Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball

Vanderbilt Commodores
2021–22 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team
University	Vanderbilt University
Head coach	Jerry Stackhouse (3rd season)
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
Arena	Memorial Gymnasium (capacity: 14,316)
Nickname	Commodores
Student section	Memorial Maniacs
Colors	Black and gold
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1965
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1965, 1974, 1988, 1993, 2004, 2007
NCAA tournament round of 32
1988, 1993, 2004, 2007, 2012
NCAA tournament appearances
1965, 1974, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017
Conference tournament champions
1927, 1951, 2012
Conference regular season champions
1920, 1965, 1974, 1993

The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Commodores have won three SEC regular-season titles (1965, 1974 and 1993) and two SEC Tournament championships (1951 and 2012). They have competed in 15 NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once (1965) and the Sweet Sixteen six times (1965, 1974, 1988, 1993, 2004, and 2007). Vanderbilt has played in 11 National Invitation Tournaments, winning it in 1990 and finishing runners-up in 1994.

Vanderbilt has lost 10 consecutive games to its big brother, the University of Tennessee Volunteers.

Memorial Gymnasium

Main article: Memorial Gymnasium (Vanderbilt University)

The Commodores play their home games in Memorial Gymnasium. Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s. It was dedicated as the campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II; a plaque commemorating those who died is displayed in the gym's north lobby.

At the time of the gym's construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics and refocus on its academic program. As a compromise between those who advocated increased athletics competition and those who argued in favor of de-emphasis, the gymnasium was built to hold only about 9,000 seats, and it would be readily adaptable to other uses—significantly, as a possible concert hall.

Consequently, the gymnasium floor was built up above its surroundings, more in the nature of a stage. The areas out of bounds along the sidelines were very wide, in contrast with the small facility which it replaced, where the walls were right along the sidelines and players could scrape their shoulders bringing the ball up the court. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, which was not highly unusual at the time.

In addition, each goal was anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gym's ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, compared to the usual goal setup at most venues.

Memorial Gym is well known for its unusual design. The end-of-the-floor bench location is now unique in major college basketball, and SEC coaches who travel to Memorial, along with coaches from other schools who have played at Vanderbilt as a post-season venue, have said that the unusual setup gives Vanderbilt a tremendous home court advantage, since no other facility in which opponents play is arranged in such a way.

