Haase and Cardinal will start finding answers in Shanghai

The Stanford men's basketball team will depart Saturday for Shanghai and will spend a week in China's biggest city leading up to the Nov. 11 season opener against Harvard.

During that time, the Cardinal will scrimmage against a Chinese club team on Wednesday and take advantage of the rare off-court opportunities provided by the trip. Head coach Jerod Haase is eager for his players to have an experience they will always remember, but he can be forgiven if basketball is at the forefront of his mind.

Stanford undoubtedly has talent on the roster, but expectations are low outside of the program with no more evidence needed than the 10th place Pac-12 finish predicted by the media.

"We are going with a lot of question marks and I think we're going to come home with some of those questions answered," Haase said of the season opener.

Part of the reason the list of questions is so long is that there is a new coaching staff. And the extended stay in China offers a rare opportunity for the players to get to know the coaches better as people away from Maples Pavilion.

The team went to Italy last year for the once-every-four-years trip allowed by the NCAA. With only two new scholarship players on the roster, getting a shorter version of that type of trip to help build relationships with the coaches coming was a fortunate scheduling development.

"Going on a big trip like that as a team we'll learn a lot about the coaches and a lot ... about the freshman," said junior forward Michael Humphrey. "It's going to be in total a big trip for us throughout the year, something we can look back on and reflect on and hopefully have a lot of positives come out of it."

From a basketball standpoint, the months since the coaching change have required the players to adapt, but Humphrey said going to work is a good feeling with this team.

"I think the general feel of going into practice has changed a lot," he said. "Everyone is really excited to go into practice. Practice is really up-tempo and quick. Everything serves a purpose. You really see the carryover from drills into scrimmages. And I think the overall feel of practice has changed. It's more intense and productive.

"He's a great coach to have on and off the court," Humphrey added about Haase. "In practice, it's tough but we get our work done. I like that he said he treats guys fairly, not necessarily equally. He's going to hold some guys to different standards. But the work you put in will be how you're treated. He's a great players coach."

Humphrey has gained 25 pounds in the off-season and has tussled with Reid Travis and others in the interior as he works to develop his ability to take over a game multiple ways.

Having Travis back is a welcome sight. The burly forward/center said he's been working on his shot, especially from the free-throw line, and developing his post game.

"It's definitely paid off in things I've seen in practice so far are a lot different than last year," he said.

And he's watched, often from up close, as Humphrey has grown into a player who wants to be able to score whenever he touches the ball. But both Travis and Humphrey said ball movement and making the extra pass is a big emphasis from Haase.

Humphrey added that guys are confident that if they pass up a good shot there is a good chance they will get the ball back later in the possession in an even better position.

"I do think we'll be a high assist team," Haase said. "We're moving the ball well. We're moving ourselves well. We've done a good job emphasizing that and the players have done a good job incorporating that into what we're doing."

Expect to see the ball often go inside first and work back out to set up shots.

"In the big picture, we're going to try to get the ball inside first, by dribble or pass," he said. "I think the strength of our team is the interior. We want to make sure to get them touches. I'm not opposed to three-point shots, but I want them to be a by-product of getting the ball inside somehow before it comes back out."

In addition to Travis and Humphrey on the inside, Stanford has senior Grant Verhoeven and the towering duo of sophomore Josh Sharma and freshman Trevor Stanback. Travis said he's seen good things from Stanback as he transitions to the more physical college game.

"I think he came in with some assets that help him make the adjustments, which he has quick feet and length," Travis said. "I think that makes up for the weight or strength he may lack when he plays against upperclassmen who have three years of weight lifting under their belt. He is quick enough to get to the perimeter and guard and ball-screen defense."

And if Travis had to pick a most improved player he said it's Marcus Sheffield. The sophomore from Alpharetta, Georgia had "a great offseason" and became more aggressive as the staff looks for him to take on a bigger scoring role.

Verhoeven, along with seniors Marcus Allen and Christian Sanders, have shown leadership ability, Haase said. But Travis has also shown he "has the presence ... and command that puts him in a leadership role as well. The neat thing about this team is there is a singular focus on how this team does."