Chris Tomasson
There are only three head coaches in the NBA who have never coached anywhere else. Jerry Stackhouse wants to join that club.
The Atlanta guard said he would like to be a broadcaster for awhile before he becomes an NBA head coach.
“I kind of like the Mark Jackson blueprint,’’ he said. “His blueprint is ideal.’’
Jackson is in his first season coaching Golden State. He was a television analyst after his playing career ended in 2004.
The
other NBA bosses who have no prior coaching experience are Boston’s Doc
Rivers, who took over Orlando in 1999, three years after his playing
career ended, and Houston’s Kevin McHale. But McHale had been in
Minnesota’s front office for a decade before he got his first crack at
coaching as the Timberwolves' interim boss in 2004-05.
Stackhouse,
37, also believes he could become an NBA head coach without being an
NBA assistant or coaching anywhere else. He believes his 17-year playing
career has provided him with the ability to run a team.
“When
you’ve (spent) as much time as I’ve had in this league, I think that
speaks for something,’’ Stackhouse said. “I’m not going to say that,
kind of those grunt years, aren’t something meaningful. But I think that
in a sense I’m doing that now. I think I’m ready to (to be a head coach
after) maybe a year away from the players.’’
Stackhouse figures
he’s played the role of an assistant this season with the Hawks. He’s
played in just 17 games, averaging 3.6 points, while spending plenty of
time mentoring teammates.
Over the past four seasons, Stackhouse
has appeared in just 76 games. He missed most of 2008-09 with Dallas due
to an injury, played a half season with Milwaukee in 2009-10 and was
out of the NBA for the rest of the year after a seven-game stint to
start last season with Miami.
Stackhouse then was an analyst for
NBA TV. When his playing career ends, which could be after this season,
Stackhouse might go back to television work. But he’s hoping he might
not be there long before becoming an NBA head coach.
“From my
group (of Hawks teammates), the way they responded to me, I think I can
get a positive response (from players as a head coach),’’ Stackhouse
said. “Because I know the coaches that I’ve played for, the pieces that
I’ve picked from all of them, that I’ve got a system that works . . . I
honestly feel I’ve got enough in my bag with the right pieces around
me.’’
Stackhouse has had a varied career, having been an All-Star
with Detroit in 2000 and 2001 and a deep reserve the past two seasons.
Heat guard James Jones, Stackhouse's teammate last season, believes that
could help Stackhouse become an NBA head coach without any coaching
experience.
"I’ve gotten a chance to know Stack personally and
I’ve had a chance to see his progression as a player. He knows the game .
. . It’s not like (he’s still playing) for financial reasons. He’s here
more because he wants the experience, as much experience as possible so
he can carry it to the stage of his next basketball development. . .
He’s played every position, every role (in the NBA), from starter to
franchise guy to an injured-reserve, training-camp guy.’’
Stay tuned to see if his next role with an NBA team will be as head coach.