Year-by-year season records

Season	Head coach	Overall win	Overall loss	Overall pct.	Conf. win	Conf. loss	Conf. pct.	Conf. pos.	Postseason
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1900–01	W. D. Weatherford	2	2	.500
1901–02	W. D. Weatherford	5	2	.714
1902–03	Grinnell Jones	6	0	1.000
1903–04	J. Hamilton	6	1	.857
1904–05	No team	0	0	.000
1905–06	No scores recorded	0	0	.000
1906–07	J. N. (Stein) Stone	6	1	.857
1907–08	W. L. Throop	6	10	.375
1908–09	E. J. Hamilton	11	4	.733
1909–10	R. B McGehee	10	3	.769
1910–11	Carl (Zeke) Martin	8	2	.800
1911–12	Carl (Zeke) Martin	9	9	.500
1912–13	Oscar G. Nelson	3	4	.429
1913–14	G. T. Denton	6	3	.667
1914–15	G. T. Denton	6	6	.500
1915–16	G. T. Denton	11	3	.786
1916–17	G. T. Denton	3	8	.273
1917–18	Ralph Palmer	6	3	.667
1918–19	Ralph Palmer	8	2	.800
1919–20	G. T. Denton	14	4	.778
1920–21	G. T. Denton	8	13	.381
1921–22	Wallace Wade	8	8	.500
Southern Conference
1922–23	Wallace Wade	16	8	.667	2	0	1.000
1923–24	Josh Cody	7	15	.318	1	3	.250
1924–25	Josh Cody	12	13	.480	4	3	.571
1925–26	Josh Cody	8	18	.308	2	7	.222
1926–27	Josh Cody	20	4	.833	7	1	.875		Southern Conference Tournament Champions
1927–28	Johnny (Red) Floyd	5	7	.417	2	5	.286
1928–29	Johnny (Red) Floyd	4	12	.250	2	5	.286
1929–30	Garland Morrow	6	16	.273	1	9	.100
1930–31	Garland Morrow	16	8	.667	7	7	.500
1931–32	Josh Cody	8	11	.421	5	7	.417
Southeastern Conference
1932–33	Josh Cody	14	8	.636	11	5	.688	(3rd)
1933–34	Josh Cody	11	6	.647	8	5	.615	(5th)
1934–35	Josh Cody	9	11	.450	9	6	.600	(4th)
1935–36	Josh Cody	9	14	.391	9	4	.692	(2nd)
1936–37	Jim Buford	6	10	.375	3	7	.375	(11th)
1937–38	Jim Buford	9	12	.429	4	8	.333	(10th)
1938–39	Jim Buford	14	7	.667	7	5	.583	(6th)
1939–40	Jim Buford	10	12	.455	5	7	.417	(10th)
1940–41	Jim Buford	8	9	.471	3	9	.250	(11th)
1941–42	Norm Cooper	7	9	.438	3	8	.273	(t-9th)
1942–43	Norm Cooper	10	8	.556	9	7	.563	(6th)
1943–44	Smokey Harper	12	3	.800	0	0	.000		No formal SEC schedule
1944–45	Garland Morrow	6	6	.500	0	0	.000		No formal SEC schedule
1945–46	Garland Morrow	3	10	.231	2	5	.286	(9th)
1946–47	Norm Cooper	7	8	.467	4	7	.364	(8th)
1947–48	Bob Polk	8	14	.364	4	11	.267	(12th)
1948–49	Bob Polk	14	8	.636	9	5	.643	(4th)
1949–50	Bob Polk	17	8	.680	11	3	.786	(2nd)
1950–51	Bob Polk	19	8	.704	10	4	.714	(t-2nd)
1951–52	Bob Polk	18	9	.667	9	5	.643	(t-2nd)	SEC Tournament Champions
1952–53	Bob Polk	10	9	.526	5	8	.385	(t-7th)
1953–54	Bob Polk	12	10	.545	5	9	.357	(t-8th)
1954–55	Bob Polk	16	6	.727	9	5	.643	(t-3rd)
1955–56	Bob Polk	19	4	.826	11	3	.786	(3rd)
1956–57	Bob Polk	17	5	.773	10	4	.714	(2nd)
1957–58	Bob Polk	14	11	.560	7	7	.500	(7th)
1958–59	Roy Skinner (acting)	14	10	.583	8	6	.571	(t-5th)
1959–60	Bob Polk	14	9	.609	7	7	.500	(t-6th)
1960–61	Bob Polk	19	5	.792	10	4	.714	(t-2nd)
1961–62	Roy Skinner	12	12	.500	6	8	.429	(t-6th)
1962–63	Roy Skinner	16	7	.696	9	5	.643	(4th)
1963–64	Roy Skinner	19	6	.760	8	6	.571	(t-4th)
1964–65	Roy Skinner	24	4	.857	15	1	.938	(1st)	NCAA Elite Eight
1965–66	Roy Skinner	22	4	.846	13	3	.813	(2nd)
1966–67	Roy Skinner	21	5	.808	14	4	.778	(t-2nd)
1967–68	Roy Skinner	20	6	.769	12	6	.667	(3rd)
1968–69	Roy Skinner	15	11	.577	9	9	.500	(t-5th)
1969–70	Roy Skinner	12	14	.462	8	10	.444	(6th)
1970–71	Roy Skinner	13	13	.500	9	9	.500	(t-4th)
1971–72	Roy Skinner	16	10	.615	10	8	.556	(4th)
