Does Stanford have a Jerod Haase problem?
Friday January 6, Stanford traveled across the bay to play against their arch rival Cal, not only seeking their first conference win but their second win against a Power 5 team all year.
The Cardinal dropped their third straight game, and seventh of their last 10. Every game the team takes the court looks like they are playing together for the first time, and the only offense that is consistently effective is letting Spencer Jones go to work. There is no continuity, the offense is stagnant, and it doesn't appear to play to the strengths of the players on the roster.
The display at Cal was simply atrocious, as the Golden Bears connected on 16 threes, while Stanford who shoots 30% from three this season which ranks No. 294, made just seven of their 22 attempts.
Offensively Stanford doesn't rank within the top-130 in any statistical category outside of field goals made off of an assist which comes in at No. 96 in the country, and defensively it doesn't get much better. The program appears to be at a crossroads, with all of the preseason hype around returners such as former five-star Harrison Ingram, Isa Silva, and Brandon Angel on the back burner, and Davidson transfer Michael Jones in and out of the starting lineup which changes seemingly every game.
The Cardinal currently hold a 5-10 record with all five of their wins coming against quad four teams, and they rank as the No. 140 team in the country overall according to the NET Rankings. Barring an unforeseen turnaround, the Cardinal are bound to miss the tournament again. This is year seven of Jerod Hasse's tenure, and while fans have been calling for his job the last couple years, it might be time to actually address the head coaching issue.
Haase has finished above .500 in Pac-12 play just two times in the first six years of this seven year stint, and the program has yet to sniff the tournament. His one saving grace may be the class of 2023 which consist of two five-star guards that rank in the top-6 of all-time highest rated Stanford commits, but even then he has shown his teams can underachieve with five-stars on the roster.
One could argue that replacing him would cost the two signees and set the program back, but I'm not sure if it is possible to be set back as far as Haase has the program currently.
The month of January could realistically be a trial run for Haase, with four of their six remaining games against sub .500 teams. If he is unable to lead the team any success, the Cardinal may as well begin sending out some feelers to replace him.
