PAC-12 CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 14, 2024

Jerod Haase

Spencer Jones

Brandon Angel

Stanford Cardinal

Postgame Press Conference

Washington State - 79, Stanford - 62

JEROD HAASE: I believe the news is out there that there has been a change of leadership with the men's basketball program here.

It's been a heck of a run, honestly, eight years. I look at my job, I suppose a little bit old school and multi-faceted.

One of the things is this is a place -- and I believe dearly about scholar-athletes. And I have coached for eight years -- tremendous scholar-athletes. Four straight years of scholar-athlete of the year in league. I won't get into specifics too much of team GPAs and the variety of majors and the hardest major at the greatest university in the world.

But I'll be leaving very proud of the team accomplishments. The reality is I did nothing for that other than recruit highly exceptional kids, men.

I also believe in development, and that's a part of my job. I'm leaving proud of what my staff and I have done on the court and off the court in developing our student-athletes.

I believe deeply in culture, our core values. It's been a challenge in eight years. A lot of changes to the climate of college basketball, COVID. There's been a lot we've gone through.

And during that time my staff and team, players, administration, we've worked hard on culture and developing something we're really proud of. That's something I'm super excited about.

One of the things -- I just told the team, my job as a coach is to hold them accountable, to do what they're asked to do from boxing out to running the floor to remembering plays to executing the standards and expectations within the program.

And when they don't do that, Spencer doesn't box out, I may pull them out. But the accountability piece is real.

The other big part of my job is winning games. And this doesn't have anything to do with anybody else's standards; it's my own standards. I have not won here to the level that I expect.

Just like I hold my team accountable, I've been held accountable, and I have no issue with that.

Looking back, the relationships with the players has been tremendous. I'm very confident as this sinks in and moves forward I will look back at the last eight years with great, great appreciation.

Number one is to the players. Eight years of tremendous scholar-athletes, talented basketball players. And I'm confident in saying that they're going to do some amazing things moving forward.

The dream for me is that somehow, that myself, my staff impacted them in a positive way so when they do those great things maybe we helped just a touch.

I mentioned the challenges over the last eight years. It want to thank Bernard Muir and Carter Henderson. The leadership from the university has been tremendous in a really difficult time. And I know moving forward it's going to shine. It's going to shine.

My wife and kids, man, they sacrificed. My assistant coach's wives and kids, they sacrificed. For Mindy and Gavin and Garrett and Gabby, man, unbelievable appreciation.

This is in so many ways, so many chapters are coming to an end -- the Pac-12. College athletics continues to evolve. We talked about conference realignment. There's so many ends and so many new beginnings right now.

I will look back at my eight years, like I said, with great appreciation very fondly. I'm going to lean on the memories and the relationships. And I think I'm going to look back as a whole and be very proud of the things I've done.

I also know I have a next chapter and hopefully many next chapters in my book. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, but I'm going to chase awesome. And hopefully I can be around people like I've been around here for the last eight years.

Didn't talk much about the game. Didn't go the way I wanted. Happy to answer any of those questions. That's all I've got.

Q. Spencer, you decided to come back for a fifth year here at Stanford. Could you talk about the role playing for another year under Haase, and the whole staff made in that decision?

SPENCER JONES: I mean, it never really was that hard of a decision. Obviously looking at other places, it piques your interest, but it was never too hard to decide to come back.

It's really weird, and I'm filling up too many words to think on it right now because I just assumed there's a next season and now there's not.

Being here under Haase, I feel as prepared for life as anything else could have prepared me for. Sure, I didn't get the wins. Sure, I didn't get a lot of those things, but I feel whatever I do next I'm as prepared as I could ever have been doing that.

I think back, I don't even know if I was supposed to be here. I was a senior high school not knowing what the hell I was going to do, and he takes a chance on me and gives me more and more chances. I prove myself under him, try to follow his lead. I feel like I did a great job. And look where it's brought me. So I don't regret the decision at all. I'm happy to be here for five years.

Q. When did you learn of this decision, and how difficult has this last couple of weeks been as the season wrapped up?

JEROD HAASE: I'll let Bernard answer any of the specifics moving forward. I would say I'll let him answer any specifics. But my relationship with Bernard is great. Our communication has been great for eight years, very candid, open, honest, supportive. But in terms of the process, I'll let him handle all that.

Q. Talk about what I call are the main lessons you both have learned from Coach Haase with your time playing underneath him?

BRANDON ANGEL: Playing for Coach Haase has been one of my fondest basketball memories, life memories, these past four years, memories on the court, off the court, I'll never forget.

Coach taught me more than just basketball, what it means to truly lead, lead by example, give your all to something each and every day.

He's concerned about the team first, his players first, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find a coach in the country that cares more about his players than this man on my lift.

Coach Haase is one-of-a-kind coach and a coach, one day -- as a player if you can grow up to lead, to be an example of the way Coach Haase has been for us, it means you're doing something good for those around you. He's been exemplary in so many ways, and I couldn't be prouder to play for him. I'd run through a brick wall for him, and whatever he has next, I mean, I'll support him and have a relationship with Coach probably the rest of my life.

SPENCER JONES: Couldn't have said it better. Right on point.

Q. Last week you called it an inflection point for Stanford basketball. I assume that was more than you, it was going to the ACC, it was, as you said, a lot of changes. Where do you think this program is and what's the challenge ahead given college sports and the ACC and everything?

JEROD HAASE: That's a great question. I could go on and on about it. If the program was perfect right now I'd still be the coach. It's not perfect. And there need to be some advancements and improvements.

But the big picture stuff of the transfer portal, undergrad transfers, graduate transfers, NIL, the future moving forward with the changes in conferences, and people use big phrases and words like revenue sharing and employee status and things like that.

I would label that or use that term "inflection point" because I think there's so many big changes, big decisions that are going on right now. I believe Stanford is a place of great ingenuity and creativity and desire to lead.

But the truth is a lot of these are hard decisions, especially when you value the scholar-athlete and you value the experience, you value the development of the players on and off the court. They're not easy. They're not easy. They're not easy conversations, and there's not a lot of easy solutions. But I do believe it's an inflection point. I believe Bernard and the university will creatively, actively, thoughtfully make decisions to make sure the inflection point moves northward.

But I guess my answer is I believe it's possible but I don't think it's going to be easy, but I think it's full of opportunity, for sure. And I would say those things for any university.

Stanford, as we all know, has such great standards and expectations, but every school in America is having those conversations. So everyone has to be thoughtful in their approach in how they're going to continue moving forward in this landscape.