Michael Rosenberg's Column...

#51
#51
hat and lawvol are, quite obviously, anti semetic.
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Sarcasm aside, I think it's fair to call CBP the Whitey Bulger/ Steve Flemmi of big time basketball.
 
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#53
#53
hatvol96 said:
I'm not saying I'm sure it's going to be awful. I'm simply pointing out that an illegal home visit and some other contact violations are nowhere near as serious as lying to the investigators.
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Agree 100 pct. To play something off and owning up to it as a silly mistake on your part and to tell a blatant lie are two completely different things, Take the IRS for instance, an honest mistake and owning up to it they would go lightly but lie and try to hide things comes across as cocky,etc., and the witch hunt is on.Pearl apparently either got bad advise or try to play lawyer possibly.
 
#54
#54
IA VOL said:
The article misses the mark on a key point. He didn't lie to investigators about excessive phone calls to recruits, that's not what this is centered around.

Also, I wonder if a certain Big Ten coach whose name hasn't hit the airwaves yet will have the same fate that Pearl did 20 yrs ago?

This is not me defending Pearl for what he did by the way.
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What are you talking about?
 
#55
#55
ukvols said:
You wanted the rest of us to see the real Bruce, and we did this week. Now, I want Calipari to be caught in a lie. Please do not lump me in with the "but Calipari cheats more" crowd, as none of those posts the past few days were mine. But, I do think that throwing in the Calipari pic and caption and then listing his accomplishments without throwing in the probation that UMass and Memphis received, makes Rosenberg look like a Calipari fan who really enjoyed himself this past week.
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I don't think it's a good plug for Calipari. He's certainly not using him as a foil to Pearl, he actually says they have a lot more in common than they think, and that comes right after saying most coaches at that level are weak, cut-throat, and as most in the profession, they cheat when they can. All this article is doing is reminding people that Pearl can't be a wholier than thou, because he's of the same ilk as the rest, including Calipari.

Although, I don't get the dig at Tennessee fans. He implies that we are hypocrites for being mad at Kiffin for lying about his committment to Tennessee.
 
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#56
#56
Can we just stipulate to the harshest NCAA penalties but have them apply retroactively against UT basketball?

Nothing the NCAA could've done to us from, say 1983 until 1998 could've been any worse really.

Seriously, UT basketball was under the equivalent of a self-imposed post-season ban for nearly twenty years from the early 1980s until the late 1990s.

We also suffered self-imposed punishments in the form of Wade Houston, Kevin O'Neil, Jerry Green, and Buzz Peterson.

I'd say that's an even trade.
 
#57
#57
IPorange said:
This is all so depressing. I'd rather watch UT-Oregon replays than follow our hypocritical coach's drama and listen to my fellow vol fans give him the "hero worship" treatment right now.
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Agreed. What's funny is that some of the people still worshiping Pearl and saying everyone needs to give him a pass for lying is the same bunch that wanted a certain football coach gone because they would rather "do things right and lose, than cheat and win".
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#58
#58
Hardwood_fanatic said:
Agreed. A coaching search is the last thing UT needs at this point, and it would not yield good results, IMO.
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To clarify, I think UT has become a very attractive men's basketball job. But, yes, if the entire program is gutted, it would take us a lot longer to rebuild than IU. With a full roster and no sanctions, I think we'd get a good coach.
 
#59
#59
ukvols said:
To clarify, I think UT has become a very attractive men's basketball job. But, yes, if the entire program is gutted, it would take us a lot longer to rebuild than IU. With a full roster and no sanctions, I think we'd get a good coach.
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Pearl made this an attractive job by proving that the fan support, latent though it was, is there in spades. Most basketball wastelands, as we were considered, do not have that. We might not get the top shelf names, but the top up and comers would be available to us.

That said, I think Pearl's here for the long haul should this blow over, which it likely will. We'll remain competitive and fans will continue to support en masse. I don't think there are titles in that future, but it will be decent showings most of the time and we might find some luck like we had this past season again.
 
#60
#60
JTrainDavis said:
hat and lawvol are, quite obviously, anti semetic.
Posted via VolNation Mobile[/size
Sarcasm aside, I think it's fair to call CBP the Whitey Bulger/ Steve Flemmi of big time basketball.
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Sammy "The Bull" Gravano is hurt at being omitted from your analogy.
 
