NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Vanderbilt's April selection of Jerry Stackhouse as the program's new head coach was greeted with some surprise in the college basketball world. The former Tar Heel great had a successful head coaching stint with Toronto's NBA G League affiliate, winning a title and Coach of the Year honors during his two-year career there, but had never been a head coach or assistant coach in college.
But when Stackhouse sits behind his desk in Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym one summer morning and explains the path that led him to Nashville, it makes perfect sense. And not surprisingly, there is a Carolina connection.