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Kevin Stallings

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Kevin Stallings

Kevin Stallings (born October 1, 1960 in Collinsville, Illinois) is currently in his eighth 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 2006-2007, 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. Stallings has now led the Commodores to 20 wins in three of the last four seasons. Byars was a unanimous selection to the All-SEC first team, while junior Shan Foster was named to the All-SEC second team.[5] The Commodores got off to a rocky 1-3 start that included a surprising home loss to Furman (15-16 final record, 8-10 Southern). After that, Vanderbilt won 17 of its next 22 games, culminating in an 83-70 home win over then-No. 1 Florida (33-5, SEC East: 14-2, 1st). The Commodores were 7-3 against teams ranked in the Top 25; only North Carolina and UCLA had more wins against ranked opponents.

See Also

Notes

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