Following Stanford men’s basketball’s open practice on Friday, October 20th, Stanford head coach Jerod Haase spoke to the media and shared his thoughts on the upcoming season.

VIDEO: Stanford MBB head coach Jerod Haase looks ahead to 2023-24 season

Haase said the guys are getting excited as the season approaches and ready to face other teams. He likes where they are at. He feels like the foreign tour helped them get a step ahead in a lot of ways. He feels like the work ethic, attitude, and willingness to share the ball has been great. A big thing he is looking for is how they play against pressure. On defense, he feels like they are doing the right things, but how they perform in games will tell him a lot. He wants to be more aggressive on defense this season and feels like they are on the right path.

On the freshmen, he feels like they’ve had good summers. Kanaan Carlyle and Andrej Stojakovic in particular. He likes how athletic Carlyle is and how he can do things that a lot of guys can’t do. His one-on-one defense should be a major strength and something that gives them a boost. As for Stojakovic, he’s a guy who has great length and can score in a variety of ways. He can create his own shot. He is looking forward to seeing what those two guys can do and feels like they’ll make meaningful contributions to the team.

There are a couple reasons why he thinks his team is further ahead of where they’ve been in past years at this time of the season. For starters, they are much older. That’s a big difference. And then secondly is the foreign tour. That is something that Haase feels has made a real impact on the team for the better.

Haase feels like their guard play will be better this season both with grad transfer Jared Bynum and Kanaan Carlyle at point guard. And then Benny Gealer as well. Haase likes where they are at with the point guard position. Having a guy in Bynum who played at Providence and reached the NCAA tournament is very welcomed on this team.

Haase feels like junior 7-footer Maxime Raynaud benefited from his time playing for France’s Under-20 team. Mainly because it has given him a lot of confidence. Haase likes how Raynaud has grown as an interior defender and presence around the rim.

Haase feels like everyone on the team has gotten better. He said they take a lot of pride in player development. He feels like guys like Michael Jones, Spencer Jones, James Keefe, and Max Murrell have taken steps in the right direction. It’s not just the young guys who have improved.

On defense, Haase said he hopes personnel will be part of them being better in that realm. He feels like Bynum and Carlyle will be good in that area. He said they are a bigger and slower team than their opponents, which isn’t always a good thing for defense. It can be good for rebounding and shot blocking. He said they played too conservatively and need to be more aggressive on defense this year.

On the slow start last year, Haase said a major issue was how they handled pressure. He feels like teams were pressing well against them and that gave them trouble. He said the guys did a nice job of adjusting as the season went on. With improved guard play and knowing that’s coming, they are working harder in practice on that and hoping they’ll see improvements in that realm.

Spencer Jones was seen wearing a wrist brace. Haase didn’t provide much an update on him, but from what I’ve been told, nothing to be worried about. Just a little wrist tendinitis that they don’t want him to aggravate before the season. Haase said they are optimistic that they’ll be fine.

Finally, Haase explained that the key to maximizing their 3-point shooting is breaking down defenses. That way shooters can get looks. The best way to do it is to have guards who can get downhill and create looks for 3-point shooters. With better guard play, he is hopeful that’s an area that will be even better than last season. Though of course, they want to do more than just shoot threes.

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