Kansas basketball spoils Jerod Haase’s return, beats Stanford 89-74

Jerod Haase stared intently at the center scoreboard high in Allen Fieldhouse, studying the pre-game video that included two clips of the Stanford head coach during his playing days at Kansas.

Haase, a combo guard at Kansas from 1994-97 who received a long, loud standing ovation during introductions, returned to his old digs on Saturday, suffering an 89-74 loss to the Jayhawks. He went 42-0 in the tradition-rich building as a Kansas player.

“Coach (Bill) Self actually said before the game it’s a neat deal and it was a conscious decision to put me up there. I certainly appreciate it,” Haase said. “Jayhawks tend to take care of their own. The reception meant a lot to me. That was phenomenal,” Haase added.

Perhaps the highlight of his return trip to Lawrence — in addition to witnessing Cardinal power forward Reid Travis set records for most free throw makes (19) and attempts (22) by an opposing player in KU history — came five hours before tip time.

“I remember clearly walking in Allen Fieldhouse when I was first recruited to Kansas and that feeling. I think I’ll probably remember the first time at shootaround today at 9 a.m., when we walked in the arena, seeing what it looks like,” said Haase. He had not been in Allen Fieldhouse in more than 10 years.

“The fieldhouse looks phenomenal. It has a little bit of a different feel to be honest with you from when I played. They’ve done a great job keeping it up, making it pristine. The sound on the scoreboard works well, too. It gets pretty loud,” Haase added with a smile.

Kansas’ Self, whose own guards stole the show this day (Frank Mason scored 20 points; Devonté Graham 15, Josh Jackson and Svi Mykhailiuk 13), told his players before the game that Stanford’s coach was a former KU player who would receive a lot of love before the game.

“I definitely agree with the fans who recognized him in the manner in which they did. I think it was very cool for Jerod and his family. It was probably good for his players to see. I thought that was a nice moment,” Self said of the standing ovation accorded Haase.

Travis, a 6-8 junior who went 5 of 14 from the field en route to a career-high 29 points, said, “right off the plane people were running to shake his hand. Like somebody was telling me he’s a legend. We definitely saw that with the ovation.”

Stanford, 6-3, survived Graham’s 5-of-8 three-point shooting in the first half and trailed the No. 4-ranked Jayhawks by eight, 43-35, at halftime.

It was still a game when Kansas junior guard Mykhailiuk erupted for 10 straight points (and 13 of 14) for KU in the second half. He helped extend a 70-59 lead with nine minutes left to an 84-66 lead for Kansas at 3:56.

“I just took my shots,” Mykhailiuk said. “I had open three-point shots. I made the first two, and it gave me confidence. I ran the floor, got easy baskets. That’s how I got 13 points pretty fast,” said Mykhailiuk. He hit 5 of 7 shots in 13 minutes in the second half (including 3 of 5 on three-pointers). He missed one shot while playing six minutes the first half.

“I thought Svi played well. He moves the ball,” Self said, adding, “Frank (Mason) was good today. He didn’t score the ball early in the game. He had (eight) points at halftime and gets an effortless 20. He’s so good at driving that ball downhill.

“Devonté played well. He is the reason we had the lead (at half). Lagerald (Vick, two threes, eight points) did some nice things. He didn’t play as much (22 minutes). Svi played great the second half. It was a pretty solid win. We just didn’t have an answer for their big (Travis). One guy kicked our butt.”

Mason — he dished five assists and had four boards in 35 minutes — hit a spectacular driving, reverse layup and made the ensuing foul shot in the second half.

“That was a pretty good play,” Self said with a smile.

In addition, Jackson (5-of-12 shooting, three steals) rammed a vicious one-handed slam off a pass from Graham in the second half.

“It’s being in attack mode all the time,” Graham said of the guards’ scoring. “Coach is always about us on making plays and staying in the lane.”

It may have been fitting the Jayhawk guards were the difference on a day KU had one of its grittiest guards return as visiting coach. Kansas hit 51.6 percent of its shots, including 12 of 22 on three-pointers (just 13 of 22 from line).

“Coach gave us a talk before the game about how the fans loved him and he was one of the best loved guys on campus,” Graham said. “I know he was big-time here and people loved him here.”

Haase will get to coach against his alma mater a lot in coming years. Kansas meets Stanford next season in Sacramento, Calif.. Stanford will return to Allen Fieldhouse in the 2018-19 season, and Kansas will visit Stanford in the 2019-20 season. Haase is happy Self agreed to the series.

“Everybody in the state of Kansas understands Bill Self is beloved as he should be,” Haase said. “He’s doing a wonderful job with the program. I understand that and love that.”

Kansas will next meet UMKC at 7 p.m., Tuesday in Allen Fieldhouse. Self enters that game with 599 career victories against 189 losses in 24 seasons. A victory would be milestone win No. 600. Stanford, which has had five games in nine days, will meet Cal State East Bay on Dec. 16 at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion.

KANSAS 89, STANFORD 74

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .420, FT .811. Three-Point Goals: 2-8, .250 (Pickens 1-3, Cartwright 1-4, Verhoeven 0-1). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 2 (Sharma 2). Turnovers: 12 (Sanders 4, Pickens 3, Humphrey 2, Cartwright, Travis, Verhoeven). Steals: 5 (Pickens 2, Mar.Allen, Sheffield, Verhoeven). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.

TableStyle: SP-bkwideplayersCCI Template: SP-bkwideplayers

Percentages: FG .516, FT .591. Three-Point Goals: 12-22, .545 (Graham 5-9, Mykhailiuk 3-5, Mason 2-3, Vick 2-3, Jackson 0-1, Self 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 7 (Azubuike 3, Lucas 3, Jackson). Turnovers: 9 (Jackson 3, Lucas 2, Bragg, Graham, Mason, Vick). Steals: 8 (Jackson 3, Graham 2, Azubuike, Bragg, Lightfoot). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: Coleby.

Half: Kansas 43-35. Att: 16,300.

AP-WF-12-03-16 2244GMT

This story was originally published December 3, 2016 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Kansas basketball spoils Jerod Haase’s return, beats Stanford 89-74."