SAN FRANCISCO — Jerry Stackhouse starred at the University of North Carolina between 1993 and 1995. Mike Dunleavy Jr. starred at Duke between 1999 and 2002. That age gap meant no on-court overlap in college basketball’s biggest rivalry, but the proximity and connection between the programs generates intermingling.
Dunleavy used to travel to North Carolina for summer pick-up runs. Stackhouse used to travel to Duke. In the NBA, the longtime small forwards squared up 14 times. Dunleavy’s teams won nine, though Stackhouse scored 50 more points in the matchups. Mutual respect was born.
“It all comes full circle,” Stackhouse said. Stackhouse’s past five years were spent as the head coach at Vanderbilt. His coaching staff was loaded with Tulane ties. A few Stackhouse assistants either coached or played under Dunleavy’s father, Mike Sr., who spent three seasons at Tulane from 2016-19.
The younger Dunleavy joined the Warriors front office in 2019. In the five years since, he has leaped into the general manager seat but remained a regular on the scouting trail. He’s extremely connected in the ACC and SEC, attending practices and games and gathering intel through his relationship network, which includes Stackhouse, the 2023 SEC coach of the year.
This summer, Dunleavy and Steve Kerr decided the Warriors’ coaching staff needed an infusion. Both agreed to finding a former NBA player with a commanding personality. In the interview process, Dunleavy brought Stackhouse to the table.
“I don’t think the timing could’ve been more perfect for me,” Stackhouse told The Athletic. “If I would’ve fulfilled my (Vanderbilt) contract, I would’ve been nine, 10 years removed from the NBA.” GO DEEPER Steve Kerr aims to bolster Warriors' coaching staff in very specific ways
Stackhouse took over a struggling Vanderbilt program and led them to 19 wins during the 2021-22 season and 22 wins the following season. He coached future pros Saben Lee, Aaron Nesmith and Scotty Pippen Jr. This past season, the Commodores, crunched by injuries, sputtered to a 9-23 record, and Stackhouse was let go.
He assumed he’d sit out the next season and planned to travel to visit various pro coaching staffs, eyeing a return to the NBA level after beginning his coaching career in the Toronto Raptors organization.
Golden State would’ve been atop my list,” Stackhouse said. “I would’ve called and wanted to come to training camp, come to practices. But the Warriors called first. Dunleavy and Kerr set up an interview. Stackhouse impressed Kerr.
Stackhouse is a two-time All-Star who can command a room but also a former G League and college head coach with sideline experience. He will take on a prominent role helping to organize and run the Warriors’ defense, and he brought some ideas to the interview.