1972–73	Roy Skinner	20	6	.769	13	5	.722	(t-2nd)
1973–74	Roy Skinner	23	5	.821	15	3	.833	(t-1st)	NCAA Sweet 16
1974–75	Roy Skinner	15	11	.577	10	8	.556	(5th)
1975–76	Roy Skinner	16	11	.593	12	6	.667	(3rd)
1976–77	Wayne Dobbs	10	16	.385	6	12	.333	(t-6th)
1977–78	Wayne Dobbs	10	17	.370	6	12	.333	(8th)
1978–79	Wayne Dobbs	18	9	.667	11	7	.611	(t-3rd)
1979–80	Richard Schmidt	13	13	.500	7	11	.389	(t-6th)
1980–81	Richard Schmidt	15	14	.517	7	11	.389	(7th)
1981–82	C. M. Newton	15	13	.536	7	11	.389	(t-7th)
1982–83	C. M. Newton	19	14	.576	9	9	.500	(t-4th)	NIT Second Round
1983–84	C. M. Newton	14	15	.483	8	10	.444	(t-7th)
1984–85	C. M. Newton	11	17	.393	4	14	.222	(10th)
1985–86	C. M. Newton	13	15	.464	7	11	(.389	7th)
1986–87	C. M. Newton	18	16	.529	7	11	(.389	t-8th)	NIT Quarterfinals
1987–88	C. M. Newton	20	11	.645	10	8	.556	(t-4th)	NCAA Sweet 16
1988–89	C. M. Newton	19	14	.576	12	6	.667	(t-2nd)	NCAA First Round
1989–90	Eddie Fogler	21	14	.600	7	11	.389	(t-7th)	NIT Champions
1990–91	Eddie Fogler	17	13	.567	11	7	.611	(4th)	NCAA First Round
Southeastern Conference (Eastern Division)
1991–92	Eddie Fogler	15	15	.500	6	10	.375	(5th)	NIT First Round
1992–93	Eddie Fogler	28	6	.824	14	2	.875	(1st)	NCAA Sweet 16
1993–94	Jan van Breda Kolff	20	12	.625	9	7	.563	(3rd)	NIT Runners-up
1994–95	Jan van Breda Kolff	13	15	.464	6	10	.375	(4th)
1995–96	Jan van Breda Kolff	18	14	.563	7	9	.563	(4th)	NIT Second Round
1996–97	Jan van Breda Kolff	19	12	.613	9	7	.563	(4th)	NCAA First Round
1997–98	Jan van Breda Kolff	20	13	.606	7	9	.438	(t-4th)	NIT Quarterfinals
1998–99	Jan van Breda Kolff	14	15	.483	5	11	.313	(5th)
1999–2000	Kevin Stallings	19	11	.633	8	8	.500	(4th)	NIT First Round
2000–01	Kevin Stallings	15	15	.500	4	12	.250	(6th)
2001–02	Kevin Stallings	17	15	.531	6	10	.375	(t-5th)	NIT Second Round
2002–03	Kevin Stallings	11	18	.379	3	13	.188	(6th)
2003–04	Kevin Stallings	23	10	.697	8	8	.500	(t-3rd)	NCAA Sweet 16
2004–05	Kevin Stallings	20	14	.588	8	8	.500	(3rd)	NIT Quarterfinals
2005–06	Kevin Stallings	17	13	.567	7	9	.438	(4th)	NIT First Round
2006–07	Kevin Stallings	22	12	.647	10	6	.625	(2nd)	NCAA Sweet 16
2007–08	Kevin Stallings	26	8	.765	10	6	.625	(3rd)	NCAA First Round
2008–09	Kevin Stallings	19	12	.613	8	8	.500	(t-4th)
2009–10	Kevin Stallings	24	9	.727	12	4	.750	(2nd)	NCAA First Round
2010–11	Kevin Stallings	23	11	.676	9	7	.563	(3rd)	NCAA Second Round
Southeastern Conference
2011–12	Kevin Stallings	25	11	.694	10	6	.625	(t-2nd)	SEC Tournament Champions, NCAA Third Round
2012–13	Kevin Stallings	16	17	.485	8	10	.444	(10th)
2013–14	Kevin Stallings	15	15	.500	7	11	.389	(t-10th)
2014–15	Kevin Stallings	21	14	.600	9	9	.500	(7th)	NIT Quarterfinals
2015–16	Kevin Stallings	19	14	.576	11	7	.611	(7th)	NCAA First Four
2016–17	Bryce Drew	19	16	.543	10	8	.556	(t-5th)	NCAA First Round
2017–18	Bryce Drew	12	20	.375	6	12	.333	(13th)
2018–19	Bryce Drew	9	23	.290	0	18	.000	(14th)
2019–20	Jerry Stackhouse	11	20	.355	3	15	.167	(14th)
2020–21	Jerry Stackhouse	9	16	.360	3	13	.188	(14th)
Total overall record		1,631	1,194	.577	711	673	.514		15 NCAA Appearances, 12 NIT Appearances
SEC record		1,336	926	.591	678	626	.520		15 NCAA Appearances, 12 NIT Appearances
SoCon record		102	112	.477	33	47	.413		1 SoCon Tournament Champions
SIAA record		142	88	.617	0	0	.000

