assists in Thursday's 75-51 rout of Minnesota to earn most outstanding player honors, energizing the Cardinal just as the coaches had hoped when they took him out of the starting lineup in mid-February.
"I give him all the credit, because it takes a player buying into something like that before it works, and he bought into his role," coach Johnny Dawkins said. "When he comes in, he brings us energy. ... I think it's hard for teams to prepare for him because he's not out there right away. When he comes in, it gives us a big lift, and it gives our kids confidence in what they can do."
The victory brought Stanford's season full circle. Back in November, the Cardinal let a late lead slip away in the final of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden against a Syracuse team that would earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
"We were here before in the preseason and we fell short," Dawkins said. "And so we talked about this experience as how much have we grown: You know, to show we have grown, we'd have to win this tournament. And our kids, I think they rallied around that."