Kevin Stallings

Kevin E. Stallings (born October 1, 1960) is a former American basketball coach, who formerly served as the head coach at Illinois State University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Pittsburgh.

He was an assistant coach at Purdue University and the University of Kansas.

Stallings was born in Collinsville, Illinois.

He graduated from Collinsville High School in Collinsville, Illinois in 1978, where he played guard (6'5", 190 lbs.) for four years under legendary coach Vergil Fletcher and won three conference championships. The Kahoks went 30–1 his junior season and lost to De La Salle in the first round of the Illinois state tournament, 67–66. In his senior season, the Kahoks finished 28–3 and finished third in the state tournament. They lost in the semi-finals 55–53 to eventual champion Lockport Central, who finished the season 33–0. Stallings still holds Collinsville records for career assists (665), season assists (284) and season steals (146). Stallings was named All-State following his junior (1976–77) and senior (1977–78) seasons.

After a year at Belleville Area College in Belleville, Illinois, where his team went 28–9 and made the NJCAA tournament, Stallings enrolled at Purdue and played three years.

His first season, the Boilermakers finished with a 27–8 record under coach Lee Rose and reached the NCAA Final Four.

Purdue reached the NIT Final Four in Stallings’ junior and senior seasons, Gene Keady's first two seasons at the helm of the Boilermakers.

Stallings started 17 games his senior season and averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 assists per game.

Stallings received a bachelor's degree in business management in 1982 and a master's degree in counseling in 1984, both from Purdue.

After graduation in 1982, Stallings began as assistant coach at Purdue under Gene Keady.

From 1982 to 1988, Purdue amassed a 140–44 record, winning three Big Ten Championships (two shared and one outright) and reaching the NCAA Tournament all six years.

The Redbirds beat Tennessee 82–81 in overtime in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Sacramento, California, before losing to 4th-ranked Arizona in the second round 82–49.

Following the season, Stallings was named MVC coach of the year.

The highlight was a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1988, when the Boilermakers finished 29–4 and earned a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In the summer of 1988, Stallings was hired by Roy Williams, who had taken over at Kansas after Larry Brown's surprising NCAA Tournament championship.

During the next five seasons, the Jayhawks compiled a 132–38 record and reached four NCAA Tournaments.

They advanced to the Final Four twice.

In 1991, they lost to Duke in the finals, 72–65, while in 1993, they lost in the semifinals to North Carolina, 78–68.

In 1993, Stallings became the 15th head coach at Illinois State following Bob Bender's move to the University of Washington.

The Redbirds went 123–63 during his six-year tenure and reached the NCAA Tournament and the NIT twice each.

His winning percentage of .661 is the highest ever by an Illinois State coach who coached at least five years.

They lost to Washington State 83–80 in the second round of the 1995 NIT.

In 1995–96, the Redbirds (22–12 overall, 13–5 MVC) again finished second in the MVC and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT, where they lost to Tulane 83–72.

In 1996–97, Illinois State (24–6, 14–4) won the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and tournament to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1990.

The Redbirds lost to Iowa State in the first round 69–57 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

In 1997–98, led by MVC player of the year Rico Hill (18.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Dan Muller (13.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Illinois State (25–6, 16–2) swept the MVC regular season and tournament titles for the second consecutive year.

Stallings became head coach at Vanderbilt in 1999, replacing Jan van Breda Kolff.

In his first season, the Commodores rebounded from a 14–15 record to finish 19–11 (Southeastern Conference: 8–8).

They were led by SEC Player of the Year Dan Langhi, who led the SEC with 22.1 points per game.

The Commodores slipped to 15–15 (SEC: 4–12) in 2000–01 and missed the postseason, although Matt Freije became only the fifth Commodore to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

In 2001–02, they improved marginally to 17–15 (SEC: 6–10).

Wins at Tennessee and against No. 11 Kentucky in the final week helped Vanderbilt secure an NIT berth.

They beat Houston 59–50 in the opening round before losing in the next.

Freije earned third-team All-SEC honors, and Brian Thornton became the sixth Commodore to be named to the SEC All-Freshman team.

In 2002–03, Stallings suffered the first losing season of his career, when the Commodores slumped to 11–18 (SEC: 3–13).

Freije was named second-team All-SEC by the league's coaches.

In 2003–04, Stallings led the Commodores to a 23–10 record (SEC: 8–8) and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

The Commodores had a 66–60 regular season win over No. 4 Kentucky and knocked off No. 9 Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament before losing to Florida in the semi-finals.

Following a 16–11 (Missouri Valley Conference: 12–6, 4th) record his first season, Stallings led Illinois State a 20–13 record (MVC: 13–5, 2nd) in his second year.

After losing four starters, the Redbirds fell back to 16–15 (MVC: 7–11, 7th) in Stallings’ final year.