Jerry Stackhouse pokes fun at Duke, Coach K's 'temper tantrum' after UNC's win

Jerry Stackhouse may be far removed from his Tar Heel days, but the current Vanderbilt head coach still takes pride in his time at UNC — particularly, the success that he had against Duke.

A native of Kinston, North Carolina, Stackhouse committed to play for Dean Smith at UNC, and he shined during his two-year tenure in Chapel Hill. Stackhouse averaged 15.7 points, 2.3 assists, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals in his career at UNC, putting together his best performance during the 1994-95 season. That year, Stackhouse averaged 19.2 points, along with 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Stackhouse, like many other prominent basketball voices across the country, took the time to praise Mike Krzyzewski for his Hall of Fame 42-year run at Duke. But the UNC product added an extra layer to his quote, propping up UNC for its huge win, while jokingly calling out Krzyzewski and his staff for their postgame actions.

“I’ve got tremendous respect for Coach K and what he has been able to accomplish. I said before, it’s hard for guys to accomplish things, to have a 10-year run,” Stackhouse said, via Justin Hershey of The Vanderbilt Hustler. “For you to do that multiple times — 42 years — unbelievable accomplishment, unbelievable leader, unbelievable winner. But at the same time, we still hate him (at UNC) and we’re super glad to spoil the party. I was able to get back to the locker room (after Vanderbilt’s win over Ole Miss) and catch the last few minutes of that — how the guys performed at the end of the game. Super happy for Hubert (Davis) and what he has been able to accomplish. He has had ups and downs this year, a lot of doubters and naysayers. At the end of the day, he’s won 20-plus games. Probably got the ACC Player of the Year this year in (Armando) Bacot. So I didn’t lose any sleep over that.”

That’s when things got interesting, and Stackhouse’s answer turned a bit light-hearted. He poked fun at Duke, bragging about the fact that he never lost to the Blue Devils during his tenure at UNC, while pointing out a postgame “temper tantrum” that took place on the sidelines. Stackhouse was referring to the handshake line, during which an upset Duke assistant coach, Chris Carrawell, appeared to completely brush off Davis’ postgame handshake.

“He (Coach K) had a temper tantrum at the end, so we (UNC) must have really got under (his) skin. That’s the way a Carolina-Duke rivalry is supposed to end,” Stackhouse said. “You’ve got assistants not shaking hands and those dudes — Carrawell and all those guys … Carrawell is a pretty good dude. That just shows you how that rivalry really means something. They were upset. I never lost over there. I don’t know what it feels like. I never lost to Duke period so I can toot my nose up a little bit more at them. But enough of (the UNC-Duke talk). Anchor Down!”

After his career with UNC, Stackhouse was selected with the third-overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He went on to play nearly 20 years in the NBA, scoring 16.9 points per contest, and was selected to two NBA All-Star teams in 2000 and 2001. Stackhouse got into coaching almost immediately after his retirement, taking a job as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors, and held three different NBA/G League coaching jobs over five seasons before being hired by Vanderbilt.