Note: Fansonly.com reports Vanderbilt's overall record in 1937–38 as 9–12, while SECSports.com reports it as 10–11.

Source: Soconsports.com

Source: SECSports.com

Source: Fansonly.com

Vanderbilt coaching record

Season	Head coach	Overall win	Overall loss	Overall pct.	Conf. win	Conf. loss	Conf. pct.	Postseason NIT/NCAA
3	Bryce Drew	40	59	.404	16	38	.296	1 NCAA
17	Kevin Stallings	332	219	.603	138	142	.493	5 NIT, 7 NCAA
6	Jan van Breda Kolff	104	81	.562	43	53	.448	3 NIT, 1 NCAA
4	Eddie Fogler	81	48	.628	64	80	.444	2 NIT (1 NIT Championship), 2 NCAA
8	C. M. Newton	129	115	.529	38	30	.559	2 NIT, 2 NCAA
2	Richard Schmidt	28	27	.509	14	22	.389
3	Wayne Dobbs	38	42	.475	23	31	.426
16	Roy Skinner	278	135	.673	171	97	.638	2 NCAA
13	Bob Polk	197	106	.650	107	75	.588
4	Garland Morrow	31	40	.437	10	21	.323
1	Smokey Harper	12	3	.857	0	0	.000
3	Norm Cooper	24	25	.490	16	22	.421
5	Jim Buford	47	50	.485	22	36	.379
9	Josh Cody	98	100	.495	56	41	.577
2	Johnny (Red) Floyd	9	19	.321	4	10	.286
2	Wallace Wade	24	16	.321	2	0	1.000
6	G. T. Denton	26	20	.565	0	0	.000
1	Oscar G. Nelson	3	4	.429	0	0	.000
2	Ralph Palmer	14	5	.737	0	0	.000
2	Carl (Zeke) Martin	17	11	.607	0	0	.000
1	R. B McGehee	10	3	.769	0	0	.000
2	E. J. Hamilton	17	5	.773	0	0	.000
1	W. L. Throop	6	10	.375	0	0	.000
1	J. N. (Stein) Stone	6	1	.857	0	0	.000
1	Grinnell Jones	6	0	1.000	0	0	.000
2	W. D. Weatherford	7	4	.636	0	0	.000
2	Jerry Stackhouse	20	37	.351	6	28	.176

Retired numbers

Only two male Commodores have had their jerseys retired by the university:

• Clyde Lee #43 – Lee was perhaps the greatest player in Commodore history. He averaged the most points per game in school history and the balconies on the south end of Memorial Gymnasium are commonly referred to as the "balconies that Clyde built".
• Perry Wallace #25 – The first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, and the first African American to compete in the SEC for his entire period of athletic eligibility.

Clyde Lee 1964–1966 Jersey retired

Perry Wallace 1967–1970 Jersey retired

Consecutive games with a 3-point field goal

Vanderbilt made a 3 pointer in 1,080 consecutive games.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Commodores have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 15 times. Their combined record is 10–16.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1965		Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	DePaul Michigan	W 83–78 OT L 85–87
1974		Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game	Marquette Notre Dame	L 61–69 L 88–118
1988	#7	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#10 Utah State #2 Pittsburgh #6 Kansas	W 80–77 W 80–74 OT L 64–77
1989	#8	Round of 64	#9 Notre Dame	L 65–81
1991	#9	Round of 64	#8 Georgetown	L 60–70
1993	#3	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#14 Boise State #6 Illinois #7 Temple	W 92–72 W 85–68 L 59–67
1997	#7	Round of 64	#10 Xavier	L 68–80
2004	#6	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#11 Western Michigan #3 NC State #2 Connecticut	W 71–58 W 75–73 L 53–73
2007	#6	Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen	#11 George Washington #3 Washington State #2 Georgetown	W 77–44 W 78–74 2OT L 65–66
2008	#4	Round of 64	#13 Siena	L 62–83
2010	#4	Round of 64	#13 Murray State	L 65–66
2011	#5	Round of 64	#12 Richmond	L 66–69
2012	#5	Round of 64 Round of 32	#12 Harvard #4 Wisconsin	W 79–70 L 57–60
2016	#11	First Four	#11 Wichita State	L 50–70
2017	#9	Round of 64	#8 Northwestern	L 66–68

