Curious how many of you would like to see Bruce Pearl as our next basketball coach.

[Probably_in_Class]

You blame the NCAA for Bruce’s own screw ups?

Interesting logic.

They needed to make an example out of someone. His penalty was so far beyond what was deserved and beyond any precedent before or since. So yes, I blame the NCAA.

 

[Woodlawn VOL]

Oh boy here we go again. Yep in a package deal we get him and Walter Nolan. For real it’s happening.Soon

 

[VolArmy74]

So… next time, don’t have a big ego and lie about jaywalking.

The lie was jaywalking. The BBQ was even less.

 

[VolArmy74]

They needed to make an example out of someone. His penalty was so far beyond what was deserved and beyond any precedent before or since. So yes, I blame the NCAA.

Yep. Hamilton sold Pearl down the river and was complicit in the 3 year show cause.

Frank Haith knew a booster was paying players. Frank Haith paid the booster a 100k to make it all go away. Frank Haith had three different NCAA interviews where he lied to them each time out.

Missouri had just hired him. The basically told the NCAA and SEC to flip off when they pressured Missouri to fire him. Haith got a 7 or 8 game suspension for all that once Missouri told them they were keeping him. Bruce got 8 games at the start of that season for the bump violation that turned out to not even be a violation.

Had Tennessee taken the Missouri path, we never have the Martin/Tindall years, Auburn stays in the dumpster and we probably have a final four or two.

The people taking to the fainting couches over Pearl lying...lord, every coach in the NCAA in football and basketball lies.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

Yep. Hamilton sold Pearl down the river and was complicit in the 3 year show cause.

Frank Haith knew a booster was paying players. Frank Haith paid the booster a 100k to make it all go away. Frank Haith had three different NCAA interviews where he lied to them each time out.

Missouri had just hired him. The basically told the NCAA and SEC to flip off when they pressured Missouri to fire him. Haith got a 7 or 8 game suspension for all that once Missouri told them they were keeping him. Bruce got 8 games at the start of that season for the bump violation that turned out to not even be a violation.

Had Tennessee taken the Missouri path, we never have the Martin/Tindall years, Auburn stays in the dumpster and we probably have a final four or two.

The people taking to the fainting couches over Pearl lying...lord, every coach in the NCAA in football and basketball lies.

You’re so misinformed.

It’s hilarious.

 

[ReggieJohnsonFan]

Yep. Hamilton sold Pearl down the river and was complicit in the 3 year show cause.

Frank Haith knew a booster was paying players. Frank Haith paid the booster a 100k to make it all go away. Frank Haith had three different NCAA interviews where he lied to them each time out.

Missouri had just hired him. The basically told the NCAA and SEC to flip off when they pressured Missouri to fire him. Haith got a 7 or 8 game suspension for all that once Missouri told them they were keeping him. Bruce got 8 games at the start of that season for the bump violation that turned out to not even be a violation.

Had Tennessee taken the Missouri path, we never have the Martin/Tindall years, Auburn stays in the dumpster and we probably have a final four or two.

The people taking to the fainting couches over Pearl lying...lord, every coach in the NCAA in football and basketball lies.

Lying is ok, got it.

I will say Pearl’s greatest attribute is salesmanship, Only a salesman like Pearl can get a stupid thread like this started by his followers wanting him back immediately after his team scored 43 thrilling points and lost to UT.

 

[youcancallmeAl]

I never again want to see Bruce Pearl as our basketball coach.

 

[DowntownVol]

Yep. Hamilton sold Pearl down the river and was complicit in the 3 year show cause.

Frank Haith knew a booster was paying players. Frank Haith paid the booster a 100k to make it all go away. Frank Haith had three different NCAA interviews where he lied to them each time out.

Missouri had just hired him. The basically told the NCAA and SEC to flip off when they pressured Missouri to fire him. Haith got a 7 or 8 game suspension for all that once Missouri told them they were keeping him. Bruce got 8 games at the start of that season for the bump violation that turned out to not even be a violation.

Had Tennessee taken the Missouri path, we never have the Martin/Tindall years, Auburn stays in the dumpster and we probably have a final four or two.

The people taking to the fainting couches over Pearl lying...lord, every coach in the NCAA in football and basketball lies.

Lying is one thing. Lying about lying is another.

 

[berryvol]

They needed to make an example out of someone. His penalty was so far beyond what was deserved and beyond any precedent before or since. So yes, I blame the NCAA.

The end result never would have happened if he had told the truth. This is a fact. It’s 100% on Bruce.

 

[VolArmy74]

I'm amazed by the volume of perfect people on here who've never lied. Impressive.

 

[VolArmy74]

You’re so misinformed.

It’s hilarious.

No, I'm not.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I'm amazed by the volume of perfect people on here who've never lied. Impressive.

If you look at it in just that light sure, but when you look at a bigger picture don’t you think it tells a bit of a different story?

