{"id":6669,"date":"2016-03-29T08:42:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-29T12:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=6669"},"modified":"2016-03-29T08:54:22","modified_gmt":"2016-03-29T12:54:22","slug":"the-1978-dapper-dan-roundball-classic-featuring-pitt-coach-kevin-stallings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/03\/29\/the-1978-dapper-dan-roundball-classic-featuring-pitt-coach-kevin-stallings\/","title":{"rendered":"Pitt coach Kevin Stallings and the 1978 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pitt <\/a>
Pitt head basketball coach Kevin Stallings is introduced March 28, 2016, at the Petersen Events Center. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A Post-Gazette story on Kevin Stallings from March 21, 1978. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The U.S. beat Pennsylvania in the 14th annual Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The U.S. beat Pennsylvania in the 14th annual Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Dapper Dan Roundball lineups from 1978, featuring Pitt men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Kevin Stallings\u2019 Pittsburgh connections go deep — deeper than many might know.<\/p>\n

Yes, Pitt hired Stallings on Sunday to take the helm of the Panthers\u2019 men\u2019s basketball program<\/a>. And yes, the longtime Vanderbilt coach\u2019s son, Jacob, is a catcher in the Pirates organization.<\/p>\n

But Kevin Stallings, who made seven NCAA tournaments in 17 seasons as Vanderbilt head coach, made it a point to mention in his introductory press conference at the Petersen Events Center that his first exposure to Pittsburgh was the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic in 1978.<\/p>\n

Not only was Stallings on the roster for that March 31, 1978, game between the U.S. and Pennsylvania teams, but as Post-Gazette sportswriter Phil Axelrod wrote 10 days earlier, Stallings, a 6-5 shooting guard from Collinsville (Ill.) High School, was one of the first players announced for the United States squad in the 14th annual event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Roundball brings the best players together, and I think I belong in that group,\u201d Stallings, who was averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds per game, told the Post-Gazette at the time.<\/p>\n

Others did, too. Before Stallings headed to Pittsburgh, he had to attend a banquet with a pretty important guest.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Notre Dame coach] Digger Phelps is speaking, and I heard the reason he\u2019s coming is because of me,\u201d Stallings said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. team outlasted Pennsylvania, 105-100, at the Civic Arena that year. Stallings, who ended up at Purdue, scored eight points, most of them coming as the U.S. stretched its lead to 79-71 at the end of the third quarter.<\/p>\n

No doubt Stallings wouldn\u2019t mind being a part of a few more wins in Pittsburgh in the coming years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not only was Stallings on the roster for that March 31, 1978, game between the U.S. and Pennsylvania teams, but as Post-Gazette sportswriter Phil Axelrod wrote 10 days earlier, Stallings was one of the first players announced for the United States squad in the 14th annual event.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesPitt coach Kevin Stallings and the 1978 Dapper Dan Roundball Classic<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":6670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066,946,944],"tags":[963,1050],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/stallings_introduced.jpg?fit=2745%2C2600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6245,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2016\/01\/27\/one-armed-daredevils-prostitutes-and-pugs-morris-bermans-big-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":6669,"position":0},"title":"One-armed daredevils, prostitutes and pugs: Morris Berman’s big year","date":"January 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"A Post-Gazette photographer's best images are a visual time capsule of 1963.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Digs.WEBberman1963010.jpg?fit=1200%2C891&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1955,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/03\/18\/eucharistic-rally-at-pitt-stadium-attracts-90000\/","url_meta":{"origin":6669,"position":1},"title":"Eucharistic Rally at Pitt Stadium attracts 90,000","date":"March 18, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Roman Catholics played a role in Pittsburgh before the city was named for William Pitt.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tumblr_mjpzsmnssF1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C909&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2386,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/10\/22\/pitt-stadium-football-mecca\/","url_meta":{"origin":6669,"position":2},"title":"Pitt Stadium, football mecca","date":"October 22, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Pitt Stadium was completed in 1925, and on Sept. 26 of that year, Pitt christened the concrete bowl with a 26-0 victory over Washington and Lee.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/tumblr_mc3wd6wDJb1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C765&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8265,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/10\/25\/marshall-goldberg-pitt-football-prototype\/","url_meta":{"origin":6669,"position":3},"title":"Marshall Goldberg, Pitt’s prototype","date":"October 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Long before there was Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Larry Fitzgerald, LeSean McCoy, Aaron Donald or any other transcendent football star who once donned a University of Pittsburgh uniform, there was Marshall Goldberg. 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