#62
#62
BigPapaVol said:
Pearl made this an attractive job by proving that the fan support, latent though it was, is there in spades. Most basketball wastelands, as we were considered, do not have that. We might not get the top shelf names, but the top up and comers would be available to us.

That said, I think Pearl's here for the long haul should this blow over, which it likely will. We'll remain competitive and fans will continue to support en masse. I don't think there are titles in that future, but it will be decent showings most of the time and we might find some luck like we had this past season again.
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I think a title is possible. We were one basket away from playing Butler in the Final Four. I agree that we'll need some luck along the way, like the run that Florida had in 2006, when they faced nothing higher than a 5-seed until the championship game, when they faced a 2.

My concern is that Pearl's not busted over the phones again. If he gets caught for illegal contact with phones again, we could end up like IU, but without being labelled an elite, tradition-rich job.
 
#63
#63
BigPapaVol said:
Pearl made this an attractive job by proving that the fan support, latent though it was, is there in spades. Most basketball wastelands, as we were considered, do not have that. We might not get the top shelf names, but the top up and comers would be available to us.
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2 mil plus will buy you a whole lot of basketball coach. I can think of several guys who would take the Tennessee job who wouldn't miss a beat.
 
#65
#65
hatvol96 said:
2 mil plus will buy you a whole lot of basketball coach. I can think of several guys who would take the Tennessee job who wouldn't miss a beat.
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Would they still come if Pearl gets tagged again, and the program is gutted like the Hoosiers?
 
#66
#66
hatvol96 said:
2 mil plus will buy you a whole lot of basketball coach. I can think of several guys who would take the Tennessee job who wouldn't miss a beat.
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I think that's absolutely true. I don't think we have the same perception issues we did when Bruce arrived and that's credit to the job he has done. I don't care for the coaching style, though it's admittedly shifting, than you do, but he has absolutely opened us up to the world beyond a default hire.
 
#67
#67
ukvols said:
Would they still come if Pearl gets tagged again, and the program is gutted like the Hoosiers?
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I'm pretty sure the 'AA isn't going to throw Tennessee out of the SEC or make them rip out the renovations at TBA and tear down Pratt Pavilion. In other words, yes.
 
#68
#68
hatvol96 said:
I'm pretty sure the 'AA isn't going to throw Tennessee out of the SEC or make them rip out the renovations at TBA and tear down Pratt Pavilion. In other words, yes.
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agreed. We have proven that this isn't a basketball wasteland, which was the concern about this program for as long as I've been alive. We've also proven that we will support the program financially. It's a pretty solid gig these days. There are clearly better ones, but that number is dwindling.
 
#70
#70
hatvol96 said:
2 mil plus will buy you a whole lot of basketball coach. I can think of several guys who would take the Tennessee job who wouldn't miss a beat.
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Who do you think we could get? I'm ready to move forward with another coaching staff. Pearl will never live this down and it will hamper our program for years to come.
 
#72
#72
BigPapaVol said:
Pearl made this an attractive job by proving that the fan support, latent though it was, is there in spades. Most basketball wastelands, as we were considered, do not have that. We might not get the top shelf names, but the top up and comers would be available to us.

That said, I think Pearl's here for the long haul should this blow over, which it likely will. We'll remain competitive and fans will continue to support en masse. I don't think there are titles in that future, but it will be decent showings most of the time and we might find some luck like we had this past season again.
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Good point. I absolutely agree.
 
#73
#73
Is this the article that equates offering a kid 80 grand and a SUV to making too many phone calls to recruits?
 
#74
#74
This is a terrible situation. I'm just not sure I understand what else could be done to him though? Our self imposed penalties are stiff. Are we really going to fire him for something that we may or may not receive sanctions for? I could care less if the rest of the college basketball world hates him. The rest of the college football world hates Kiffin and many of his supporters here on VN are the same ones ripping Pearl.

If the NCAA finds more than what we already know then maybe that's a different story but if the phones/lying is all that is at issue here then the punishment, a severe one I might add, fits the crime.
 
#75
#75
LawVol13 said:
Are you serious? Pearl has talked about that over and over and over. You just need to face reality that Pearl held himself out to be some paragon of honesty and turned out to be a complete fraud.
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Seriously? I'm disappointed, but the hyperbole people use on this board gets a little ridiculous.

This kind of mistake should not discount his entire career. Cast a shadow, perhaps, but not discount the fact that the man is still capable of ethical decisions of any kind.
 
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