Vanderbilt Basketball: The Jerry Stackhouse Hire; Masterpiece or Mistake?

Jerry Stackhouse is nearing a deal to become Vanderbilt Basketball’s next head  coach; was this a brilliant hire or a big mistake?

Let’s be completely honest about one thing; Vanderbilt is not close to being a Blue Blood in college basketball. They’ve made just one Elite Eight in program history, and that was back when there were just 23 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores have made seven of the last 13 NCAA Tournaments, but are far from becoming a consistent power in the SEC. After some successful years under Kevin Stallings, Bryce Drew yearned to lead Vanderbilt to their first Final Four but his time in Nashville came to an abrupt halt with his firing a few weeks ago.

Since Drew’s firing, there have been numerous candidates named for the job. An early name was Georgetown coach John Thompson III, who beat the Commodores in the Sweet Sixteen in 2007. Names like Casey Alexander, Johnny Dawkins, and Ronald Nored were rumored for the job, but it looks as if the Commodores have found their man in former NBA star Jerry Stackhouse.

Stackhouse played at North Carolina under Dean Smith before embarking on a long NBA career, which included a pair of All-Star appearances. He’s spent time with the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant and recently had two years as head coach of the Raptor’s G-League team. Stackhouse is a big name and his NBA experience will help draw recruits, but two years in the G-league is the extent of his head coaching experience. That being said, should any of this be a surprise?

Malcolm Turner is the new athletic director at Vanderbilt, named to the post in February. Prior to taking over in Nashville, he spent more than four years as the President of the G-League. He’s had first-hand experience to watch Stackhouse as a coach, and he also graduated from North Carolina. Turner is a basketball mind and will look to reinvigorate these struggling Commodores’ programs, but this hire will be met with some legitimate skepticism.

Whether or not you believe that Turner is just helping a buddy out, there’s still some confusion as to why you would replace Bryce Drew with Jerry Stackhouse. After an 0-18 finish in SEC play this season, it’s not a big surprise that Drew was fired, but this seems like a strange replacement. Drew just brought in the greatest recruiting class that Vanderbilt had ever seen, but his season was upended by a season-ending injury to future NBA player Darius Garland. This isn’t an attempt to excuse Drew for his team’s collapse, but to understand what Stackhouse will bring to the table to elevate this program.

The Commodores need someone who can coach these players into significant contributors, something Drew couldn’t do as Simi Shittu struggled and the offense completely disappeared. The Stackhouse hiring could work, but it’s a real shot in the dark, throwing an inexperienced coach into the SEC gauntlet. In a league with John Calipari, Bruce Pearl, Rick Barnes, and Nate Oats, the Commodores have their work cut out for them. It would be great if Stackhouse can recruit at Vanderbilt, but Drew was doing great in that department but was unable to turn stars into a winning product on the court.

Drew may have lost control of the team, but is Turner losing control of the program with this projected hire? In a few years, we could look back and laud him for the hiring of Stackhouse, but this also feels like a potential disaster a stepping stone for the former NBA star. If Roy Williams calls it quits, there’s a chance that Stackhouse bails for his alma mater, leaving Turner on another hunt. Of course, if Stackhouse can elevate this Vanderbilt program before that, then I’m sure the fanbase will be pleased by the hire. Until then, this one’s a bit of a head-scratcher.