Craig Haese was just as much of a perfectionist in the classroom as he was from behind the 3-point line.
He concluded an impressive career with 1,033 points, becoming the 27th player in school history to score over 1,000 points in a career. He set school standards with 198 3-point field goals made and 527 3-pointers attempted. He also owns the school mark for career free-throw percentage at 85.8 percent (181-of-211). He had 254 rebounds, 179 assists, 73 steals and six blocks. From the field he was 327-of-777 (42.1 percent).
In his stellar career, Haese played in 112 games while starting 56, and saw his scoring average increase every campaign. In almost half of his games as a Penguin, Haese scored in double figures - 52 times.
In 2000-01, Haese was named a first-team All Mid-Continent Conference selection averaging 14.1 points per game. He was honored during the season as one of five student-athletes to make the CoSIDA Academic All District IV Men's Basketball team with a 3.66 GPA.
Haese became the first men's basketball player since Tim Jackson in 1989-90 to win The Vindicator/YSU Male Athlete of the Year award and is only one of four to ever win the honor.
As a senior in 2000-01, Haese helped YSU finish 19-11 overall as the squad won 11 conference games, tying the school record for conference wins in a season. In 29 games, he made a school-record 92 3-pointers on a school best 218 3-point attempts. From the free-throw line he rarely missed, making 62-of-66 attempts for an impressive school-record 93.9 percent. He finished the season with 410 points, shooting 43.7 percent from the field (making 138-of-293 attempts) and 42.2 percent from behind the 3 point arc. He had 66 rebounds, 59 assists, 24 steals and a block.
In his final year, he scored in double figures 22 times and had 20-or-more points seven times, including 28 points against UMKC and IUPUI. He led the Penguins in scoring 10 times his final year and made seven 3-pointers in four contests.
As a junior, he scored 310 points as he made 47 3-pointers and grabbed a career-high 91 rebounds. He finished the 1999-2000 season posting a career-high 60 assists. He posted a career-high 32 points on Dec. 29, 1999, against Tennessee State where he was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Dr Pepper Classic, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
He played in 27 games, starting 18. From the field he was 103-of-247 and made 47-of-139 3-point attempts. From the free-throw line he was 57-of-67 (85.1 percent), grabbed 91 rebounds, had 60 assists and recorded 17 steals. He scored in double figures 16 times.
His sophomore season, he played in 27 games, starting nine, and scored 155 points for YSU. On the year, he made 47 field goals, including 30 3-pointers. He had 46 assists, 45 rebounds, 22 steals and a block. He made 31-of-35 free-throw attempts (88.6 percent). He had a season-best 17 points against Oakland.
As a freshman, he scored 158 points in 29 games. Of his 49 field goals, 29 were behind the 3-point arc. He was 31-of-43 from the free-throw line and had 52 rebounds, 28 assists, 10 steals and four blocks. He had a 19-point effort against Central State.
Haese earned his degree in Elementary Education from YSU. He is an eighth grade world geography teacher for the Wrightstown School District in Wrightstown, Wis. He also was a teacher in Marysville, Ohio, for three years before returning to his home state.
A graduate of DePere High School in DePere, Wis., he was a four-year starter and set the Green Bay Metro area record for career points.
Craig and his wife, Katie, reside in Wrightstown, Wis.
