There was a plethora of coaching changes in College Men’s Hoops this past offseason. One of the biggest changes is the change right here in Nashville, Tennessee, as Vanderbilt finally moved on from Coach Bryce Drew and brought in a new face to head coaching scene. That face is former college and NBA star Jerry Stackhouse.
Coach Stackhouse hopes to change the culture at Vandy, as the Commodores come off the worst season they ever had since 1948, with a record of 9 and 23, with 0 wins in conference play. Many were disappointed in what the Commodores didn’t achieve last season as they had a former top freshmen guard and now lottery pick Darius Garland, and top freshmen Simisola Shittu. Last season was supposed to be a coming out party for Vandy but things didn’t pan out. Vandy decided to move on to a new Athletic Director who came in cleaned house, starting with Coach Bryce Drew.
The new athletic director of the school made a surprising move by bringing in the former All-American Stackhouse to take the wheel of the ship. Vanderbilt has followed the path of other schools who decided to bring in former basketball stars. Stackhouse only experience coaching has been as an assistant for the Toronto Raptors and Memphis Grizzlies and Head Coach for the Toronto Raptors’ G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, were he won a championship and G-League Coach of the Year award. By hiring Stackhouse many hopes for a similar culture change similar to what happen at University of Memphis and Penny Hardaway.
Coach Stackhouse and Vanderbilt returns 5 players who played key minutes for the struggling Commodores last season, including breakout guard Saban Lee and Pre-season All-SEC team member Aaron Nesmith, who many believe is a positive piece Stackhouse can build upon. With the hiring of Stackhouse, Vanderbilt was able to attract former top-50 recruit, D.J. Harvey, who transferred from Notre Dame and post-man from Rice University, Quentin Milora- Brown. Along side the transfer Vandy welcomes four new freshmen including Dylan Disu, Scotty Pippen Jr., Jordan Wright and Oton Jankovic. The team hope these four young men can bring something great to the team.
Vanderbilt fans are eager to see what the new look Commodores would look like and hope that Stackhouse can bring a winning culture to a team and fanbase who begs for it. Experts believe the Commodores will finish among the bottom of the league again, as the SEC is tougher than ever, but they believe that Coach Stackhouse brings a new energy to the team’s atmosphere. I predict that the team will finish in the middle of the pack but nothing to surprising coming from them. I think Stackhouse has what it takes to get some hard wins from his team but like every new coach, he must go through his share of woes and adversities, before having winning seasons
