The cancellation of all sporting events has overshadowed what was truly an embarrassing end to the season for Stanford. Just two months ago, the Cardinal were on the cusp of their first AP Poll ranking since the Lopez twins, and moments away from a 5-0 start to Pac-12 play. Yet if the NCAA tournament had been held this year, they more than likely would not have been part of it.
That has a lot of people in the Stanford community wondering, should Jerod Haase’s job be in danger? The short answer is no. Here’s the long answer:
When Haase arrived on campus four seasons ago, the cupboards weren’t completely bare, but they were sparse. Johnny Dawkins’ antepenultimate class was terrific, featuring Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey, and Robert Cartwright. But his last two classes didn’t provide much more than a raw Josh Sharma and his oft-injured, seldom efficient friends. To make matters worse, the presumed fifth year leader Rosco Allen opted to go pro before Haase took the helm.
The second year showed a lot of promise. With Travis and company now seniors, Haase went out and grabbed a marquee group of players the world over with his first Stanford class. If you look at the second half of the year, they were a tournament team. But for the first half of the season, they were playing without KZ Okpala, Dorian Pickens, Kodye Pugh, and Marcus Sheffield. That meant significant playing time for a walk-on. Lest we forget, though, they finished in a share of third place in the Pac-12, ahead of teams that went dancing.
Last year didn’t pan out great. Once again, the injury bug hit Stanford. Cormac Ryan and Daejon Davis both missed significant stretches, but most everyone missed some amount of time, including KZ Okpala. There was significant player improvement, as Josh Sharma suddenly became a star and KZ Okpala turned into an NBA prospect. But the lack of veteran leadership and roster continuity game to game derailed any hopes of doing more. They did, however, nearly topple Kansas in Lawrence.
This season, regardless of how it ended, was a remarkable coaching job by Jerod Haase and his staff. Last year’s team had flashes, but they weren’t anything special. In the off-season, Josh Sharma graduated, KZ Okpala heard his name called, Marcus Sheffield went to put up numbers at Elon, and Cormac Ryan left for Notre Dame. Before the season, Kodye Pugh and Trevor Stanback were lost to injury. Most everyone in the know had them finishing 10th in the Pac-12, and envisioned them struggling to win more than a few games. An NIT bid seemed like a long shot.
Yet somehow, they turned into the nations 7th best opponent-adjusted defense, and showed they could play with anybody. Mind you, this team effectively had just three classes of players, with no seniors seeing any sort of important action. Spencer Jones, who had little to no recruiting interest until late, became a key player for the Cardinal. James Keefe, who had been expected to walk-on and redshirt, played important minutes and swung a couple games in Stanford’s favor. When their starting five was on the court, they were among the most efficient lineups in the conference.
Players once again took steps forward. Bryce Wills was one of the nation’s youngest players last season, and this year blossomed into perhaps the conference’s best defender. By year end, he had become something of an offensive threat as well. Oscar da Silva went from an unassuming role player to a captain and First Team All-Conference. Jaiden Delaire was peaking at the end, as well, and became a legitimate threat to score 20 off the bench. This doesn’t happen by accident.
Obviously they shot themselves in the foot at times. The meltdown at USC was on them, and was largely the catalyst for a stretch that saw them lose 7 of 8. But if you look back at that losing streak, there was more to it than just slumping play. If Bryce Wills doesn’t go down at Utah, they more than likely win that game. They were up big in Boulder before Oscar da Silva suffered a scary injury, which immediately led to a massive run by the Buffs as the Cardinal overcame their shock and grief. Against Arizona State, Oscar was still out of the lineup. It’s not a jump to say that Stanford wins at least two of those with different injury luck. The losing streak would’ve been a non-story, and their resume wouldn’t have even been particularly bubbly.
Next year’s team will presumably have everyone back. Tyrell Terry will likely be an even steadier floor general in 2021. Spencer Jones will continue to round out his game. Daejon Davis will rekindle the shooting percentages that the face mask took away. The defensive rotations will become second nature. And on top of that, they’re adding three players with a shot to contribute from day one in Noah Taitz, Brandon Angel, and Max Murrell. Haase is still in the market to fill one more spot, and 5th ranked recruit Ziaire Williams isn’t off the table. This team will be better next year.
If there’s one thing that’s been clear following this team, it’s that the players buy in to Haase and what he’s building. For one, his fire for the game makes him the kind of guy that players want to play for. And there’s also a clear, deep bond that transcends basketball. His mantra of Invested, Tough, Selfless is borne out in the way that he carries himself every day, and it’s contagious. How many star players like Daejon Davis would yield their ball-handling duties to a new freshman? That transition could not have been smoother, believe me.
