STANFORD, Calif. – Wrapping up the seventh season under head coach Jerod Haase, the Cardinal won 14 games in 2022-23 and closed the season as one of the top offensive programs in the country. Spencer Jones was an All-Pac-12 forward for the second season in a row. James Keefe was Stanford's third straight Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while Brandon Angel and Michael Jones were named Academic All-Americans.
The streak of elite recruiting continued for Haase and his program, with Stanford signing Andrej Stojakovic, the team's third McDonald's All-American in four years, and Kanaan Carlyle, a top-40 signee. The top-tier class is Stanford's first with two top-40 recruits since 2006 (Brook & Robin Lopez).
SHOOTERS SHOOT
Stanford paced the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting in conference play at 37.9 percent, while the team is a combined 42.0 percent in conference games since the opening league win over Oregon State on Jan. 19. Eight qualified players league-wide sported a 3-point percentage north of 40 percent in conference play, three of which are Stanford Cardinal. Max Murrell led the Pac-12 at 42.9 percent, while Michael Jones was fourth at 41.9 percent and Spencer Jones sixth at 41.2 percent from deep. Additionally, Brandon Angel shot 44.2 percent in Pac-12 play, ending one make shy of qualifying to lead the league, while Ryan Agarwal was at 43.5 percent on a smaller number of attempts.
Stanford ranked second with 8.6 threes per game against Pac-12 foes, while holding the nation's best percentage (42.6%) from Jan. 20 through the end of the season.
Additional Reading: This Stanford Freshman Wants His Play to Represent India (New York Times)
Forever embedded in history, returning tomorrow.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ylvHkFPQF2
— Stanford Cardinal (@GoStanford) January 27, 2023
50TH TO REACH 1,000
Spencer Jones crossed the 1,000-point threshold during conference play, becoming the program's 50th member of the 1,000-point club. He has moved into 24th on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,318 points.
Establishing himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in program history, the sniper has 261career threes, which ranks second all-time in program history. He is 43 away from matching Chasson Randle '15 for the top spot and 84 away from tying former Oregon guard Tajuan Porter for the all-time Pac-12 record. Jones averaged 14.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and was named to the All-Pac-12 second team.
Jones announced in April that he would return to Stanford for his additional year of eligibility.
Additional Reading: On Stanford, Jerod Haase and the pursuit of Ted Lasso-style optimism (The Athletic) | Spencer Jones returning to Stanford for 5th season: 'Unfinished business' (San Francisco Chronicle)
ARIZONA DOWNED
The Cardinal raced to an 88-79 win over No. 4 Arizona on Feb. 11. Michael O'Connell scored a team-high and career-high 22 points, helping the Cardinal outshoot the Wildcats 61% to 46% from the field. Spencer Jones scored all 18 of his points in the second half, while Harrison Ingram added 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Five Stanford players ended in double figures, with Brandon Angel (14) and Maxime Raynaud (13) joining the fun.
Maples Magic in 2023.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/HKR9AU9XLH
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) February 12, 2023
The win was Stanford's third over Arizona in the last six meetings, and was Stanford's second year in a row with a top-five win (No. 5 USC in 2022).
Additional Reading: The Soil of Success (GoStanford.com)
ROSTER REPORT
Brandon Angel was one of the most versatile players in the country in February and March, posting 14.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field and 69.0 percent from 3-point range – making him the only player nationally to hit those benchmarks. Angel posted 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game on the season and ranked eighth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (51.6%).
Additional Reading: Stanford's Brandon Angel dedicates basketball heart to late Torrey Pines teammate (San Diego Union Tribune)
Maxime Raynaud was one of the most improved players in the Pac-12, emerging to average 8.8 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. Raynaud ranked seventh in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (54.0%), and improved to 11.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per night over the season's final two months.
Additional Reading: For one Stanford player, Victor Wembanyama is the buddy who needs that meme (San Francisco Chronicle)
The first graduate transfer in program history, Michael Jones had the highest-scoring Stanford debut in program history with 31 points on Nov. 7 against Pacific. He scored in doubles figures 17 times on the season, and scored 9.5 points per game on the season.
Max Murrell appeared in 31 games off the bench, averaging 4.4 points per game as one of the Pac-12's top 3-point shooters. The Omaha native hit 45.2 percent of his attempts form long range, while also contributing multiple blocks in seven matchups.
James Keefe scored 4.8 points to go with 4.2 rebounds per game, shooting 58.7 percent from the floor.
Harrison Ingram followed up his Pac-12 Freshman of the Year campaign with 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and a team-leading 3.7 assists per game – he was one of just 19 players nationally to meet those benchmarks and one of seven in major conferences.
Michael O'Connell started 28 games at point guard, and dished a career-best 12 assists on feb. 26 against Washington, marking the seventh-most in a single game in program history. O'Connell averaged 5.2 points and 3.1 assists per game.
ANOTHER GRADUATE TRANSFER
Joining the Stanford program following a successful career at Providence, Jared Bynum has signed with the Cardinal as a graduate transfer. Bynum was a decorated point guard at Providence, where he spent four seasons following a transfer from Saint Joseph's. He was an All-Big East second team honoree in 2022, as well as the Big East Sixth Man of the Year and a USBWA All-District selection.
"He has proven himself at the highest level of college basketball and his game will translate extremely well to our system and the Pac-12." - @CoachJerodHaase
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) April 25, 2023
A quick glimpse at what @JBDimes1 can bring to our program #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/8QS449rnlo
Bynum joins the Cardinal with career averages of 10.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game, helping to lead Providence to two NCAA Tournaments.
Additional Reading: Michael Jones makes history transferring to Stanford (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
STANFORD IN THE NBA
The 2022-23 campaign was another successful year for Cardinal alumni in the NBA. Brook Lopez led the Milwaukee Bucks to the association's best record, posting averages of 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, including a league-leading 193 total blocks. Lopez was a finalist for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, and was an All-Defense first team selection.
Robin Lopez played 37 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which earned the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seed, scoring 3.0 points per game on 64 percent shooting. Dwight Powell appeared in 76 games for the Dallas Mavericks, starting 64, posting 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per night on a career-best 73.2 percent shooting.
A top-10 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Ziaire Williams dealt with injuries during his second NBA season. The swingman played in 37 games and score 5.7 points per game. KZ Okpala, selected in the 2019 draft, appeared in 35 games for the Sacramento Kings. Chasson Randle played for the Denver Nuggets in the preseason.
AWARDS & ACCOLADES
| Name | Honors |
|---|---|
| Spencer Jones | All-Pac-12 second team Preseason All-Pac-12 first team |
| Brandon Angel | CSC Academic All-America third team CSC Academic All-District Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Michael Jones | CSC Academic All-America third team CSC Academic All-District Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| James Keefe | Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year CSC Academic All-District Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Harrison Ingram | Preseason All-Pac-12 first team Naismith Trophy Watch List Wooden Award Watch List Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List |
| Isa Silva | CSC Academic All-District Pac-12 Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Neal Begovich | Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Max Murrell | Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Michael O'Connell | Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Josue Gil-Silva | Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
| Roy Yuan | Pac-12 Winter Academic Honor Roll |
For @Lil_Bego the Big Game means more ??#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ieRXgZ0HNq
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) February 1, 2023