Former Providence and All-Big East guard Jared Bynum announced via Instagram his commitment to Stanford.
Jared was a key part of a 2022 Providence team that earned a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet Sixteen before bowing out to the eventual champions, Kansas. He was named the Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year, and was one of two Friars to make the All-Big East Second Team. This season he stepped into a more frequent starting role and helped Providence get back to the dance, averaging 10 points and 4 assists a game.
He started his career at Saint Joseph’s, transferring to Providence after his freshman season. He was one of the last players to take a redshirt season after switching schools, and subsequently played three seasons at PC. Next season he will be a sixth year player, and will be 25 years old by season’s end. That kind of experience is invaluable.
Jared is a bigtime shot maker. Per Synergy data, he has been a plus shotmaker in each of the past two seasons. This means he makes the shots he takes at a higher rate than expected of an average shotmaker. He was often the guy Providence would go to when they needed a bucket, whether that be in a late game situation, or even just a late shot clock scenario. He hit some massive shots in his career, and is clearly not afraid of any moment.
One of his biggest shots was this game winner against Xavier.
If you want to see more of him, check out his career-high 32 points against Georgetown. He also came up with 5 steals in that game.
Bynum’s efficiency dipped this past season, shooting just 32% from deep after 41% in 2022. I spent this past weekend watching every clip of him in Synergy from the last two years and I can promise you he is a better shooter than that number suggests. For one, he was better than 40% in conference play as he was the year prior. He shot 36% from three over the last two years combined, but 43% over that same span on catch-and-shoot triples. If he gets good looks, he makes them. A 3-23 number with the shot clock below 4 seconds greatly skewed those numbers, too. Stanford had a top-10 offense nationally over the second half of last season, and they should be able to create space for Jared to flourish.
Jared is comfortable going either direction, and can hit shots both ways. He is effective in pick-and-roll, but can also manufacture a shot in isolation. He only stands 5’10”, but he is good at creating space with his stepback and doesn’t struggle to get shots off.
Perhaps most importantly for Stanford, Jared is a strong playmaker. He becomes the best ball handler on the team from day one, and also a capable passer. In each of the last two seasons his assist rate would have led Stanford, and his turnover rate checked in well below the playmakers on the Cardinal roster. He checked in with a 2.7 assist-turnover ratio this year.
Roster Outlook
This marks the second consecutive season Stanford has signed a graduate transfer, after signing none in the program’s prior history. The team will likely feature four players in their fifth year or later (Spencer Jones, Michael Jones, James Keefe, Bynum).
Jared seems the most likely pick to start at point guard, but Michael O’Connell has 76 career starts and freshman Kanaan Carlyle is a promising playmaker in his own right. It seems likely the Cardinal will start at least two guards this season, after frequently starting just one in the past couple of seasons.
The Cardinal return 8 of their top-10 contributors from last season, while adding Jared and two top-50 freshmen in Carlyle and Andrej Stojakovic. This will be the strongest rotation 1-10 in some time for the Cardinal. If James Keefe does indeed return, as is expected, he will be the only non-shooter on the roster. This offense should be a top-25 offense, and has a chance to finish even higher than that.
The loss of Harrison Ingram is not insignificant, but Jared is arguably the better playmaker and shotmaker. Despite his departure, the Cardinal will return 4 of their 5 starters, as well as Michael Jones, who was effectively a sixth starter. The two freshmen and Jared will each push for starting roles, too. The starting lineup is anyone’s guess. One way or another, this team will be bringing talented players off the bench.
When Spencer Jones announced his return to Stanford, he emphasized his desire of getting the Cardinal back into March Madness. Today’s commitment could go a long way toward making that a reality.