KEVIN STALLINGS

Assistant Coach, 1989-93

Currently Head Coach at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University profile: http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/stallings_kevin00.html

Kevin Stallings
Head Coach

 

Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings is excited about his team this season and he has the right to be.

Stallings finally feels like he has put together a group that can match up with the elite teams in the SEC. This year's squad has the size, speed, quickness, toughness and experience at the top of the lineup that will allow Stallings' the ability and flexibility to return the Commodores to the top of the SEC.

Making it easier to expect success is the job Stallings and his coaching staff does both on and off the court. Entering their fourth season in Nashville, they have increased the talent level of the team and continue to strive to attract the nation's top recruits.

They made sure they didn't miss anything in their own backyard, signing two players from the Nashville area. Then the staff went almost coast to coast to sign players from Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

For the first time since taking the Vanderbilt job, Stallings now has a full lineup that is healthy and talented enough to contribute. But when that talent has not been available in the past, Stallings and his staff could be counted to coach their team into contention and grab their share of victories.

When Stallings was hired in April of 1999, he inherited a team that lost three players from a squad that finished 14-15. With no incoming recruits, there was little reason for optimism. While Stallings was able to sign one player before the season started, he took over essentially the same team that posted a 5-11 record in the SEC and won just one road game the year before.

Stallings led that Vanderbilt squad to a 19-11 record and an NIT berth. Along the way he helped Dan Langhi earn SEC Player of the Year honors, the first Commodore to garner the conference player of the year award since 1993.

This past season, Stallings guided the Commodores back to the postseason, leading them to their first postseason victory since 1998. It also continued Stallings' streak of never having a losing season in 24 years as a player or coach.

And Commodore fans can have faith in the fact that Stallings is not planning on ending that streak anytime soon. Wherever Stallings has coached, winning has quickly followed. He also is no stranger to high expectations.

When he came to Illinois State as the new head coach in the spring of 1993, he followed the most successful coach in school history. Stallings proceeded to raise the bar of success a notch higher. In six seasons at ISU, he recorded four 20-win seasons, won two conference titles, two conference tournament championships and captured four postseason tournament berths.

In the same manner, Stallings hopes to continue the illustrious history of Vanderbilt basketball.

The Commodores were a national power under head coach Roy Skinner in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, and made four NCAA Tournament appearances from 1988 to 1993 under C.M. Newton and Eddie Fogler.

Stallings has embraced the Commodores' history and tradition, while charting the direction he plans to take the program.

"For about six or eight months I looked around and tried to find a reason that we couldn't be successful," Stallings said. "I finally stopped looking because there isn't any reason we can't be successful."

Stallings' formula for success is not complicated. He believes in the time-honored values of intelligence, drive, hard work, experience and integrity. The outcome is that his teams win and his players graduate.

Stallings is committed to maintaining the high academic standards of Vanderbilt University. It is not an empty promise. At Illinois State, five players achieved Academic All-American status and all but two seniors earned their degrees during his tenure. That trend has continued at Vanderbilt with all of his seniors earning their degrees.

On the court, Stallings has a toughness and competitive nature that drives him and in turn drives his team when they step on the floor. Stallings cares deeply about his players. He preaches discipline and common sense in both basketball and life.

Stallings began his coaching career as an assistant under Gene Keady at Purdue from 1983-88. The Boilermakers were 140-44 during that time with three Big Ten championships and six trips to the NCAA Tournament.

In 1988, Stallings accepted a position on Roy Williams' staff at Kansas. In his five seasons, the Jayhawks posted a 132-38 record with three Big Eight regular season titles and four trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two appearances in the Final Four.

In addition to Keady and Williams, Stallings credits his high school coach, Virgil Fletcher, for his development as a coach and teacher.

"I am proud to have been associated with and honored to have had the opportunity to play for and work under three guys of that magnitude."

In 1993, at the age of 32, Stallings was ready for his first head coaching position. He took the reigns at Illinois State and swiftly built the program into a regular contender for the Missouri Valley Conference title. The team made two NIT and two NCAA Tournament appearances from 1994-1999, and Stallings posted a 123-63 record.

Stallings, age 42, and his wife of 19 years, Lisa, have three children; Jacob, age 12, and Alexa, age eight and Jordyn, age two.

Source: vucommodores.com

From Wikipedia:

Kevin Stallings (born October 1, 1960 in Collinsville, Illinois) is currently in his ninth season as the head men’s basketball coach at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he served as head coach at Illinois State University and was an assistant coach at Purdue University and the University of Kansas.

High school & college

Stallings graduated from Collinsville High School in Collinsville, Illinois in 1978, where he played guard (6'5", 190 lbs.) for four years under legendary coach Vergil Fletcher and won three conference championships. The Kahoks went 30-1 his junior season and lost to De La Salle in the first round of the Illinois state tournament, 67-66.[1] In his senior season, the Kahoks finished 28-3 and finished third in the state tournament. They lost in the semi-finals 55-53 to eventual champion Lockport Central, who finished the season 33-0.[2] Stallings still holds Collinsville records for career assists (665), season assists (284) and season steals (146).[3]

After a year at Belleville Junior College in Belleville, Illinois, where his team went 28-9 and made the NJCAA tournament, Stallings enrolled at Purdue and played three years. His first season, the Boilermakers finished with a 27-8 record under coach Lee Rose and reached the NCAA Final Four. Purdue reached the NIT Final Four in Stallings’ junior and senior seasons, Gene Keady’s first two seasons at the helm of the Boilermakers.[4] Stallings started 17 games his senior season and averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 assists per game.

