Jerry Stackhouse shares the latest on Scotty Pippen Jr's intentions for NBA Draft

Jerry Stackhouse is still waiting for the big decision from his star guard Scotty Pippen Jr. On Monday, the Vanderbilt head coach joined 102.5’s Darren, Daunic and Chase Show and divulged the latest in Pippen’s decision-making process.

“We hope he makes his decision soon, because whether he comes back or not we still have to keep forging forward and be able to add a player in the transfer portal,” Stackhouse said. “Right now, we’ve got one scholarship available to go out and try to add to talent. Depending on what he decides to do, there could be an opportunity to do that with a couple of guys. There are definitely some quality guys that I feel like could come in and help us there. But obviously, more importantly, we’d love to have him back.”

This season was Pippen’s third at Vanderbilt. In his collegiate career, he’s averaged 17.4 points, 4.1 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game while playing an average of 31.3 minutes. This season, Pippen posted an impressive line of 20.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.9 steals in 33.1 minutes per game. He shot 41.6% from the field, and 32.5% from three-point range. Currently, ESPN has Pippen outside of their top 60 prospects for this year’s draft at No. 92 overall.

Stackhouse hopeful for Pippen’s return

Naturally, the Vanderbilt head coach would like to have Pippen for a fourth year, and right now, the projections look favorable.

“He could be really the most decorated player (in program history),” Stackhouse said. “He has got a chance to become the all-time leading scorer and do some things that probably not a lot of people thought he could do coming in here. He’s developed, and he has earned it. He has worked his way into becoming the player that he is. He’s a great citizen off the court. I think he really enjoys being in school. So we’ll wait and see. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.”

Before facing Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament, Kentucky head coach John Calipari described what makes Pippen so tough to guard. The conference’s coaches voted the Commodores PG first-team All-SEC.

“He’s really crafty,” Calipari said of Pippen. “And then offensively when he gets going, whether it’s shooting threes, he’s a great layup shooter, he creates space. He snakes in on pick and rolls. He’s really a crafty player with that ball.”