James Strong named as new assistant coach

[AuricGoldfinger]

A familiar face moves up to the bench.

[tweet] [/tweet]

[Go Vandy!]

Stack wouldn't hire anyone who's going to best him in the sartorial dept., is he?

[AuricGoldfinger]

More about Strong's hiring: https://vucommodores.com/strong-staying-home/

[underdog74]

Good hire. Anchor down!

[OldDude]

Excellent !

[mathguy]

I always loved that James Strong-Atiba Prater backcourt we had for awhile. Two of my favorite Dores.

Also two of the quicker and more athletic guards we've had over the years. I often wish we had more players like them!

[Nashmann]

Who on their staff works with the big men?

[dallasdore]

Outstanding. I love alumni on our coaching staffs.

[MemorialMagic]

Stallings loved Strong for his fearlessness. Stallings’s first summer here, I believe the team was going on a trip abroad so they could have summer practices. It was the first time Stallings was able to get on the court with his new team. In one of the first practices, Stallings said Michael Leblanc was acting like a punk. James got all up in his grill (James was 3-4 inches shorter than Leblanc) and told him he’d kick his you know what right then and there if he didn’t shut up and fall in line. Stallings loved him from that day forward.

[Go Vandy!]

Michael LeBlanc, now there's a name that doesn't come up often.

[Jason94]

Stallings loved Strong for his fearlessness. Stallings’s first summer here, I believe the team was going on a trip abroad so they could have summer practices. It was the first time Stallings was able to get on the court with his new team. In one of the first practices, Stallings said Michael Leblanc was acting like a punk. James got all up in his grill (James was 3-4 inches shorter than Leblanc) and told him he’d kick his you know what right then and there if he didn’t shut up and fall in line. Stallings loved him from that day forward.

If Strong had any sort of a jump shot he would have been all-SEC. Between the time I started following VU Basketball until probably Jeff Taylor he was the most explosive athlete in a VU basketball uniform. Could do everything but shoot.

[Mcflash]

Heck of a competitor. I once came across him crying in a hallway because his team had lost a game during the summer league at MBA.

Love the story about LeBlanc.

[Ndorefin]

Stallings loved Strong for his fearlessness. Stallings’s first summer here, I believe the team was going on a trip abroad so they could have summer practices. It was the first time Stallings was able to get on the court with his new team. In one of the first practices, Stallings said Michael Leblanc was acting like a punk. James got all up in his grill (James was 3-4 inches shorter than Leblanc) and told him he’d kick his you know what right then and there if he didn’t shut up and fall in line. Stallings loved him from that day forward.

If Strong had any sort of a jump shot he would have been all-SEC. Between the time I started following VU Basketball until probably Jeff Taylor he was the most explosive athlete in a VU basketball uniform. Could do everything but shoot.

All-time, I’ll go with Saben Lee…he would explode on anyone with no fear!!

[LawoftheWest]

Something does not seem to quite add up. Strong graduated in 2000. 23 years ago. Yet he has not especially advanced as a coach. In no way do I question his ability as a player at Vandy. Or his dedication to Vandy, although he spent quite a few years elsewhere, for example as an assistant at Belmont.

I am concerned about Stong's coaching skills. If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age? Or the lead assistant in a top basketball program? He came from Belmont to Vandy in a somewhat entry level position.

I do not want to be negative. Still, I wonder what he brings to the staff. Is he a great recruiter? Good with X's and O's? Or, is this showing loyalty to a former outstanding player? To me this is somewhat of a headscratcher.

[UltimateVUFan]

Something does not seem to quite add up. Strong graduated in 2000. 23 years ago. Yet he has not especially advanced as a coach. In no way do I question his ability as a player at Vandy. Or his dedication to Vandy, although he spent quite a few years elsewhere, for example as an assistant at Belmont.

I am concerned about Stong's coaching skills. If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age? Or the lead assistant in a top basketball program? He came from Belmont to Vandy in a somewhat entry level position.

I do not want to be negative. Still, I wonder what he brings to the staff. Is he a great recruiter? Good with X's and O's? Or, is this showing loyalty to a former outstanding player? To me this is somewhat of a headscratcher.

I don’t really think Stackhouse has any particular reason to favor Strong over a stronger candidate. Sure, he has the VU connection, but not one that would necessarily mean all that much to Stack and his tenure at VU. Maybe Strong opted to decline seeking out or accepting other positions and stayed in Nashville/at Belmont because he really wanted to wait for an opportunity to arise at VU???
Obviously I can’t say for certain and have no inside knowledge, but I also wouldn’t jump to conclusions about his coaching abilities.

[buffy]

If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age?

I used to think this way, generally. But as I've gotten older, I've moved away from this presumption. That doesn't mean you're ultimately wrong, but I've run into way too many situations where superior talent got overlooked for innumerable good and bad reasons.

[mathguy]

Something does not seem to quite add up. Strong graduated in 2000. 23 years ago. Yet he has not especially advanced as a coach. In no way do I question his ability as a player at Vandy. Or his dedication to Vandy, although he spent quite a few years elsewhere, for example as an assistant at Belmont.

