New Pitt basketball coach Stallings built to weather tumult

Shrinking revenues, layoffs and shabby play from football and men's basketball — the money sports — had turned the spring of 2003 dark and chilly for Vanderbilt athletics.

Amid the gloom, a newspaper poll asked who would be least likely to survive the hard times. With 32 percent of the vote, the choice was basketball coach Kevin Stallings, whose teams were 13-35 in the SEC during the past three seasons.

“That was tough,” said Illinois State coach Dan Muller, a Stallings assistant then. “Coach knew the pressure we were under. He told us we had to make the (NCAA) tournament or else. It had to be done.”

Muller said a preseason trip abroad helped solidify a senior-laden team. Also, Stallings took a risk, installing the complex Princeton offense. It was difficult to learn, said Muller, but it reflected Stallings' “courage and knowledge to see what our team was gonna be, and our challenges in the SEC. We knew this was our chance. If it didn't work, we were done.”

That season, 2003-04, the Commodores won 23 games, the most since 1993, made an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 1997 and advanced to the Sweet 16.

“We weren't the most-talented team in the league,” Muller said. “But we had enough talent and grit.”

Once thought soon to be kicked out the door, Stallings stayed a total of 17 seasons. On Monday, he was introduced as Pitt's coach.

As with former coach Jamie Dixon, there were recent disappointments and unhappy fans. Also like Dixon, Stallings' parting seemed to be mutual. His 332 victories are the most in school history. But as Vandy athletic director David Williams said Monday, “When it's time, it's time.”

Muller was a top defensive guard for Stallings at Illinois State. He joined the Vanderbilt staff in 2001 and took over at his alma mater in 2012. Muller learned from Stallings “how to build a program, and do it with integrity,” he said. “It's about the relationships with the players. Tell the truth in recruiting and hopefully get kids in the program who do it the right way.”

On Monday, a nasty cold combined with exhorting his team into the Final Four over the weekend had shaved the voice of North Carolina coach Roy Williams to a hoarse rasp. But his endorsement of Stallings rang loud and clear.

“Kevin Stallings is one of the best basketball coaches there is, period,” Williams said.

A solid guard at Purdue, Stallings worked there under coach Gene Keady. He went to Kansas in 1988 and stayed through Williams' first five seasons as the Jayhawks' coach.

“Kevin was just sensational for us, particularly on the offensive end,” Williams said. “He was a tireless recruiter. He'd make 50 phone calls to get to the right one. I loved that tireless feeling that he was doing the same thing I was doing. And he's gotten better and better at what he's been doing defensively.”

Williams said playing Pitt was like “a junkyard dog street fight,” tough and physical. Stallings will bring “a different brand of basketball” to Pitt, he said.

“Jamie's teams were tough as nails. With Kevin, you're gonna see the precision of how they play offensively, the way they use the 3-point shot, and how they get after people defensively. But it's more of changing defensive styles. It's gonna be multiple styles defensively, and offensively it's gonna be great passing and a lot of 3-point shots if they can shoot it. They're gonna run the ball.”

Keady and Williams “have had an immeasurable impact, not only on my coaching philosophy and system, but also on my life,” Stallings said at his introductory news conference. “They taught me it's much more important to care about the student-athletes than to care about their play.”

Williams said he and Stallings frequently texted while Stallings pondered the Pitt offer. At Carolina, Williams said he “recruited” Stallings' son to play baseball for the Tar Heels. Drafted by the Pirates in the seventh round in 2012, catcher Jacob Stallings played for Double-A Altoona last season.

“I have a great deal of respect for Kevin,” Williams said. “My gosh.”

Williams said he was aware of the criticism being leveled at Stallings, not just locally but at the national level. Williams urged patience.

“You know what works? The test of time,” he said.

Stallings might like to speed up the pace on the court, but over the long haul, “he's a plugger,” Williams said. “He's not a sprinter. He's a marathon guy. And that's the way he'll do it, and people will enjoy watching his teams play and they'll be happy to have him.”

Belmont coach Rick Byrd called Stallings “really an intelligent person, a pretty deep thinker, an analyzer.” They are not just friends, but neighbors, too. Or at least they were. The Belmont and Vanderbilt campuses in Nashville, Tenn., are nearly adjacent, and the two often had lunch together, “moving the salt shakers around and devising plays,” Byrd said.

“He's very good with X's and O's, in my opinion,” said Byrd, who just completed his 31th season at Belmont (36th overall). “I think people who coach against Kevin will tell you that, even though there were fans and people who weren't happy with where (the Commodores) were. But I think every coach in the SEC is happy he's leaving, because he has tremendous respect from people as a coach.”

Byrd said Stallings' low-key public persona is a marked contrast to that of James Franklin, who coached Vanderbilt football for three seasons before going to Penn State in 2014. That makes Stallings at times seem distant, said Byrd, but that's not the case. (In an email, Franklin said, “I am very happy for Kevin and his family. I enjoyed working with Kevin and wish him nothing but success in the future.”)

“James Franklin came here as a football coach and he was out and about, and Vanderbilt football needed that,” Byrd said. “Kevin's not a showman. People don't know him personally. He will want very badly for Pittsburgh basketball players to reflect positively on the university. When you really get to know him, you realize what a good person he is, and what a good personality he has. Some guys are just warmer and fuzzier than others.”

Staff writer Jerry DiPaola contributed to this report. Bob Cohn is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. Reach him at bcohn@tribweb.com or via Twitter@BCohn_Trib.