Not loved by his colleagues because of the Illinois situation, gets into trouble at UWM for some pretty dumb rule breaking, slap on the wrist. Gets the Tennessee job and has great start, coeds love him and his wife quickly realizes she’s way down the list of important females in his life and divorces him. He breaks the same rule at Tennessee as he did at UWM, lies about it and even goes as far as to involve a HS kid in his cover up. Similar timeframe he’s covering up Brian Williams drug failures with fake injury to try and stay in the good graces of folks. Gets canned, throws his assistants under the bus and only worries about his own buyout. Goes to Auburn and and involved in the FBI scandal stuff going on down there.


Sure, you can pick any 1 thing and there’s maybe a believable excuse or story, but you start looking at the trend of things and whole picture and you gotta have your head in the sand to not see it.

 

[VolArmy74]

If you look at it in just that light sure, but when you look at a bigger picture don’t you think it tells a bit of a different story?

Not loved by his colleagues because of the Illinois situation, gets into trouble at UWM for some pretty dumb rule breaking, slap on the wrist. Gets the Tennessee job and has great start, coeds love him and his wife quickly realizes she’s way down the list of important females in his life and divorces him. He breaks the same rule at Tennessee as he did at UWM, lies about it and even goes as far as to involve a HS kid in his cover up. Similar timeframe he’s covering up Brian Williams drug failures with fake injury to try and stay in the good graces of folks. Gets canned, throws his assistants under the bus and only worries about his own buyout. Goes to Auburn and and involved in the FBI scandal stuff going on down there.


Sure, you can pick any 1 thing and there’s maybe a believable excuse or story, but you start looking at the trend of things and whole picture and you gotta have your head in the sand to not see it.

I'll stand by my original statement about it all. The punishment was extremely disproportionate to the crime. Especially considering the Frank Haith case came a few months later. It's an even bigger farce now with what has came to light about coaches all over the nation. Look at Sean Miller. He skated away from Arizona with nothing. He got hired within months. They had to forfeit something like 50 games for things that happened under him. Look at Boeheim and Williams getting by with murder. Calipari, Self etc.

That extremely over the top penalty set Tennessee basketball back several years and eventually allowed Auburn to become a thorn in our side to boot. Sure it was Bruce's fault that he gave them a chance. He's coached 18 years now and over 600 games at this level and the worst NCAA violation he's been found to have committed was lying about a BBQ. A rule that was so idiotic that the NCAA removed it from the rulebook entirely the following season. Meanwhile literally dozens of high profile coaches have been caught lying to the NCAA since then in every sport with virtually no punishment.

I'll once again add this to the overreaction crowd. Thinking Bruce got screwed by the NCAA does not mean I think he will ever coach here again or that I don't like Barnes. Nor does me appreciating Bruce and what he did for the program lessen what Barnes is doing for it now.

 

[SmokeyLives]

No, just no. Having Pearl come back to Tennessee would only set the team, the school, and even Pearl himself up for failure. That ship has sailed.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

If you look at it in just that light sure, but when you look at a bigger picture don’t you think it tells a bit of a different story?

Not loved by his colleagues because of the Illinois situation, gets into trouble at UWM for some pretty dumb rule breaking, slap on the wrist. Gets the Tennessee job and has great start, coeds love him and his wife quickly realizes she’s way down the list of important females in his life and divorces him. He breaks the same rule at Tennessee as he did at UWM, lies about it and even goes as far as to involve a HS kid in his cover up. Similar timeframe he’s covering up Brian Williams drug failures with fake injury to try and stay in the good graces of folks. Gets canned, throws his assistants under the bus and only worries about his own buyout. Goes to Auburn and and involved in the FBI scandal stuff going on down there.


Sure, you can pick any 1 thing and there’s maybe a believable excuse or story, but you start looking at the trend of things and whole picture and you gotta have your head in the sand to not see it.

Was just about to make a similar post...the myopic and revisionist history is quite astounding.

And let's not forget, the NCAA showed Bruce a picture of his own house which he repeatedly denied was his...lol. It's one thing to lie but it's quite another to double-down on a demonstrably false lie to the ruling body of your profession. Anyone who remotely thinks that a state university could somehow defend, let alone support, Bruce's behavior given his history cannot be taken seriously.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Yep. Hamilton sold Pearl down the river and was complicit in the 3 year show cause.

Frank Haith knew a booster was paying players. Frank Haith paid the booster a 100k to make it all go away. Frank Haith had three different NCAA interviews where he lied to them each time out.

Missouri had just hired him. The basically told the NCAA and SEC to flip off when they pressured Missouri to fire him. Haith got a 7 or 8 game suspension for all that once Missouri told them they were keeping him. Bruce got 8 games at the start of that season for the bump violation that turned out to not even be a violation.

Had Tennessee taken the Missouri path, we never have the Martin/Tindall years, Auburn stays in the dumpster and we probably have a final four or two.

