Vanderbilt basketball: Jerry Stackhouse, Scotty Pippen Jr. proud of Commodores' improvement in 2021-22

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Robbie WeinsteinMar 22nd, 2022, 11:32 PM

After 36 games over five full months of action, Vanderbilt's 2021-22 men's basketball season came to an end on Tuesday night at Xavier in the NIT quarterfinals. The Commodores nearly won as many games as the last two seasons combined by going 19-17, and they surged down the stretch with better health despite not playing their best against the Musketeers.

Scotty Pippen Jr. posted 28 points, 9 rebounds and seven assists in what could be his last game with the program, while Myles Stute and Jordan Wright appropriately finished career-best seasons with 12 points and 11 points respectively. Vanderbilt will now enter the offseason with roster change certain to come — the 'Dores do not have enough scholarships available for all four of their 2022 signees as things currently stand, meaning current players will have to transfer.

Unlike last offseason, however, Vanderbilt has real momentum and a winning record to show for it as it recruits transfers. Pippen's likely departure could open up a lot of shots for talented guards in particular.

After the loss, coach Jerry Stackhouse and Pippen both spoke with reporters via Zoom from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati; below is a transcript of their comments, lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

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Jerry Stackhouse

On Vanderbilt's late-game offense:

Stackhouse: "We got to the line a little bit. We got some shots, we got some looks that we wanted that didn't go in. I thought more than anything, it was just our defense. We got some separation there, got the ball in the paint to Liam. He was operating well. I wanted to get inside the paint with him. He had a shot that came out on him. Scotty he had a couple of baskets there. I thought there was a couple of times he got fouled in there and it wasn't called, but you gotta expect that when you're on the road. You've gotta try to play through contact.

"But for the most part, I thought they attacked us. They beat us off the dribble a couple of times. They were getting into the paint, they were finishing. We were getting into the paint, and we weren't able to convert. So that was the difference in the game. But still a real highly contested game on both ends. The game was pretty even. Had some free throws, opportunities that maybe could have changed the game, but they missed a number of free throws too. The game was in the balance, we had an opportunity to win the game, but they did a little bit more than we did tonight."

On if he had multiple options on the final play:

Stackhouse: "Yeah, we had a look if it was something over the top where we could try to get maybe a lob opportunity for Tyrin, but they played it pretty good. Just hard going away from the basket for a right-handed guy — where we had the ball spotted at, it was kind of tough to get it there for him. But he had a look at possibly a Hail Mary pla,y but it was a tough look. I thought we executed it pretty good. He was able to get the ball. Rod (Chatman) made a good pass, but just not enough time. Ran out of time."

On the season overall:

Stackhouse: "I thought it was good. Again, we had some challenges — as all teams have. We were hit with the injury bug a little bit, trying to get some guys back. Once some guys got healthy, then some other guys went down. But for the most part I thought our guys just stayed together and it kept battling. We knew that we were eventually going to find a stretch if we continued to do the things that we've been working on, coming into practice hard, just using different things. We used you as some motivation. Right before we went to tournament, you said that you thought there's no way we were going to be playing on Friday and you didn't see us doing much. So I clipped that out, and I showed it to them, and we did play on Friday. We did some things. We're proud of what we've been able to accomplish. We stayed together. We stayed the course, and that's what we will continue to do."

On if the short turnaround affected Chatman with the hamstring injury:

Stackhouse: "Could possibly. I thought he had some looks. He tried to draw a foul on that 3. I would just rather him try to get a shot up on the board. We're not getting those types of calls on the road. Maybe if we were at home, you maybe get that marginal type of call. But you're not gonna get that on the road. I thought there were a number of marginal calls that could have went our way, but it didn't. You can't even expect them on the road. But I don't think there's any excuse for it. He just didn't have his best game tonight on either end, but it's disappointing because this is the last game of his career. But he's gonna play a lot more basketball. I'm sure that him not being as healthy as he could be probably played into that a little bit, but I thought he did some some good things out there for us tonight."

On the program's next few weeks:

Stackhouse: "Well, I think for us it's just to decompress a little bit. We take a little bit of time, but then we start having our exit meetings and sitting down with guys talking about how the season went for them, kind of the outlook going forward. Then as a staff we'll be trying to plan to take another step. We still gotta continue to get better. I think the thing is, when you're building like we're building, you remember those tough moments. You remember those tough stretches of growth and disappointment that we had early on, kind of those growing pains. And we know that we don't want to go back to those. So I think that's the recipe — not wanting to feel those moments again and staying motivated and coming back and really taking another step in our development. There's another level that we can go to of working, another level that we can go to as far as competing, and I think that that's a challenge for us to continue to take those steps."

