Kevin Stallings

Kevin Eugene Stallings (born October 1, 1960) is an American former 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 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.

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. 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.