Throughout his four years at Stanford, Chasson Randle has had his share of big shots. However, the one that put the senior guard into the record books wasn’t nearly as big as Stanford fans may have hoped for.
On Tuesday night, in the semifinals of the National Invitational Tournament against Old Dominion, Randle eclipsed Todd Lichti to become Stanford’s career leading scorer — all the more meaningful in the program’s 100th season.
The exact moment came with 34 seconds remaining in the first half, as Randle hit a free throw to put himself one point ahead of Lichti’s previous record 2,336, set in 1988-89.
“It’s a great honor just to be able to have my name behind it,” Randle said. “But at the same time, it’s not just me who helped get myself in there. A lot of my teammates, family, coaches, everybody, helped me get there, starting at Rock Island.”
“The best thing I could see is when we went to the locker room and we were celebrating the win, and we talked about he broke the record,” head coach Johnny Dawkins. “Just all of the teammates jumped up and hugging him; it was great to see that type of emotion, that kind of shared experience, because they all are a part of it and it just made it really, really neat to see the young guys celebrate like that.”
Randle got to the line on a hard drive to the basket after getting fouled by Old Dominion forward Javonte Douglas. In some ways, his clinching the record on a free throw is oddly fitting. Free throws have always been a strong aspect of his game, evidenced by his 88.5-percent clip from the line this season.
Congrats C Randle and team-much deserved. Enjoyed meeting Chasson prior to season-happy to see record go to such a class act @stanfordbball
— Todd Lichti (@lichti_todd) April 1, 2015
Randle ended the game with 24 points, setting the all-time record at 2,350. After Stanford’s 67-60 win against Old Dominion, he will have a chance to extend his record in the NIT Finals against Miami (Florida) on Thursday in Madison Square Garden.
“When we have been down with injuries and different things that happened to our team throughout the season, he never once raised an eyebrow and said, that’s too much for me to handle,” Dawkins said. “He accepted it. And I really respect that. He’s a winner.”
Although his senior season didn’t end with another run in the NCAA Tournament, the scoring record is a solid testament to the role Randle has played for Stanford over the last four years. While his departure will undoubtedly leave a major void in the makeup of the Cardinal roster, he’ll have one more chance to don a Stanford jersey as the team looks to clinch its second NIT title in four years.
Contact Sandip Srinivas at sandips ‘at’ stanford.edu.