There’s finally a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

For decades, Stanford men’s basketball was a force nationally. In 18 seasons from 1986 to 2004, head coach Mike Montgomery built a program known for being tough, elite defensively and, most of all, for winning: 16 postseason appearances, four regular-season Pac-10 titles, a 2004 Pac-10 Tournament crown and a 393-167 record.

Since Montgomery left, two coaches have cycled through: Johnny Dawkins and Jerod Haase. While both found some success on the Farm, the program has never reached a tournament in over 10 seasons, let alone the highs of the Montgomery era. Talented players, including McDonald’s All-Americans and Stanford legends, have come and gone — some to the NBA, others to rival schools. During these drought years, fans have lived in agonized hope, believing this year will finally be the year, only to be hit with the same disappointing results. Dawkins had an overall record of 156-115 in eight seasons, and Haase finished his Stanford career with a record of 126-127.

So why should we be optimistic this season? Why do I think there is finally light at the end of this long tunnel?

Enter head coach Kyle Smith.

Smith is known as a program builder. Everywhere he’s gone, he’s found success. He came into Columbia as a first-time head coach, turning them into a 20-win team in four years and CIT champions in six. He left for the University of San Francisco, winning over 20 games in all three seasons. Smith went to Washington State and turned around a bottom-dwelling Pac-12 program into a 20-win team in three seasons. Notably, he led Washington State to its first NCAA tournament win since the 2007-2008 season.

The head coach of Washington State that year? The recently retired coaching legend Tony Bennett.

The alignment between Smith and Stanford seems to be a once-in-a-lifetime match. The man who coined the term “Nerdball” — the forward-thinking analytics system he and his coaching staff use to analyze and improve the team — has come home to Nerd Nation. And it’s not just the analytics that matches; it’s the scheme.

At Washington State, Smith was known to run a lot of 3-out 2-in and 4-out 1-in offense, but with a heavy focus on getting the ball into the paint to their bigs for some high-low action. It’s a brand of basketball that some might call “old school,” but maybe that’s just what we need to return to the “glory days.”

With returning star big man Maxime Raynaud, excellent shooters in Ryan Agarwal and Oziyah Sellers, distributors at guard like Derin Saran and talented forwards like Chisom Okpara, the Card looks poised to thrive on the court and — in a top-heavy ACC — contend for their first 20-win season since 2019-2020.

Keep in mind this success may not happen overnight. We may not reach the Montgomery glory days this year. Regenerating a sleeping giant of a program takes time. But this time, let’s let ourselves believe — really believe — that there’s something great brewing with Stanford basketball.