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Men's Basketball

Year In Review: Men's Basketball

STANFORD, Calif. – Another Stanford men's basketball season is in the books, as the Cardinal won 16 games including a series of high-profile victories.

Stanford went 16-16 on the season, which came to a close in the Pac-12 Tournament following a buzzer-beating win over Arizona State and a narrow loss to No. 2 Arizona. Spencer Jones led the team with 12.0 points per game, Harrison Ingram paced the squad with 6.7 rebounds per night, and Michael O'Connell dished a team-leading 3.6 assists per game.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
One of the most dynamic and versatile freshmen in the country, Harrison Ingram was Stanford's first Pac-12 Freshman of the Year since 1999-2000, and earned one of the five spots on the All-Freshman team in addition to garnering All-Pac-12 honorable mention status. He was Stanford's first Freshman of the Year since Casey Jacobsen in 2000, and just the fifth all-time, joining Brevin Knight (1994), Johnny Rogers (1982) and John Revelli (1981). He joins only Jacobsen with all-conference and all-freshman recognition in the same year.

Ingram ended the season as one of just two players nationally to average at least 10 points, six rebounds and three assists as a true freshman, along with Duke's Paolo Banchero. He was the only freshman in the league this season to average double figure scoring, and he won six Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards, which is the second-most in conference history, behind only USC's Evan Mobley (2020-21), who won the honor seven times last season. He was also a top-10 finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year award.

JONESING FOR JONES
Spencer Jones garnered his first All-Pac-12 awards with honorable mention selections to the all-conference and all-defense teams. The swingman was the team's leading scorer at 12.0 points per game, while averaging 4.5 rebounds per night. He is one of six players league-wide this season to earn all-conference and all-defensive honors.

He has established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in program history, and the sniper moved into the top-10 in program history in made threes in March at Arizona State. Jones ended the season in ninth on the all-time list with 189 made threes.
 


His season ended on its highest note for Jones, who had back-to-back career highs in the Pac-12 Tournament, scoring 26 against Arizona State (March 9) and 28 against Arizona (March 10). He led the tournament in scoring and made 3-pointers, and was named to the all-tournament team.

Additional Reading: Stanford Coach Haase Building a Culture for his Team | Associated Press

SWEPT USC
One of the highlights of the season was Stanford's sweep of a ranked USC team. The Cardinal's first win over USC was its first over a top-five opponent since 2007 (UCLA), led by 21 points apiece from Harrison Ingram and Spencer Jones, and the second was its first over a top-25 team on the road since 2014 (Texas), as Jaiden Delaire, Ingram and Jones ended in double figures.
 


MY STANFORD STORY: SAM BESKIND


Additional Reading: The Basketball Guy - O'Connell traded one future for another in a pandemic-led journey to Stanford | David Kiefer, Stanford Athletics

CARDIAC CARDINAL
Jaiden Delaire drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer on Dec. 12 to lead Stanford past Oregon, 72-69. Delaire gave Stanford its first win at the buzzer since Oscar da Silva scored at the horn against UCLA on Jan. 23, 2021, stepping into a deep 3-pointer on the left wing, scoring over Oregon's Eric Williams Jr. The 20 points for Delaire came in a season-best output, as he also pitched in six rebounds and two blocks.

Four days later, Harrison Ingram scored inside with 0.7 seconds left on the clock against Dartmouth to send the game to overtime.
 


Brandon Angel was fouled on a 3-point attempt against Arizona State with one second to play, and Angel hit all three at the stripe to earn the victory.
 


The heroics continued in the Pac-12 Tournament, as James Keefe collected a loose ball in the paint and banked home a buzzer-beater to lift Stanford over Arizona State in the first round. The Cardinal went 6-1 in games decided by three points or fewer.
 


HAWAII 2-0
Stanford advanced past Wyoming with a 66-63 victory in the opener at the Diamond Head Classic. Jaiden Delaire led the Cardinal in scoring for the third time in the last four games, scoring 17 points with seven rebounds, while Spencer Jones matched his then-season-high with 15 points and six rebounds. In the semifinal, Jones led the way with a career-high 25 points, going 8-for-11 from the field with five 3-pointers, to lead the Cardinal past Liberty, 79-76. The Cardinal was slated to face Vanderbilt in the championship game, but health and safety protocols began a stretch of four straight postponed or canceled games for the program. Jones was named to the All-Tournament Team.



Additional Reading: Stanford freshman Isa Silva, a bracero descendant, shaped by family sacrifice | San Francisco Chronicle

WELCOME TO THE FARM
Stanford signed a pair of four-star forwards when the early signing period opened in the class of 2022. Jaylen Thompson, from Oakland and rated as high as No. 62 nationally by 247 Sports, and Ryan Agarwal, a four star Rivals and ESPN shooting guard from Coppell, Texas, join a program that has signed top-20 classes nationally in three of the past four seasons, while this year's class begins with Stanford signing two four-star players for the third consecutive year.
 

Awards & Accolades

NameHonors
Michael O'ConnellCoSIDA Academic All-District
Jaiden DelairePreseason All-Pac-12 honorable mention
Spencer JonesAll-Pac-12 honorable mention
Pac-12 All-Defense honorable mention
Pac-12 Championships All-Tournament Team
Diamond Head Classic All-Tournament Team
James KeefeCoSIDA Academic All-District
Sam BeskindPac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Harrison IngramPac-12 Freshman of the Year
All-Pac-12 honorable mention
Pac-12 All-Freshman team
Preseason All-Pac-12 honorable mention
Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year watch list
Six-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Nov. 15, Dec. 13, Dec. 20, Dec. 27, Jan. 31, Feb. 14)