Michigan State Transfer on Playing Stanford at Maples Pavilion

Fans of college sports are sometimes left to wonder what it must be like to be on the field, or the court. What it's like to hear the crowd erupt. The fans cheering, the lights flashing, the traditions repeating, and so much more all contribute to what truly makes college sports great. Fewer wonder what it's like to be a visiting player in those scenarios.

One of the better venues in college basketball is Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, CA, home of the Stanford Cardinal. The 7,000 seat venue is a marquee place in college basketball. Opened in 1969, it has been home to numerous memorable moments.

But what is it truly like to play against the Cardinal at the arena? Stanford on SI talked to former Stanford opponent, Divine Ugochukwu of the Miami Hurricanes, about his experience playing against the Cardinal at Maples Pavilion.

Ugochukwu is a point guard out of Sugar Land, TX, who had a successful high school career and committed to Miami. In his freshman season, he played an important role for the program, contributing 5.3 points per game, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in just over 20 minutes per game; outstanding numbers for a freshman.

After a successful season, Ugochukwu transferred to Michigan State, to play under Head Coach Tom Izzo in East Lansing. During his freshman season, Miami took a 3,000 mile trip to Palo Alto to take on the Cardinal for an ACC matchup. Ugochukwu recalled his experience playing at Maples Pavilion.

"It was a long plane ride. It was like an eight hour ride, so I was jet lagged and a little tired.” One of the positives to conference realignment is the fact that ACC teams that visit Maples are under the same pressures as the Cardinal are when they travel across the country as well.

On his overall experience, he said “the experience was good. It was in California, and a lot of students came to the game. It was a good overall experience.” Ugochukwu also noted the hotel and facilities, saying “the hotel was really nice. The basketball facility was really nice, too. It was my first time playing there, so I enjoyed the experience.”

Finally, he talked about what made Maples tough to play in, considering Stanford's 17-3 record. “Probably just their fan base and they had a really good team that year,” Ugochukwu said, “they had Maxime Raynaud and a really good roster.”

It's tough to make any bold assumptions off of one player's experience, but Miami did lose that game in January 88-51, their sixth straight loss in a streak that would reach eight games total. Eight hours of travel time is no joke, and playing a talented roster like Stanford's men's basketball, on top of the fans exuding their passion--yeah, that doesn't sound like something that doesn't take some practice getting used to.