On Pippen:

Stackhouse: "Scotty has been great for us since he has been here. He has been the epitome of a kid that really worked on his game, worked on his body. He's a great citizen. He's a great student. He has done everything that we've asked for him, and if this is his last game, he has had a helluva career here for us and been a big part of what we have been able to accomplish to this point. But for him, he has an opportunity to come back, whether that happens or not. I think if he comes back, he has a chance to become the most decorated player in Vanderbilt basketball history. And that says a lot.

"So I think that he did accomplished a lot this year. Did something as far as the single-season scoring (record), something that probably will stand for a long time. But again, like I said, if he makes a decision that he wants some more, that he's enjoying what's going on here. But we totally understand. That was kind of our outlook coming back this season — that he would come in, play another year and give himself a chance to possibly go in the NBA Draft this year. That's what we talked about, and I thought he has done everything he could to help himself do so. We're hoping that that happens for him. But again, those are decisions that he and his family have to make and we'll just stay back and watch. I'm not going to try to encourage one way or the other.

"Last year I felt that he probably needed to come back. He had some unfinished business that he needed to take care of. But I don't know if that's to be said after this season. So I'm just gonna leave it up to them. If he comes back, again, we might have to shuffle the deck a little bit again, because we've got four guys coming in in the class. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I just want to thank our fans that traveled here today to support us, thank them for coming out and thank everybody that supported us this year. And thank you guys for putting up with us in the good times, the bad times. It's not always easy after the heat of the battle to sit up here and answer questions. I appreciate your patience with us and thank you for having that patience."

On getting to the postseason:

Stackhouse: "I think it's huge to get a taste of it. Again, I think that's what you want. You want these disappointing times so you don't want to feel like this again. So if you get these opportunities, these moments, again, you just dig down a little bit deeper and try to get over the hump. I just think that that's why you want to put yourself in a position to maybe have that home-court advantage. I think that was the difference in the game. I think if we're home, we have our crowd and our excitement, we probably win this game. But they had the excitement. They had the momentum. They had had a little more energy than we did right there toward the end. But like I said, I think we took some some steps this year. It's hard to really realize right now because we're disappointed. But I think once we take a few days and kind of reflect on what we've been able to accomplish over this season and over the last couple of seasons that we know that we're headed in the right direction and we'll continue to build from there."

Scotty Pippen Jr.

On the late-game offense:

Pippen: "I would say things didn't go our way. There's a couple of marginal calls that I think we usually get, especially myself — a lot of calls I usually going to the basket that led to them getting breaks, led to them getting shots. I think they just had a flow, especially with the crowd getting into it, them middle shots and it kind of just took us out of rhythm offensively."

On where the program is now relative to the end of last season:

Pippen: "I think we're in a much better spot. Especially this is our first postseason in multiple years. The guys feel good about this season. It didn't end the way we wanted it to end. We didn't get to go to New York. But at the end of the day, it was a 19-win season and I think every year I've been here we have improved and improved. Especially the players that have been here, we've all grown up together. So I think although it's a disappointing end to the season, there was a lot of good to look back at."

On the final shot:

Pippen: "It was a gate-action play for me to get a 3. They're a big team. They had a lot of length around me. So when I caught the ball, I didn't really get a clean look. I kind of had to turn. I wasn't really facing the basket, so I didn't get the look kind of wanted. Credit to them. They had a good defensive scheme by putting the center on the ball, so it kind of made the pass tougher and then the catch tough. I was kind of on my heels. It was a tough shot."

On how he would characterize his career at Vanderbilt:

Pippen: "That's a deep question. I haven't really thought about that. But I think someone that has changed the program. I think if you look back when I first came here, it was the worst team in the SEC, an 0-18 team. I think we've improved, and I think we've had a bigger jump than any team in the SEC. I've had a great career. I don't know if it's my last game. This isn't the way I wanted to go out, but when you look back at it, there's a lot of good things I did myself as well as this team. I just want to thank all the fans that supported me, the coaching staff and everyone that has been a part of my journey here. It has been a great ride, but we'll see."

On how his process of deciding whether to turn pro will go:

Pippen: "After the season, after we kind of soak up this loss, I'll probably go back to hash it out in our exit meeting with Coach Stackhouse, hear what he has to say and then tell him how I feel. Then from there I'll probably do my draft training and see. I don't know yet. I'm still soaking in this loss, and I'll make those decisions coming soon."

This article originates on Vandy247.