The people taking to the fainting couches over Pearl lying...lord, every coach in the NCAA in football and basketball lies.

Honest question - why point to the behavior of other coaches while largely ignoring Bruce's own behavior at multiple schools which clearly played a role in his punishment?

 

[cncchris33]

Honest question - why point to the behavior of other coaches while largely ignoring Bruce's own behavior at multiple schools which clearly played a role in his punishment?

Yeah, that seems to be a heavy theme with people looking to defend him/his behavior. The, "Yeah, he lied, but look what Coach X did..." defense is simply a red herring, intentional or not.

I also don't know how you can look at the totality of his immoral behavior from Iowa, to UW-M, to Tennessee, to Auburn, and believe that if he instead gets off with another slap on the wrist because Tennessee stood up to the NCAA on his behalf, that he suddenly changes his stripes. So while it's fun to project that he'd have continued his success at Tennessee for another decade, or more, with multiple Final 4s, it's even more likely that the lack of punishment and accountability only further emboldens him to continue to act outside of the rules. That's the hypothetical scenario that Pearl defenders don't want to account for in their future projections had he not been fired.

 

[Vols8086]

Yeah, that seems to be a heavy theme with people looking to defend him/his behavior. The, "Yeah, he lied, but look what Coach X did..." defense is simply a red herring, intentional or not.

I also don't know how you can look at the totality of his immoral behavior from Iowa, to UW-M, to Tennessee, to Auburn, and believe that if he instead gets off with another slap on the wrist because Tennessee stood up to the NCAA on his behalf, that he suddenly changes his stripes. So while it's fun to project that he'd have continued his success at Tennessee for another decade, or more, with multiple Final 4s, it's even more likely that the lack of punishment and accountability only further emboldens him to continue to act outside of the rules. That's the hypothetical scenario that Pearl defenders don't want to account for in their future projections had he not been fired.

Bruce is also a totally different dude when the cameras are off. He turns on the personality when he needs/has to. Just incredibly fake and disingenuous otherwise. The selling out of his assistants should really tell you all you need to know about his character. I could care less about NCAA transgressions, but to sell out your guys like that to save yourself is about as low as you can get.

He is a good basketball coach and I give him credit for that. I wish I could say the same about him as a person though.

 

[butchna]

Thought this was a bumped thread.

 

[butchna]

Oh boy here we go again. Yep in a package deal we get him and Walter Nolan. For real it’s happening.Soon

Nolen

 

[cncchris33]

Bruce is also a totally different dude when the cameras are off. He turns on the personality when he needs/has to. Just incredibly fake and disingenuous otherwise. The selling out of his assistants should really tell you all you need to know about his character. I could care less about NCAA transgressions, but to sell out your guys like that to save yourself is about as low as you can get.

He is a good basketball coach and I give him credit for that. I wish I could say the same about him as a person though.

Absolutely. What he did to his assistants should have him blackballed by the entire coaching community. I’m shocked he still has people willing to work for him, aside from his son (also an all-star human). I assume the snake oil salesman routine extends to his ability to explain that all away to naive potential assistants. Give any of them 5 minutes with Steve Forbes or Jason Shay, and perhaps to a lesser extent, Tony Jones, and they’d have some cautionary tales to share.

 

[HollowaytoSeivers]

Would I take Bruce Pearl in place of Rick Barnes right now? Without question, no.

Would I take Pearl as a replacement for Barnes should he retire or take another coaching job? Possibly (about 5 coaches down the list), but I don't think AD Danny White would.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Would I take Bruce Pearl in place of Rick Barnes right now? Without question, no.

Would I take Pearl as a replacement for Barnes should he retire or take another coaching job? Possibly (about 5 coaches down the list), but I don't think AD Danny White would.

We could do worse; but, we could also do better.

Stay classy KnoxVegas!

 

[KTrain]

All the sordid things Bruce did before he got to UT and after when he served his show cause time and Chuck Person his assistant at Auburn a former Tiger player went to jail. Those were bad enough but when he let his son who wasn't good enough for D 3 start over some good players that was it. Also, one of his best moments here at UT could be described as "the best of times& the worst of times" we beat Kansas without some starters out = good but those players were not playing because of guns & drugs = bad thuggish look for the beloved University. I'll take this UT squad of players over any group BP brought into TB.

 

[Jax_Vol]

All the sordid things Bruce did before he got to UT and after when he served his show cause time and Chuck Person his assistant at Auburn a former Tiger player went to jail. Those were bad enough but when he let his son who wasn't good enough for D 3 start over some good players that was it. Also, one of his best moments here at UT could be described as "the best of times& the worst of times" we beat Kansas without some starters out = good but those players were not playing because of guns & drugs = bad thuggish look for the beloved University. I'll take this UT squad of players over any group BP brought into TB.

Yes!!!

Coach Barnes = Classy

Coach Pearl = Sleezy