Haase expects much from 1st recruiting class
Although he’ll have five of his top six scorers and his top four rebounders back, Stanford head coach Jerod Haase thinks his first recruiting class will make an impact next season.
“I do have a great deal of optimism that the freshmen are going to come in and make a real impact,” he said in an interview last week. “With Kodye Pugh, who redshirted last year, we have five new faces. That’s where the competition (in practice) becomes such a big part of what we’re doing.”
The signing of former Washington commit Daejon Davis put the incoming class firmly in the top 20 of most recruiting rankings. A consensus top-50 prospect, the 6-foot-4 guard led Seattle’s Garfield High to the state Class 3A championship, averaging 18.8 points.
He backed out of his commitment to the Huskies after head coach Lorenzo Romar was fired. Davis signed with Stanford on April 12 after a scholarship opened when guard Malcolm Allen decided to play for Northern Arizona as a graduate transfer.
With the graduation of Allen’s twin, Marcus, Davis fills Stanford’s need for someone who can drive to the basket, Haase said. “He can get into the paint and create for others and finish plays at the rim.”
When he received word that Davis changed his mind and decided to join the Cardinal, Haase said, “it was awesome.”
Another Cardinal commit will arrive with even more fanfare. Kezie Okpala grew 10 inches while attending Esperanza High in Anaheim. By his senior year, he was a 6-8 force, averaging 30.4 points and 10.6 rebounds, and rated among the top forwards in the country.
“He can play just about any position on the floor,’’ Haase said. “He handles the ball really well. He has guard skills as a playmaker, but he does it at 6-8 now.’’
Rivals.com raved, “A scorer with tremendous size and skill, Okpala is perhaps the most improved senior in America and has huge upside.” Scout. com rated him a five-star prospect.
The other two Stanford recruits come from overseas, 6-9 forward Oscar da Silva of Munich and 6-1 guard Isaac White of Adelaide, Australia.
Da Silva, who speaks six languages fluently, played for Germany’s under-18 national team last year and will play in the Under-19 World Cup in Egypt in July before coming to the Farm.
Haase said he can play any frontcourt position. “He can play on the perimeter. He’s got great feet. He’s a good shot blocker; he has great length and agility defensively. He’s a high-level passer, a good ballhandler and shooter,” he said.
He also was recruited by Princeton, Columbia and Cal, da Silva said in an email. A bioengineering major, he tries to fashion his game after “tall, agile wings/forwards like Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George and Andre Iguodala.”
White led South Australia to the 2017 under-20 national title, averaging 20.9 points and shooting 53.6 percent from three-point range. This year, he played in the Premier League and was named its top under-21 player. He scored 65 points, including hitting 10 three-pointers, in one game.
“He has a good feel for the game, and he’s tough as nails,” Haase said. “He obviously can shoot the basketball.”
In an email, White said he can play either point guard or shooting guard. “The game has changed enough to allow players to fuse their roles into one,’’ he said. “I play with (flair) and passion, and am driven by winning. That’s the only way I can describe my game.”