Jerry Stackhouse

The 2023-24 season is the fifth for Jerry Stackhouse leading the resurgence of the Vanderbilt men’s basketball program. He was named the program’s 28th head coach on April 5, 2019.

Stackhouse has guided the Commodores to back-to-back winning seasons and NIT quarterfinals berths in 2022 and 2023, sent four student-athletes to the NBA and coached two SEC Scholar Athletes of the Year in his first four seasons in Nashville.
For the 2022-23 season, he earned SEC Co-Coach of the Year, Tennessee Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year and Ben Jobe National Minority Coach of the Year honors.

The team’s 22 wins in 2022-23 were the most since a 25-win season in 2011-12. Vandy also finished tied for fourth in the SEC regular season standings, the best finish for the Dores since 2011-12. Under Stackhouse’s guidance, Liam Robbins became the first student-athlete in program history to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Robbins also secured first team All-SEC accolades before signing with the New Orleans Pelicans organization.

Stackhouse made an immediate impact with the Dores, as Vandy was the only SEC program to improve its NET ranking in three-consecutive seasons from 2019-22.

The third year of the Stackhouse era featured the Commodores securing an NIT bid — the program’s first postseason appearance since the 2016-17 season. Stackhouse oversaw the three-year progression of Scotty Pippen Jr., who led the SEC in scoring in 2021-22 and went on to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Jordan Wright was named SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the 2021-22 season.

In his first season, two Commodores were selected in the NBA Draft, including lottery pick Aaron Nesmith who was chosen 14th overall by the Boston Celtics, and junior guard Saben Lee who was picked 37th overall by the Detroit Pistons. Stackhouse’s creative offensive sets enabled Nesmith to lead the nation in 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goal percentage (before a foot injury sidelined him after 14 games) and propelled Lee to three 30-point games and a second-team All-SEC selection in 2019-20.

Pippen Jr. earned All-SEC first team honors and set the school scoring record for a sophomore in 2020-21. He finished second in the SEC in scoring (20.8 points per game) and assists (4.9), while sophomore forward Dylan Disu led the SEC in rebounding (9.2) and was named the conference’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Prior to Vanderbilt, Stackhouse served as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies which was preceded by two seasons as head coach of the NBA G League’s Raptors 905. As head coach of Raptors 905, Stackhouse earned NBA G League Coach of the Year honors after he steered the team to a 39-11 regular season record and 6-1 playoff record in 2016-17, en route to the team’s first NBA G League championship. The following season, Stackhouse led the Raptors 905 to a 31-19 regular season record and a second straight appearance in the NBA G League Finals.

Prior to taking the head coaching job in the G League, Stackhouse was an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors during the 2015-16 season.

In his 18-year NBA career, Stackhouse appeared in 970 games (564 starts) for eight teams and averaged 16.9 points, 3.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 31.2 minutes. A two-time All-Star with the Detroit Pistons (2000, 2001), Stackhouse posted career highs of 29.8 points (second in the NBA) during the 2000-01 season, leading the league in total points and free throws made. He reached the 2006 NBA Finals as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.

After playing for legendary head coach Dean Smith and earning Sports Illustrated Player of the Year, All-America first team and All-ACC honors at North Carolina, Stackhouse was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the third overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. He was named to the 1995-96 NBA All-Rookie first team after leading all first-year players in scoring (19.8 points).

In 2011, Stackhouse launched Stackhouse Elite, an AAU program based in Atlanta, Georgia. The program captured numerous titles in the 15U, 16U, and 17U divisions.

Stackhouse prepped at Kinston (N.C.) High School and Oak Hill (Va.) Academy and was one of the most highly recruited athletes in college basketball history. He became just the third freshman in ACC history to earn most outstanding player honors at the ACC Tournament.

Stackhouse and the Tar Heels also reached the 1995 Final Four. Weeks later, he announced he would enter the NBA Draft.

Going to the NBA, however, did not mean the end of his educational pursuits. Stackhouse received his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina in the fall of 1999, and completed the Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports at the Harvard Business School executive education program in 2017.