Commodores Season Opening Win A Big One

The Vanderbilt men's basketball team got the season started on a good note, and coach Jerry Stackhouse opened his post game press conference with a comment in jest that says a lot.
Commodores Season Opening Win A Big One
Commodores Season Opening Win A Big One /

"878 more and then I'll tie Coach (Dean) Smith, so we're well on our way," said Stackhouse as his opening comment of his first press conference following the first win as head coach at Vanderbilt.   

Smith, the legendary coach of The University of North Carolina recruited Stachouse to Chapel Hill and coached him from 1993-95 where he earned All-AMerican honors and was a first round selection in the NBA Draft. 

While Stackhouse is a lifetime of wins away from catching Smith, that comment in jest tells one all they need to know of the Commodores head coach. 

Stackhouse is a basketball lifer, having grown up playing, through college and 18 years in the NBA before becoming an assistant coach in the league just two seasons after retiring as a player. 

He knows the game, it's history and respects the college game and those who came before him. None of this means he will surpass Smith or any other top coach for wins in his career, but it shows he knows where he's aiming. 

This Commodore squad is not the most talented, or best team ever to wear the black & gold, but it appears to be a team of hard workers, ready to be coached and to hustle and give their all for their team.

On Tuesday a gathering of media folks who cover the Commodores- myslef included- were sitting at a table in the visiting media room inside Vanderbilt Stadium awaiting the weekly press conference for football coach Derek Mason when the subject of the basketball team and its schedule arose. 

I'm no genious and am the newest member of this group, and so I'm not taking credit when not due, so when one member of the discussion shared his thoughts on the schedule, I took note.

That thought is that whomever compiled this seasons schedule did a masterful job. It might not be the most entertaining for fans with no big name, top 25 matchups in the early season schedule. Instead it's packed with teams like SEMO and Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

That might not make much sense when considering that playing tougher competion usually tends to help a team improve, but when that team struggled to the level the Commodores did last season, and with the new additions, getting games that this group can win seems like a great idea. 

Things get tougher as the schedule moves to teams that are NIT caliber before entering SEC play where the Commodores will see Kentucky twice, UT and Auburn among the rest of the conference. 

It's going to be difficult for this team to win manty conference games against the likes of those teams mentioned, so getting wins early and building confidence should help theis group, and show improvement from a season ago as Stackhouse and his staff work on their first full recruiting class of their tenure. 

Recruiting for the future seems like the most important thing that can happen this season. It's the only way Stack will have a chance to sniff those other 878.     


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Greg Arias
GREG ARIAS

A 29 year veteran of radio in the Middle Tennessee area and 16 years in digital and internet media having covered the Tennessee Titans for Scout Media and TitanInsider.com before joining the Sports Illustrated family of networks.