Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Jerry Stackhouse has momentum. After a brutal start to his 2022-23 campaign, his team finished the year on an absolute heater. Vandy ended the pre-NIT season with a 10-2 run that included wins over Tennessee, Mississippi State and Kentucky (twice).
That wasn’t enough to propel the Dores to the NCAA Tournament, but it did boost Stackhouse’s stock in the coaching world. After pushing an undermanned team to new heights and showcasing a knack for play design and clutch moments, he’s once again emerged as a coaching candidate at the highest levels of the sport.
That includes his former NBA home, the Detroit Pistons. Earlier this week, reports began to spread that Stackhouse could leave Tennessee for Michigan and jump to the pros. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to shut those rumors down.
Lisa,
Don’t listen to these 🤡’s. It’s beguilement in the highest form. They have NO ACCESS to me or @VandyMBB so they choose to cater to the irrational and divisive 5.8% of Commodore Nation.⚓️⬇️ #BEUS #dontfallforit #sources— Jerry Stackhouse (@jerrystackhouse) April 13, 2023
It wasn’t enough to just throw the clown emoji at them; Stack went full Cornelius Vanderbilt and hit them with “beguilement in the highest form.” That is prime robber baron stuff. That is a clause that begins a threat that ends with your land being taken and your oil derricks seized. 247Sports is one poorly sourced report away from having the full wrath of the Pinkertons brought down upon them.
The response also gave Stackhouse the chance to throw a little shade at the vocal contingent of Vanderbilt that had been calling for his job before 2023’s furious finish. The two-time NBA All-Star is active on Twitter and had gained a reputation among Commodore faithful for being quick to block users for lobbing even justified criticism at the team. He’s lately unblocked several of those accounts, so it’s unclear just who falls into that 5.8 percent — though you can probably take a guess looking at the coach’s replies under any given Tweet.
If Stackhouse were considering a jump to the NBA, 2023 is a strong opportunity. Detroit’s job vacancy would give him the chance to return to a franchise where he played five seasons and had the most productive stretch of his pro career. His current roster at Vandy is suffering from plenty of turnover after its NIT quarterfinal run. All-SEC center Liam Robbins has exhausted his eligibility, point guard Tyrin Lawrence has entered the NBA Draft (though he’s kept his NCAA eligibility intact and may return) and six players, including four who played at least 18 minutes per game in 2023-23, have entered the transfer portal.
But Stackhouse appears locked in for a fifth year at the helm. Vanderbilt has improved its record every season since his 2019 debut. Doing so again in 2023-24 would be the biggest achievement of his coaching career to date and likely cement the program’s first NCAA Tournament invitation since 2017. That’s what he’s focused on at the moment; anything else is just “beguilement.”
