Busting Brackets
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Pac-12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

By Tuck Clarry

Mar 2, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd yells from the sideline in the first half against the USC Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd yells from the sideline in the first half against the USC Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Pac-12 Basketball Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Pac-12 Basketball Stanford Cardinal forward Spencer Jones Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Stanford Cardinal

Will this be it for Jerod Haase? It’s hard to find a coach who’s been given more chances than the Stanford coach entering his eighth year in Palo Alto still without a tournament appearance. And it hasn’t been from a lack of talent. Haase has had three guys go onto the NBA, has had talent like Harrison Ingram on the roster and even this year brought in highly sought-after recruits Kanaan Carlyle and Andrej Stojakovic, the son of Peja.

But this is likely Haase’s last chance. He’s 112-109 all-time with the Cardinal, and he has the pieces to put up a worthwhile fight to be retained. The roster loses Ingram to North Carolina, which hurts, but Haase also adds Providence transfer Jared Bynum to the roster on top of those top 50 recruits.

Bynum regressed a bit last season at Providence when tasked with more duties. He went from a 41% three-point shooter to just 32%, but he should excel as the driver of an offense that gets other guys involved. He’s been in the top 100 in assist rate for the last two seasons and will be vital to getting both the freshmen open looks on the perimeter as well as returning leading scorer Spencer Jones quality looks.

Jones is a fifth-year senior coming off of a season where he scored 14 points per game and shot 39% from three. The roster is full of shooting, with Bynum surrounded by five guys who shot above 35% last season and two freshmen who have shown valuable offensive skillsets. Carlyle will also need to be able to step up and help lessen the burden on Bynum as a playmaker.

Even as tantalizing as all of these shooters and a veteran Big East guard are to the potential of a positive season for Stanford, one cannot get out of their mind that this has sort of been the story with Haase and the team for the last handful of seasons. There have been bigger names and recruits than Stojakovic and Carlyle that have gone into Palo Alto and not equated to winning. Even at their best, Stanford has never cracked into even the top 40 in adjusted efficiency on KenPom. At some point, you have to recognize a program as what it is.

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