Stanford's Jared Bynum posts cryptic social media message as Jerod Haase continues to bench him
This offseason, Stanford was able to bring in an experienced and proven point guard to help initiate the offense, which is what they had been lacking for the past few years.
Providence transfer Jared Bynum, who had nearly 80 starts under his belt and over 100 games played during his career, was a major get. He was fresh off a Big East Sixth Man of the Year season, and he clearly had an instant impact to start the season for the Cardinal as he even ranked among the nation's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio at one point.
However, he would see his role diminished as the season went along, to the point where he has fallen all the way out of the rotation.
Bynum started the first 14 games of the season for Stanford, but missed the next four due to injury. When he came back, freshman Kanaan Carlyle had risen to stardom and earned himself a starting role. Regardless, surely there still could have been a role for Bynum to come off the bench and run the offense, but head coach Jerod Haase didn't think so.
Bynum went on to play just 37 minutes combined over the next four games, averaging nine minutes of run. In their loss against UCLA on February 7, he played just four minutes, which marked the last time we have seen him. With many questioning his status, Bynum took to social media to let the fans know he wasn't hurt, meaning that it was the decision of Haase not to play him.
With Stanford's implosion down the stretch and having one of the worst turnover ratios in the country ranking No. 309 the country, Bynum, who is statistically the second-best player they have off the bench in scoring while still leading the team in assists, has yet to find his way back in the lineup. Something he expressed his frustrations about on Tuesday evening in a social media post.
"no way this how my last season is going down," wrote Bynum on the app formerly known as Twitter.
Stanford has just one game remaining in the regular season against Cal, which will take place on Thursday. They will also have a chance to extend their season in the Pac-12 Tournament, where they are expected to end up with the No. 10 seed. Based on the past month and the social post, it feels safe to assume Bynum will not be in the lineup, but he easily could make an impact on a team that has lost their last six games.
As for Haase, it seems like there is little to nothing he can do to save his job as Stanford currently sits 12-17 on the year and is on track to miss the NCAA Tournament for the eighth season in a row under him.