Haase and his staff nearly always put their players in position to succeed. This year’s team didn’t fall into schematic failure as often as the casual fan may think. Yes, there were still times where the players admitted to straying from the game plan for stretches, and other times shots didn’t fall, but the game plan itself was seldom the problem. And what’s more, his team was always ready to play hard for him. Their energy level was among the best in the country, with few exceptions (Wednesday, unfortunately, being one of them).
So yes, this team may frustrate the heck out of you. They can drive with tunnel vision, and can force passes they shouldn’t bother attempting, and don’t always go up as strong as they need to at the rim. Isaac White still hasn’t learned to catch the ball and be ready to shoot. Lukas Kisunas still gets happy feet under the basket. Ty falls in love with the mid-range when he often shouldn’t.
But more ball-handling and floor spacing is coming. The front court depth will be better. There will be a second 3-and-D wing. And the player improvement that’s become a staple of Haase’s will manifest itself in exciting ways. Continuity is a valuable thing in college basketball.
Next year’s team is going to the tournament, and they’ll make their long-awaited return to the AP top 25. Jerod Haase isn’t going anywhere. He’s too busy building something special.
Comments
Haase has the defense going in a good direction
He just needs to follow suit on the offense, preferably by bringing in or elevating a coach to lead the offense. Passing, spacing, and just plain movement have all been major issues on the offensive side.
By worldblee on 03.13.20 12:33pm
Thank you, Grant
I admit to being in the group that has been skeptical and frustrated, particularly about this team’s offense. But this article makes me feel better. I have high hopes for next year.
By StanWho? on 03.14.20 8:26am
Have Serious Doubts
New to this group but had season tickets for 25 years thru 2018. While I acknowledge the overall excellent D, IMO Haase’s team continually underachieve.
Computer rankings are not ideal, but they give you some idea of year over year competitiveness. While Stanford had a good NET score, most were below Top 60. Using one of them (Massey), Stanford finished Top 25 regularly under Montgomery (often Top 10) for his last 10 years, mediocre finishes (55-73) under Johnson with one great year with Lopez twins in 2008 (11), two very tough years for Dawkins (155 & 121) early on with a decent stretch between 2012-15 (35,60,32,33) then a bad 2016, followed by a very bad 3 year stretch under Haase (117,90,143). The 62 finish this year is still worse than 5 of Dawkin’s 8 years. Now it is certainly possible that the 62 could have gotten better in the post-season, but after that ugly CAL loss, that didn’t seem likely. This team is still a long way from being a Top 30 competitor.
I share the frustration of many with their offense. It can look so good at times, but then completely degenerates into individual players taking turns driving into a contested paint and hoping for bail-out fouls. While it sometimes results into some amazing athletic plays, more often it leads to bad decisions and ugly shots.
Finally, whether it is Haase or a sign of the times, there has never been so many early defections from the program. This is the real foundation of our depth problem. Today, I see Isaac White entered the transfer portal. Given the the previous early departures of Travis, Cartwright, Sheffield, Ryan, and Pugh, you have to question why so many players seem to hold little loyalty to Haase. I know some were not his recruits but a number of them were. Everyone that has left went on to make a significant contribution at another program. Losing them really hurts that depth issue..
By LTSF73 on 03.14.20 11:39am
Transfers
Agreed that the steady flow of transfers out of the program is worrisome. It could be that there are leadership issues. It could be that people aren’t getting the playing time they want (which might explain White). I’m skeptical that it’s only the latter, since Cormac Ryan was only a freshman and saw a fair amount of floor time. With Travis at least it was a chance to play for a premier team and up his draft stock, though he might have stood out more if he’d stayed. I don’t know the reason for the trend, but I’m with you that it’s cause for concern.
By StanWho? on 03.16.20 11:51am
Wow, Talk About Rose-Colored Glasses
Every year, I tend to do the same thing with the Stanford football team: have unrealistic expectations for the team and over-rated evaluations of the players. But David Shaw has shown he knows how to coach. Jerod Haase? Not really. He’s shown he can be enthusiastic and animated on the bench. But when it comes to coaching or teaching basketball, well let’s see some of the results this year.
Team Individual
Team FT %: .703 White: .442 (FG %)
Team FG %: .469 De Silva: .317 (3 point %)
Rebound Margin: -1.6 Davis: .633 (FT %)
Turnovers per game: 14.3 Wills: .606 (FT %)
Keefe: .375 (FT %)
Kisunas: .417 (FT %)
All of these statistics reflect a poorly prepared team.