I am concerned about Stong's coaching skills. If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age? Or the lead assistant in a top basketball program? He came from Belmont to Vandy in a somewhat entry level position.

I do not want to be negative. Still, I wonder what he brings to the staff. Is he a great recruiter? Good with X's and O's? Or, is this showing loyalty to a former outstanding player? To me this is somewhat of a headscratcher.

There are lots of potential reasons.

I'm going to go with: not everyone *wants* to be upwardly mobile. I'm a classroom teacher. I have no interest in ever being a principal. That doesn't mean I'm a bad classroom teacher. A year ago we had a principal opening ... we pretty much begged one of our assistants to apply for the job and she basically said 'no way in heck'. Well, the principal we hired ultimately was gone by the end of October, and she *reluctantly* agreed to be the interim principal for the remained of the school year. As a staff, we loved her. School year ended with a another principal opening. Did she want to keep the job? Nope. Not even interviewing for it. Eager to get back to assistant.

Coaching isn't the same, but assistants make good money and moving to head coach involves a MASSIVE increase in stress and responsibilities. Maybe Strong just isn't interested.

It's also possible Strong is tied to the area and doesn't want to leave for personal/family reasons. So Belmont to Vandy? Sure. But looking outside Nashville for a promotion? May just be an automatic non-starter for him.

[geeznotagain]

Something does not seem to quite add up. Strong graduated in 2000. 23 years ago. Yet he has not especially advanced as a coach. In no way do I question his ability as a player at Vandy. Or his dedication to Vandy, although he spent quite a few years elsewhere, for example as an assistant at Belmont.

I am concerned about Stong's coaching skills. If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age? Or the lead assistant in a top basketball program? He came from Belmont to Vandy in a somewhat entry level position.

I do not want to be negative. Still, I wonder what he brings to the staff. Is he a great recruiter? Good with X's and O's? Or, is this showing loyalty to a former outstanding player? To me this is somewhat of a headscratcher.

There are lots of potential reasons.

I'm going to go with: not everyone *wants* to be upwardly mobile. I'm a classroom teacher. I have no interest in ever being a principal. That doesn't mean I'm a bad classroom teacher. A year ago we had a principal opening ... we pretty much begged one of our assistants to apply for the job and she basically said 'no way in heck'. Well, the principal we hired ultimately was gone by the end of October, and she *reluctantly* agreed to be the interim principal for the remained of the school year. As a staff, we loved her. School year ended with a another principal opening. Did she want to keep the job? Nope. Not even interviewing for it. Eager to get back to assistant.

Coaching isn't the same, but assistants make good money and moving to head coach involves a MASSIVE increase in stress and responsibilities. Maybe Strong just isn't interested.

It's also possible Strong is tied to the area and doesn't want to leave for personal/family reasons. So Belmont to Vandy? Sure. But looking outside Nashville for a promotion? May just be an automatic non-starter for him.

Good point. Upward mobility (up to a point) is over-sold and over-sought. No one wants to live on the government dime or from paycheck to paycheck. But societal pressure to get that next promotion, to buy that bigger house or better car is intense. It's especially hard for me to understand with professional athletes with salaries in the stratosphere. They bolt from Team A to Team B for an extra $5-$10 M a year. What, $30M a year isn't enough to live on and make you happy?

[mathguy]

Good point. Upward mobility (up to a point) is over-sold and over-sought. No one wants to live on the government dime or from paycheck to paycheck. But societal pressure to get that next promotion, to buy that bigger house or better car is intense. It's especially hard for me to understand with professional athletes with salaries in the stratosphere. They bolt from Team A to Team B for an extra $5-$10 M a year. What, $30M a year isn't enough to live on and make you happy?

I agree 100%. I know that there is a certain amount of peer pressure to take the extra money to help set the market for your fellow players (I once read an interview with a QB, I want to say Mahomes but could be wrong, that said as much ... he wanted to sign for less, but was afraid of angering the players union because the next high profile free agent would have a hard time arguing he deserves more than Mahomes).

But still, I'm don't want to call out any individual player, because we all have different circumstances, but I'm always disappointed there aren't more guys willing to take hometown discounts. I mean, do their wives want to move to another city? Do their kids want to change schools? I feel like there is a lot of personal value in taking $25million/year for 6 years instead of $35million/year for 5 an having to uproot your life. Especially for a guy like me that can only barely imagine spending $25million in a lifetime, much less a single year.

[alathIN]

If he is a great coach, why has he not advanced to being a head coach at some school, especially at his age?

I used to think this way, generally. But as I've gotten older, I've moved away from this presumption. That doesn't mean you're ultimately wrong, but I've run into way too many situations where superior talent got overlooked for innumerable good and bad reasons.

My father has been in the auto racing business since the early 1970s. Started as a driver/engineer but most of his career has been as an engineer.
He's spent most of that time in the auto racing equivalent of the G-league because if he'd been in the top tier he would have never been home. He's very competitive by nature and loves to win, but I think he realized that time on the farm and with the family was also important to him, and winning a few G-league championships has been enough glory to fill his competitive need.
I'm glad he chose the way he did and I know the rest of the family feels the same.