NIT results

The Commodores have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 12 times. Their combined record is 20–11. They were NIT champions in 1990.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1983	First Round Second Round	East Tennessee State Wake Forest	W 79–73 L 68–75
1987	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Jacksonville Florida State Southern Miss	W 74–72 W 109–92 L 88–95
1990	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	Louisiana Tech Tennessee New Orleans Penn State Saint Louis	W 98–90 W 89–85 W 88–85 W 75–62 W 74–72
1992	First Round	Rhode Island	L 63–68
1994	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game	Oklahoma New Orleans Clemson Kansas State Villanova	W 77–67 W 78–59 W 89–74 W 82–76 L 73–80
1996	First Round Second Round	Arkansas–Little Rock South Carolina	W 86–80 L 70–80
1998	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	St. Bonaventure Wake Forest Georgia	W 73–61 W 72–68 L 65–79
2000	First Round	Wake Forest	L 68–83
2002	Opening Round First Round	Houston Louisiana Tech	W 59–50 L 68–83
2005	First Round	Indiana Wichita State Memphis	W 67–60 W 65–63 L 68–81
2006	First Round	Notre Dame	L 69–79
2015	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Saint Mary's South Dakota State Stanford	W 75–64 W 92–77 L 75–78

All-Americans

Player	Years
John Jenkins	2012
Shan Foster	2008
Dan Langhi	2000
Billy McCaffrey	1993, 1994
Will Perdue	1988
Tom Hagan	1969
Clyde Lee	1965, 1966
Billy Joe Adcock	1950

Source: VUCommodores.com

SEC Players of the Year

Player	Years
Shan Foster	2008 (consensus)
Derrick Byars	2007 (SEC coaches)
Dan Langhi	2000 (consensus, but shared AP award)
Billy McCaffrey	1993 (shared AP award)
Will Perdue	1988 (consensus)
Jan van Breda Kolff	1974 (consensus)
Clyde Lee	1965 (consensus), 1966 (UPI)

Source: VUCommodores.com

Academic All-Americans

Player	Years
Jeff Fosnes	1975, 1976
Bruce Elder	1993

Olympians

• Jeff Turner- won the gold medal in men's basketball as a member of Team USA at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Other notable players

• Simisola Shittu (born 1999), British-born Canadian basketball player for Ironi Ness Ziona of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Darius Garland, American basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers; All-star (2022)

Vanderbilt Alums Coaching in College Basketball

• James Strong – Class of 2000, currently at Vanderbilt University
• Martin Bahar – Class of 2006, currently at The University of San Diego
• Darshawn McClellan - Class of 2011, currently at University of Texas at El Paso
• Sam Ferry - Class of 2010, currently at College of the Holy Cross

Coaching awards

• Kevin Stallings – SEC Coach of the Year 2007 and 2010
• Eddie Fogler – 1993 National Coach of the Year by AP, UPI, CBS, USBWA, Scripps-Howard, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, Basketball Weekly
• C. M. Newton – SEC Coach of the Year, 1988 and 1989
• Wayne Dobbs – SEC Coach of the Year, 1979
• Roy Skinner – SEC Coach of the Year, 1965, 1967, 1974, and 1976

All-time leaders

Totals current as of March 15, 2012.

Points

Rank	Player	Career Points
1	Shan Foster (2005–2008)	2,011
2	Jeffery Taylor (2009–2012)	1,897
3	Matt Freije (2001–2004)	1,891
4	Phil Cox (1982–85)	1,724
5	Ronnie McMahan (1992–95)	1,719

Points per game (min 50 games)

Rank	Player	Career PPG
1	Clyde Lee (1964–66)	21.4
2	Billy McCaffrey (1993–94)	20.6
3	Tom Hagan (1967–69)	19.9
4	Jim Henry (1957–59)	17.6
5	John Jenkins (2009–12)	16.9

Rebounds

Rank	Player	Career Rebounds
1	Clyde Lee (1964–66)	1,223
2	Perry Wallace (1968–70)	894
3	Bobby Thym (1954–57)	872
4	Bob "Snake" Grace (1963–65)	837
5	Charley Harrison (1953–56)	802

Assists

Rank	Player	Career Assists
1	Atiba Prater (1996-00)	517
2	Brad Tinsley (2008–12)	482
3	Frank Seckar (1993–96)	455
4	Kevin Anglin (1990–93)	435
5	Jan van Breda Kolff (1972–74)	430

Steals

Rank	Player	Career Steals
1	Drew Maddux (1994–98)	214
1	Frank Seckar (1993–96)	214
3	Atiba Prater (1996-00)	211
4	James Strong (1996-00)	209
5	Kevin Anglin (1990–93)	192

Blocks

Rank	Player	Career Blocks
1	Luke Kornet (2013–17)	210
2	Festus Ezeli (2008–12)	204
3	Damian Jones (2013–16)	167
4	Will Perdue (1984, 1986–88)	157
5	A.J. Ogilvy (2008–10)	145

Source: 2015–16 Vanderbilt Commodores Media Guide

External links

• Official website