Stanford went 20-12 this year. Eleven of those wins were against stiffs early in the season. Three more were against weak teams in the Pac 12, which overall this year was pretty awful. They beat Oregon, but I went to that game and Oregon essentially self destructed in the second half. The team had a good win against UCLA, but the loss to USC in overtime was due not only to a horrible collapse but to poor preparation. Same for the end of the season loss to Cal. The players try hard on defense, but make so many silly mistakes that you wonder what they’re being told at practice. As for the offense, well let’s just say "good screen" is probably never mentioned at practice or in games.
I agree with you that the team has several players next year who can play. And I don’t know their schedule. But if Haase can’t make the NCAA’s next year, he should be fired. Period.
By SU74 on 03.14.20 1:00pm
In basic terms...
A new coach is expected to recruit talent that fits his kind of game. He’s expected to optimize the inherited talent. This was the first year in which the team is entirely Haase recruits, although they could’ve used hold-over Kodye Pugh, especially through the several key injuries.
The loss of Stanback to medical retirement was much more meaningful than most fans seem to grasp; his height and length were missed and he’s been hoped to blossom as Josh Sharma had done as a senior. Kodye Pugh was big loss as well; his skill level at both ends would’ve been difference makers.
Few observers seemed to see how much the Daejon Davis facial injury by UW’s Jaden McDaniels elbow affected the rest of the season. Daejon’s protective facemask threw off his court vision, his passing, and his perimeter shooting. Prior to that injury, Davis was #2 in 3-pt. accuracy, not far behind Spencer Jones, well ahead of Tyrell Terry. That mask was a factor in several of the subsequent losses, other injuries notwithstanding.
Preseason, Stanford had been picked to finish 10th in conference, optmistically. Nobody saw the pronounced jump in defensive prowess coming; not with 2 freshmen starters. Stanford was a nationally ranked defense throughout most of the season, as a team defense. Bryce Wills and Oscar da Silva had been highly regarded defenders last season. This year, almost by acclaim, Wills and Davis were seen as the 2 best defensive guard tandem in the PAC-12. Haase consistently spoke of Daejon as his stopper. However, as expected, several teams had veteran guards who exploited Ty Terry and Isaac White…Cal’s guards, for instance. Plus, the lack of a big rim protector was a persistent issue. Yet, it was the offensive malaise that was clearly a game changer. Terry and Jones both seemed to hit the freshman wall, and maybe Oscar had his unfortunate down game against Cal to finish the season.
Still, anyone who relies on statistics and analytics and disappointment to poormouth this season was not paying attention. Stanford played hard until the final Cal game. Stanford was fun to watch, with lots of pleasant upside and promise…those are some really good player developing for the Cardinal. The 3 key injuries, Daejon and Bryce and Oscar, the veteran core on a thin team, were unfortunate happenstance that does not really reflect on coaching. Any coaching flaws are not what made the season actually a plus for Jerod Haase.
By Candid One on 03.15.20 5:36pm
Sorry, injuries don't justify lack of offensive execution
I appreciate that you’re trying to defend Haase. But to my eyes, the problem was in the offensive scheme and Haase’s inability to evolve it and produce open looks for Spencer and White. Seriously, go watch all the conference games and look at how many times Spencer Jones had a wide open look on account of the actual offense. I’m not talking about transition or situations where we got offensive rebounds, I’m talking half-court offense. Now, go look at all the times the other team got open looks against us. And remember, I think the Cardinal has the best 3 point defense in the league.
Ask yourself, after the USC game, did you cringe ever time Stanford had to take the ball out of bounds late in the game with the lead? How many horrible shots did we get to close out games? Butler? Utah? OSU? I recall one game where Haase draws up a play for Spencer to take some 30’ shot with 5 seconds left. Guess what? He could have rifled that pass down to the basket and Da Silver or Delaire or even Kisunas would have been wide open to tie the game because everyone was expecting Jones to shoot it.
How many times did Terry drive the lane, only to stop and have no where to pass it?
Sorry, that’s 100% on the coach and it got worse as the season wore on.
By Blackjoy on 03.16.20 9:55am
My position is simple
Everybody returns next year and Haase brings three new quality players in. That in theory should be the nut flush. He gets that chance to prove himself by taking that team to the tourney. But to earn any further years that bar has to be met.
By Crafter Artisan on 03.17.20 9:49pm