University of North Carolina Athletics
Stackhouse Back In Detroit
October 23, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 23, 2002
Jerry Stackhouse returns to the Palace at Auburn Hills tonight for the first time since being traded by the Detroit Pistons to the Washington Wizards in the offseason.
Stackhouse, who was dealt to Washington on Sept. 11, 2002, had arguably his best season as a pro in 2001-02, leading the Pistons in scoring (21.4 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) en route to a Central Division championship. He finished 14th in the NBA in points per game and first in free throws per 48 minutes (8.85).
Now in his eighth NBA season, Stackhouse still owns a home in Detroit, where he played for five seasons.
"It's a little eerie," Stackhouse told Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press. "I looked inside the locker room and nobody has my locker, so I guess I still have a little shrine here. Is it strange coming back here on another team? Yeah. How could it not be? When you invest five years of your career somewhere, become a part of the community, and to suddenly no longer be a part of that is an adjustment. But, hey, it's part of the business. You move on. It's a new time and a new team."
Stackhouse is right at his 2001-02 scoring mark through five preseason games with the Wizards, averaging a team-high 21.4 points per game. He also has a team-high 4.2 assists per game in the preseason.
Meanwhile, Brendan Haywood has made four preseason starts in Washington and is averaging 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds. Michael Jordan scored eight points in his only appearance of the preseason.
For more stories on Stackhouse's return to Detroit, check out the Carolina NewsStand.
