I repeat. One Elite 8, three sweet sixteens, 6 straight NCAA tournament appearances, one SEC championship, school's first number one ranking. He had two teams that with a little luck could have won it all. He started winning day one and did not stop winning.
I am not saying he is the greatest coach ever, but he is one of the best. Very few coaches have as a good a record over the last 6 years. I will agree he may have had trouble getting in this year. However, the future would still be bright with this year's team plus Stokes coming in next year.
His outstanding accomplishments were not at a traditional power. He did this at Tennessee which has almost no basketball tradition. He also took the job against other's advice not to take the job.
As a Tennessee fan who has suffered through some of the worse basketball imagineable, I am very grateful for what he did for the basketball program. Hopefully his success will be carried on by others. Because of Pearl, Tennessee is no longer considered a bad job. His record speaks for itself. I don't know who you watch play basketball but stating that Pearl cannot coach is just not a true statement.
I am just stating that he is a great coach. I did not say he was a great man. He let us down. It is time to move on. I just do not understand the animosity toward him. If he coaches again he will win again and win big.
This is why you aren't garnering any credibility, besides the fact your posts are getting more ignorant by the minute.
None of Pearl's teams were the best ever at UT. He never had one single player that could make the all time top 5 at UT. UT was a great job until Wade Houston ruined it. Heck Jerry Green's record was every bit as good as Bruce's.
PM me and I will give you a little history lesson on Vols basketball. Until then, you should refrain from posting
That is funny. That is why Tennessee had so many coaches lined up to take the job when they fired DeVoe. How many Elite 8s and Sweet 16s did Green go to. Green got fired because he sucked. There is no sane person who would take Green's record over Pearl's. I might agree with the top 5 players statement with Lofton being the only possible exception.
But he's not a great coach by any measure. He was a good coach and a great marketer for the program. He implemented a style at the beginning of his tenure that was fun to watch AND successful, as long as he had the right players to run it. As the years went by, he started getting players more suited to the half court game yet allowed the players to continue to run when they had no business running. His philosophy was that if you play really hard defense, you are allowed to gun it up carte blance. Fun to watch. Even win some big games, but no championships to show for it
That is funny. That is why Tennessee had so many coaches lined up to take the job when they fired DeVoe. How many Elite 8s and Sweet 16s did Green go to. Green got fired because he sucked. There is no sane person who would take Green's record over Pearl's. I might agree with the top 5 players statement with Lofton being the only possible exception.
I hope Martin's teams are every bit as bad as Pearls.
I love how you guys make it sound like Pearl would be playing with the team thats playing now. Even if Harris and Hopson are gone, do you honestly think Pearl couldn't recruit and to replace them. You act like we are in a horrible position talent wise. Were not or atleast we weren't. We are in a bad position to contend coaching wise. I mean what recruits were on our short list to come or visit only to hear, "Hey, Pearl is out and we got a guy named Cuonzo." You act like Pearl was like Fulmer as in he couldn't recruit. I just love how this player and talent situation is blamed on Pearl when the incoming freshmen aren't any recruits of his. Plus, I dont care what any of you say, I truly believe Harris woulda came back along with Hopson. Hmmmm, play one more year for the coach that recruited you or sit and wait 8 months to finally play again?????
I love how you guys make it sound like Pearl would be playing with the team thats playing now. Even if Harris and Hopson are gone, do you honestly think Pearl couldn't recruit and to replace them. You act like we are in a horrible position talent wise. Were not or atleast we weren't. We are in a bad position to contend coaching wise. I mean what recruits were on our short list to come or visit only to hear, "Hey, Pearl is out and we got a guy named Cuonzo." You act like Pearl was like Fulmer as in he couldn't recruit. I just love how this player and talent situation is blamed on Pearl when the incoming freshmen aren't any recruits of his. Plus, I dont care what any of you say, I truly believe Harris woulda came back along with Hopson. Hmmmm, play one more year for the coach that recruited you or sit and wait 8 months to finally play again?????
I love how you guys make it sound like Pearl would be playing with the team thats playing now. Even if Harris and Hopson are gone, do you honestly think Pearl couldn't recruit and to replace them. You act like we are in a horrible position talent wise. Were not or atleast we weren't. We are in a bad position to contend coaching wise. I mean what recruits were on our short list to come or visit only to hear, "Hey, Pearl is out and we got a guy named Cuonzo." You act like Pearl was like Fulmer as in he couldn't recruit. I just love how this player and talent situation is blamed on Pearl when the incoming freshmen aren't any recruits of his. Plus, I dont care what any of you say, I truly believe Harris woulda came back along with Hopson. Hmmmm, play one more year for the coach that recruited you or sit and wait 8 months to finally play again?????
To whom is this post directed? I haven't commented on the current talent situation. My belief is that we have more talent right now than we did when Pearl got the job in 2005. I've made that statement many times. Is it raw talent? Certainly. Is the basketball IQ of these players as high as those Pearl inherited? not even close. That 2005 group may have been short on talent, but high on basketball IQ
I don't know. Considering (as I have pointed out many times) our recruits probably would have consisted of two non-qualifiers and a guy that ended up at Wyoming, that would seem to be false. And make no mistake, both of those guys were gone. Hopson was talking like he was leaving before the SECT.
I am telling you for a fact that it was a good job before Wade Houston ruined it. And I never said Green was as good as Pearl, but his overall record for his first four years and Pearl's first four years are similar. Just stating facts. I didn't like Green either. I like Pearl and think he WAS a good coach, but I am pissed at him for being such a snake. And make no mistake, he's a snake
There were a lot of good coaches available when they fired DeVoe that would have taken it.
UT's basketball history is much better than you've been led to believe. Much better. Bruce is NEVER coming back. That's a fact
Best 5 VOl BB Players of All Time:
1) Bernard King
2) Ernie Grunfeld
3) Dale Ellis
4) Allan Houston
5) Tony White
Lofton isn't even in th top-10. He was a truly elite shooter. That's about it.Is that your order? I loved Tony White, but I would have to go with Lofton over White. The interesting thing about White was that Dean Smith was the one who recuited him to Tennessee. Didn't he play for Devoe? The story I heard was that Smith saw him. Since he was not good enough to play for North Carolina, he called Tennessee who obviously signed him.
For scheduling this game less than 3 days after returning from over a week in Maui. Team returned Fri. night around 9:00 PM and had to fly to Michigan and play this game against Oakland? Bad scheduling with nothing to gain and everything to lose.