Breaking News:UNC Basketball Legend Gets the Boot in Nashville

Following five years at the helm, former UNC basketball superstar Jerry Stackhouse is no longer the head coach at Vanderbilt.

On Thursday, despite a contract extension less than two years ago, Vanderbilt announced that UNC basketball product Jerry Stackhouse will not be the Commodores’ head coach next season.

Fortunately for the 49-year-old, a former 18-year NBA journeyman wing, he has a considerable buyout coming his way.

This season, Stackhouse’s fifth at Vanderbilt, the Commodores finished 9-23 overall and 4-14 in SEC regular-season play. It ended in notably disappointing fashion, as the squad allowed Arkansas to overcome a 15-point deficit in the second half of their SEC Tournament opening-round clash on Wednesday. Vanderbilt fell in overtime, 90-85

There’s no telling yet what’s next for Jerry Stackhouse following his first job as head coach at the college level (he was the head coach of the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905, from 2016 to 2018). He posted a 70-92 overall record at Vanderbilt and never reached the NCAA Tournament.

I appreciate the opportunity that Vanderbilt gave me to broaden my experience with the sport that I love, and one that has blessed me in more ways than I can count,” said Stackhouse, a two-year UNC basketball sensation who earned consensus First Team All-American honors as a sophomore for the 1994-95 Tar Heels.

It’s been a privilege to serve as the head men’s basketball coach for the last five years. My staff and I depart here extremely thankful for every opportunity we’ve had to help our players grow and develop on and off the floor.

None of us have experience (winning the ACC Tournament), other than the coaches, and we feel like it’s right there for the taking. That’s why we’ve been playing so hard, and we all just want to end the season off right.” — UNC big man Armando Bacot on Thursday, when asked about the team’s “desperate” motivation and growing rallying cry for the ACC Tournament.

There’s no room for (complacency) in March, that’s how you end up going home. The theme for us is to always be hungry and never be satisfied. We always know there’s more to be done. … (That message) starts with Coach (Hubert) Davis, but it’s shared through everybody. Everybody in this locker room understands that and that’s one of the special things about this group. We’re on the same page, and it’s a good place to be, especially coming down the stretch.” — UNC guard Cormac Ryan on Thursday, after the ACC regular-season champion Tar Heels avoided suffering any sort of letdown by blasting Florida State 92-67 on Thursday in their tournament opener.

On a larger scale, since the NCAA Tournament field expanded in 1985, no national champion has failed to reached the semifinals of its conference tournament.