Jerod Haase knew there was something special about Jared Bynum from the first time the two met. Two games into the season and Stanford fans see why.
The 5'10" point guard is in his sixth year of college basketball, and he plays like it. In this new, fast-paced brand of Cardinal basketball, excellent guard play is a requirement. It is not enough to push the tempo and make highlight plays. It requires steadiness and controlling the pace when needed. Through 80 minutes of basketball, Bynum has checked all of the boxes.
Stanford set a school record in assist-turnover ratio with a 22-4 mark against Sacramento State. Through two games, Jared Bynum has 17 assists against a single turnover. His backup, sophomore Benny Gealer, has 8 assists without a single turnover.
Jerod Haase told Benny to play with his hair on fire and not be afraid to make mistakes. During the first game he played steady basketball, but hardly made anything happen on offense. From the moment he checked into this one, he pushed the envelope. He made plays for his teammates, he called his own number, and he dug in and made things happen defensively. It is still amazing to me that he joined this program as a walk-on last year. Haase says this gives him a major chip on his shoulder, and is a big part of who he is.
The Cardinal took a commanding lead with a 12-2 run early in the second period to take a commanding 16 point lead, and the game was never again in any doubt. After a slow start in the season's opener, Spencer Jones was magnificent, scoring 15 points in 16 minutes before departing with injury. He also drew the defensive assignment on Zee Hamoda after the wing scored 16 points in the first half. Spencer made life difficult for him after the break and took the Hornets out of an offensive rhythm.
Brandon Angel led Stanford scorers with 18 points on 8-10 shooting. Maxime Raynaud added 14 points and 7 rebounds, while freshman wing Andrej Stojakovic scored 12 off the bench.