Stanford has placed the future of its basketball program in the hands of a coach with Old Blues and blue bloods on his resume.
Jerod Haase, who played for Cal and was an assistant at powerhouses Kansas and North Carolina, became the 18th coach in Cardinal history Friday. His charge: reinvigorating a former Pac-12 power beset by mediocrity in recent years.
“I have no doubt that Jerod will soon lead our program to Pac-12 championships and that we will be a regular participant in the NCAA tournament,” Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said in a statement.
In four seasons as head coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB), Haase went 80-53 with one NCAA berth. He replaces Johnny Dawkins, who was dismissed by the Cardinal last week after eight mediocre seasons.
The hire was met with mixed reaction from some of the greatest players in Stanford history.
Former All-American Casey Jacobsen called Haase’s resume “very impressive” and noted that Haase made an instant impact at UAB. But Jacobsen had hoped Muir would hire from within the extended Cardinal basketball family.
Dawkins came to Stanford from Duke, and Haase learned the game from Roy Williams at Kansas and North Carolina.
“I thought the administration would strongly consider a coach that had closer ties to Stanford after Dawkins didn’t work out,” Jacobsen said in a text message.
“But that doesn’t mean Haase won’t do a great job. Coach (Mike) Montgomery came from Montana, after all.”
Brevin Knight, perhaps the player most responsible for Stanford’s rise to national prominence in the mid-1990s, echoed Jacobsen’s sentiment.
“I had hoped for somebody from the family, but that’s the decision they went with, so that’s what we roll with,” Knight said.
The hiring of a former Cal player has loose parallels to Montgomery’s eastward move across the Bay in the spring of 2008.
Montgomery wasn’t coaching Stanford at the time he jumped to Cal, which helped make the transition more palatable for all involved.
Likewise, Haase isn’t a Cal graduate. A native of South Lake Tahoe, he spent one season with the Bears before transferring to Kansas.
He assisted Williams for 13 seasons at Kansas and North Carolina, then took over the UAB program in 2012. The Blazers reached the NCAAs last year and, as a No. 14 seed, stunned No. 3 Iowa State in the first round.
This season, they won the Conference USA regular-season title but lost in the league tournament and didn’t qualify for the NCAAs.
Haase is expected to implement a fast-paced offense similar to that used by North Carolina.
“He’s going to need time,” Jacobsen said. “The cupboard is not bare, but the roster needs more talent to compete.”
Stanford finished ninth in the Pac-12 this season but is expected to return all its key players. Several pundits have already projected the Cardinal for the top tier of the conference race next season.
The program reached the NCAA tournament in 13 of the 14 seasons before Dawkins’ arrival.
“Stanford is a world-class institution which represents excellence across the board,” said Haase, who will be introduced Monday on campus. “We will compete for championships by doing it the right way. I am humbled by the opportunity afforded to me.”
The news of Haase’s hire was first reported by ESPN.
coaching record
AT UAB
2012-13: 16-17
2013-14: 18-13
2014-15: 20-16
2015-16: 26-7
Total: 80-53
