Could Vanderbilt's Jerry Stackhouse Become Hot Commodity
Jerry Stackhouse spent 18 seasons as a player in the NBA, but could the current Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball coach be heading back to the league as a head coach soon?
According to a recently published article by the online site thebirdwrites.com, Stackhouse is one of four potentially "ideal" candidates to take over as the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans.
"If you're aware of Stackhouse's coaching story and resume, he checks every box that Daniels mentioned in the link above," wrote Chris Conner in the article.
About to enter his second season in Nashville, Stackhouse has done a stable job as a recruiter and showed promise last season in developing talent with his team. That alone would seem to make him a fit for a team like the Pelicans whose current roster includes you stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
"Stackhouse takes player development seriously and has layers of evidence towards those he's coached. It's an element in his philosophy that he focuses strongly on, knowing the complexity behind every player in having a different story and thus needing a separate message," wrote Connor.
I think the NBA would be appealing to Stackhouse and granted we don't know him well. However, he seems the type personality that wants to prove himself and leaving Vanderbilt after just one season could leave the feeling of unfinished business in the mouth of such a competitive nature.
Few college coaches have made the jump into the pro ranks of late and had sustained success. Stackhouse could fare better because of his experience as a player and knowing how to relate to the younger players while still understanding how the game is played at that level.
Anything is possible, and any call from an NBA team to Stackhouse will likely be answered, meaning that the coach could have a tough decision in his near future.
Still, the thought of leaving a job half complete seems, unlike something a man of Stackhouse's character would be willing to do. After all, the speculations and what-if people of the world would have a field day.
In the end, none of that might matter to Stackhouse, and anything written here is pure speculation. It's also still speculation, and there are no guarantees the Pelicans, or any other NBA team comes calling........at least for a while longer anyway.