Stallings received a bachelor of science in business management in 1982 and a master of science in counseling in 1985, both from Purdue.[4]

Assistant coaching jobs

Purdue

After graduation in 1982, Stallings began as assistant coach at Purdue under Gene Keady. From 1982 to 1988, Purdue amassed a 140-44 record, winning three Big Ten Championships (two shared and one outright) and reaching the NCAA Tournament all six years. The highlight was a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1988, when the Boilermakers finished 29-4 and earned a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas

In 1988, Stallings was hired by Roy Williams, who had taken over at Kansas after Larry Brown's surprising NCAA Tournament championship. During the next five seasons, the Jayhawks compiled a 132-38 record and reached four NCAA Tournaments. They advanced to the Final Four twice. In 1991, they lost to Duke in the finals, 72-65, while in 1993, they lost in the semifinals to North Carolina, 78-68.

Head coaching jobs

Illinois State

In 1993, Stallings became the 15th head coach at Illinois State following Bob Bender’s move to the University of Washington. The Redbirds went 123-63 during his six-year tenure and reached the NCAA Tournament and the NIT twice each. His winning percentage of .661 is the highest ever by an Illinois State coach who coached at least five years.

Following a 16-11 (Missouri Valley Conference: 12-6, 4th) record his first season, Stallings led Illinois State a 20-13 record (MVC: 13-5, 2nd) in his second year. They lost to Washington State 83-80 in the second round of the 1995 NIT. In 1995-96, the Redbirds (22-12 overall, 13-5 MVC) again finished second in the MVC and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT, where they lost to Tulane 83-72.

In 1996-97, Illinois State (24-6, 14-4) won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990. The Redbirds lost to Iowa State in the first round 69-57 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

In 1997-98, led by MVC player of the year Rico Hill (18.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Dan Muller (13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Illinois State (25-6, 16-2) swept the MVC regular season and tournament titles for the second consecutive year. The Redbirds beat Tennessee 82-81 in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before getting steamrolled by 4th-ranked Arizona in the second round 82-49. Following the season, Stallings was named MVC coach of the year. After losing four starters, the Redbirds fell back to 16-15 (MVC: 7-11, 7th) in Stallings’ final year.

Vanderbilt

Stallings became head coach at Vanderbilt in 1999, replacing Jan van Breda Kolff. In his first season, the Commodores rebounded from a 14-15 record to finish 19-11 (Southeastern Conference: 8-8). They were led by SEC Player of the Year Dan Langhi, who led the SEC with 22.1 points per game.

The Commodores slipped to 15-15 (SEC: 4-12) in 2000-01 and missed the postseason, although Matt Freije became only the fifth Commodore to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

In 2001-02, they improved marginally to 17-15 (SEC: 6-10). Wins at Tennessee and against No. 11 Kentucky in the final week helped Vanderbilt secure an NIT berth. They beat Houston 59-50 in the opening round before losing in the next. Freije earned third-team All-SEC honors, and Brian Thornton became the sixth Commodore to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

In 2002-03, Stallings suffered the only losing season of his career, when the Commodores slumped to 11-18 (SEC: 3-13). Freije was named second-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches.

In 2003-04, Stallings led the Commodores to a 23-10 record (SEC: 8-8) and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores had a 66-60 regular season win over No. 4 Kentucky and knocked off No. 9 Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament before losing to Florida in the semi-finals. In the NCAA tournament, Vanderbilt received a No. 6 seed and defeated Western Michigan 71-58 in the first round. In the second round, the Commodores trailed third-seeded North Carolina State 67-56 with 3:45 to play, but Freije keyed a 19-6 Vanderbilt run to end the game for a 75-73 win. Vanderbilt lost to eventual national champion Connecticut 73-53 in the Sweet Sixteen. Freije (18.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) was named first-team All-SEC and finished as Vanderbilt’s leading all-time scorer (1,891 points).

In 2004-05, the Commodores narrowly missed the NCAA tournament, finishing 20-14 (SEC: 8-8). Vanderbilt beat Indiana and Wichita State in the NIT before losing to Memphis in the quarterfinals, 81-68. Shan Foster became the seventh Commodore to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team and the third during Stallings’ tenure.

In 2005-06, Vanderbilt finished 17-13 (SEC: 7-9) and lost to Notre Dame 79-69 in the first round of the NIT. Foster was named first-team All-SEC.

In 2006-07, Vanderbilt had a 22-12 record (SEC East: 10-6, 2nd) and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Following the end of the regular season, Stallings was named SEC coach of the year by his fellow SEC coaches, while senior Derrick Byars was named SEC player of the year.[5]

In 2007-08, Vanderbilt is 9-0, and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll and 25th in the ESPN/USA Today (Coaches) poll. Stallings won his 150th game as coach of the Commodores on November 29, 2007 against South Alabama.

See Also

Notes

  1. ^ 1976-77 Collinsville Kahoks. Ballpress.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  2. ^ 1977-78 Collinsville Kahoks. Ballpress.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  3. ^ Collinsville High School Individual Records. Ballpress.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  4. ^ a b Kevin Stallings Bio 2006-07. CSTV.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.
  5. ^ Coaches say Byars SEC's best. Tennessean.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-08.