Rick Barnes shares his thoughts on Jerry Stackhouse, says Vanderbilt could make NCAA Tournament

Rick Barnes has had Jerry Stackhouse‘s number since the former NBA All-Star took over at Vanderbilt.

Tuesday’s win over the Commodores moved Tennessee to 7-0 over their in-state SEC foe since the start of the 2019-2020 season. But even with the rivalry between the two foes, Barnes has been very complimentary of the job Stackhouse has been doing in Nashville.

That continued once again after the game this week.

“It takes time and you gotta get fortunate too,” Barnes said of Stackhouse. “You do. You think about it, if Scottie Pippen was still there, they would probably be picked top three teams in the league and that hurts…What he does a great job of is developing players. How many new players does he have this year. He’s lost some, obviously, through the portal, which we all do. But what impresses me about him is how his team continues to get better. It’ll happen. I mean could happen this year.”

In Tuesday’s game, Vanderbilt actually lead by two points at the half before a second-half serge from the Volunteers put the game in their command.

The starting unit struggled for the Commordores but Stackhouse got some inspired play from his bench. Three players finished in double figures in the loss and the team’s five leading scorers all started the game on the bench.

“They had their way with us as much as any team we’ve played in a while,” Barnes said. “They ran, did what they wanted to do. I love the demeanor his team plays with. He’s terrific doing his part coming out of the timeouts. His teams execute better than our team. That’s on me because his team’s execute exactly what he wants them to do. Most of the time, they get the shot that he wants them to get.”

Rick Barnes believes Jerry Stackhouse can lead Vanderbilt to NCAA tourney

This is Stackhouse’s fourth season with the Commodores and is looking for their first NCAA tournament appearance — although they did make the NIT last season.

But they are only 8-8 this campaign with a 1-2 SEC record. Barnes still believes the team is moving forward with its progress and momentum.

“I go back, it took us three years here before I thought we were in a position to be competitive,” Barnes said. “I know this, the guy can coach basketball. He can. It’s neat watching his team. I was talking to TV people today earlier, and I said it’s amazing how his team’s taken on his personality where they’re not gonna quit. They’re gonna keep going. I just think it’s a matter of time. His team here that he’s got right now, they can put themselves in position to get to the NCAA tournament this year, Because this league, I don’t care what anybody says. It’s as wide open as it’s been since I’ve been here. Some team can get on a roll and go and it can be a number of teams.”