THE JEROD HAASE ERA
Stanford began a new era in its storied men's basketball program, as Jerod Haase was hired as the Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men's Basketball. Haase, who previously directed UAB to unprecedented success, was introduced as the program's 18th head coach on March 25, 2016.
SEASON SNAPSHOT
Stanford completed the 2016-17 campaign with a 14-17 overall record and a 6-11 mark in the Pac-12 Conference. A ninth-place finish in the conference's regular-season standings led to a matchup with Arizona State in the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. The Cardinal came up short in overtime against the Wildcats in the conference tournament, completing its season on March 8.
FIRST TEAM ALL-PAC-12 AND NABC ALL-DISTRICT PERFORMER
Forward Reid Travis was a First Team All-Pac-12 selection by the conference's coaches. The redshirt sophomore was also a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District Team voted on by member coaches.
Travis completed his season as the only player in the Pac-12 and one of only five individuals in the top six conferences (Pac-12, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC and BIG EAST) to rank in the top five of his conference in both scoring and rebounding. He was one of just two players in the Pac-12 (UCLA's TJ Leaf was the other) to rank in the top six in the league in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage.
The Cardinal forward ranked in the top seven in the Pac-12 in seven categories, including scoring (17.4 ppg, fourth), rebounding (8.9, fifth), offensive rebounding (3.4, first), field goal percentage (.579, sixth), double-doubles (9, seventh), free throws attempted (181, second) and free throws made (118, third).
Nationally, Travis ranked 20th in offensive rebounding, 32nd in field goal percentage and 59th in overall rebounding.
Travis posted nine of his 10 career double-doubles this season, averaging 17.4 ppg and 8.9 rpg. In his final nine games, the forward averaged 19.8 ppg and 9.6 rpg, including three double-doubles.
ALLEN NAMED TO ALL-PAC-12 DEFENSIVE TEAM
Senior Marcus Allen was voted to the Pac-12's five-member All-Defensive Team. He ranked fifth in the Pac-12 in steals (1.6 spg) in conference play and completed his career tied for 11th in school history with 121 career steals. Allen recorded 23 steals in his final 12 games, and led the Cardinal with 40 thefts overall. The guard recorded multiple steals in 13 games, with a season-best four against Colorado in February.
DEFENSIVE MINDED
Stanford ranked second in the Pac-12 in steals at 6.8 spg overall. The Cardinal averaged 7.4 steals per game in its final 13 contests and held eight of its last 13 opponents below their season scoring averages. The Cardinal forced 41 combined turnovers in consecutive games against Cal (20) and Oregon State (21) - the most in a two-game stretch in conference play in more than 12 years, since Stanford also forced 41 combined miscues vs. USC (21 turnovers - Jan. 22, 2005) and UCLA (20 turnovers – Jan. 20, 2005).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Stanford played the 11th toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN's strength of schedule rankings for the 2016-17 season. The Cardinal played eight games against teams in the top-20 of the RPI. Stanford finished with an RPI of 105, while its average RPI loss is 53, according to the final NCAA report. Look no further than a daunting nonconference slate that featured Miami, Seton Hall, No. 12/13 Saint Mary's, No. 4/5 Kansas and SMU. In conference play, Stanford faced No. 18/18 Arizona, No. 25/RV USC and No. 4/5 UCLA in succession, its first three-game stretch vs. top-25 foes since 2002.
PICKENS ON TARGET FROM BEYOND THE ARC
Junior Dorian Pickens posted at least one three-pointer in 27 games, with multiple three-pointers in 19 contests, including seven of his last eight games. He totaled 31 three-pointers and shot 43.7 percent from three-point range in the final 10 games of the season. In February, Pickens had a streak of seven consecutive games with multiple three-pointers. The junior posted a team-best 67 three-pointers on the year, including a career-high seven (7-of-10) vs. Idaho. He ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in three-point field goals made in conference play with 39 (2.2) and 11th overall with 67 (2.2). Pickens connected on the game-winning trifecta against Indiana State with 2.0 seconds left.
TRAVIS, HUMPHREY ANCHORED POST
Forwards Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey combined to average 38.5 percent (26.8 out of 69.7) of the team's scoring and 43.9 percent (15.1 out of 34.4) of the team's rebounding average. In conference play, Travis averaged 16.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg in 14 games, and Humphrey contributed 10.4 ppg and 7.4 rpg in 17 contests.
HUMPHREY CONTROLLED THE GLASS
Michael Humphrey (6.2 rpg overall) averaged 7.4 rpg in Pac-12 play. At UCLA, Humphrey set a career-high with 27 points and finished one shy of his career-best with 14 rebounds. He was one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds) at Cal. The junior finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds at Arizona State. Humphrey played more than 30 minutes in nine of the final 15 contests, after not reaching the 30-minute mark in the first 14 games.
CARTWRIGHT, SANDERS SHARED THE POINT
Senior Christian Sanders and redshirt sophomore Robert Cartwright shared point guard responsibilities this season. Each played in all 31 games, with Sanders starting 17 contests and Cartwright getting the starting nod in 12 games. Sanders started at the point the final six games, while Cartwright started the previous nine contests. Cartwright ranked sixth in the Pac-12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3) overall and seventh in the assists per game (4.2) during conference play.
SHEFFIELD JOINED TOMSIC WITH PERFORMANCE FOR ARIZONA STATE
Sophomore Marcus Sheffield poured in a career-high 35 points on 11-of-15 shooting in Stanford's home matchup with Arizona State, on Dec. 30. Sheffield was just the second underclassman in the history of the program (Ron Tomsic, 39 vs. Bradley and 38 vs. USC in 1952-53) to score 35 or more points in a game. Sheffield was the first Cardinal to record a 30-point game since Chasson Randle collected 35 against Rhode Island on March 22, 2015.
VERHOEVEN AN IMPACT IN THE PAINT
Senior Grant Verhoeven, who averaged 3.8 points in 12.6 minutes per game, played in all but one game with 10 starts in 2016-17. His defensive presence was key for the Cardinal, drawing several charges. In the win over Seton Hall, he drew five charges and caused six turnovers. Verhoeven averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in two starts at Oregon State and at Oregon. He played in 117 career games, the third most on the 2016-17 roster.
FLOOR BURNS STAT INTRODUCED AT THE FARM
During his standout collegiate career at Kansas, head coach Jerod Haase was known for his energy and passion on the court, diving for loose balls and taking charges, whatever he could do to help his team win. During his time with the Jayhawks, the "floor burns" stat was created in his honor and is still tracked by the program. Haase totaled 167 in the 1996-97 season. In 2016-17 season, Stanford began tracking floor burns as an official stat throughout the year. Michael Humphrey recorded the most floor burns during the season with 31. Marcus Allen posted 26, Reid Travis had 23, Grant Verhoeven registered 22 and Dorian Pickens posted 21 to round out the top-five for the Cardinal. Stanford, as a team, recorded 188 floor burns.