How "30 for 30" changed Jerry Stackhouse's perception of John Calipari

Jerry Stackhouse is one of the darlings of college basketball right now. After losing six of its first nine SEC games, Vanderbilt won nine of the last ten, a pivot that earned Stackhouse SEC Co-Coach of the Year honors and has the Dores in the NCAA Tournament conversation. One of those wins was vs. Kentucky last week at Rupp, Stackhouse’s first victory vs. the Cats and John Calipari in nine tries. Stackhouse didn’t downplay the moment’s significance afterward.

“You know, beating the king at his house, it is pretty special,” Stackhouse said. “I’ve got so much respect for Calipari, and what he’s built and what he’s done.”

The comments seemed to signify a shift in Stackhouse’s relationship with Calipari. While the two didn’t come across as full-blown enemies, they didn’t exactly seem like best friends either. In February 2021, Stackhouse famously brushed Calipari off in the handshake line following Kentucky’s win over the Commodores in Vanderbilt. A year later, Calipari did the same, which he chalked up to COVID precautions. They’re back to shaking hands after games now, but it’s safe to say they probably don’t exchange Christmas cards.

It wasn’t just beating Calipari that caused Stackhouse to soften. Ahead of tonight’s rematch with Kentucky, Stackhouse told reporters his perception of Calipari changed after watching “One and Not Done,” ESPN’s “30 for 30” on Cal and his career.

“I think a lot of it is just the respect for his longevity, his tenure. He’s one of those guys, I mean, I watched the ’30 for 30′ on him. I think I saw how he battled, how he cares about his players, cares about his guys. Kind of changed my perspective on him a little bit just from watching that, digging a little deeper in it.”

In fact, after watching the “30 for 30,” Stackhouse said he can see a little of himself in Calipari.

“You kind of see, you hear noise all the time about people, but until you kind of dig deep and kind of pull the layers back a little bit. That was fun to see. I kind of felt like I was in his shoes a little bit when he was playing Chaney and those guys, trying to beat them. You know what I’m saying? Kicked our ass quite a few times, and we finally got a chance to knock them off. I saw some parallels there.”

Stackhouse even approached Calipari during the offseason to extend an olive branch.

“Just when I saw him this summer, we were out recruiting. I just made my way over to him. I think he was getting in the car. I just told him I respected him, watched the ’30 for 30,’ had another level of respect for him after really not just seeing Cal and Kentucky, all this and that, the kings of the SEC. But able to see who he is, how he cares about his players, saw some parallels there.”

Hopefully, those parallels don’t include the Commodores upsetting the Cats again tonight.