What Kentucky fans are thinking about Pearl's possible departure..

[rich4pres]

Coach Pearls record may not have been great against Kentucky, but we went just as far or farther than they did every year while he was here.

 

[SEAL_9821]

Lets not go there. I try to block that period of UK basketball out of my mind. It's like when something so traumatic happens your mind blocks it out for you. lol

Billie G is a hell of a coach. Yeah, he had some issues at UK but mainly in part because of his personal lifestyle. When he gets his life straight and it seems he has, your gonna see the old Billie G who can truly coach a team to win. I would take him in Knoxville any day. The difference in Cal and Billie G is the recruiting. Cal recruits some much talent, he will win alot of games, but not championships. Billie G can coach an average team to beat good teams when his head is on straight.

 

[peyton=legend]

Coach Pearls record may not have been great against Kentucky, but we went just as far or farther than they did every year while he was here.

During Pearl's tenure he has 8 wins in the NCAA tourney versus 5 wins for Kentucky so I can see why Kentucky fans were scared.

 

[strongtower]

.

 

[TennesseeRhett]

I'm still at a loss for all this. There were no free cars, or houses for parents, or anything devious. There was an attempted cover up of a back yard barbecue which he knowingly lied about. Clearly this is not a good thing to do, but is that really all it takes to be fired from your job? I think what gets me is how arbitrary the rules seem to be. the NCAA could decide next year that coaches can host HS Juniors for recruiting reasons and this whole issue would no longer be valid. Again, I'm not saying that will happen, but having this whole issue stem from something so petty just irks the hell out of me.

 

[myrobbins7]

If Kentucky doesn't win a championship next year. They never will. Rumor has it that T. Jones will be the only one leaving. Brandon Knight can have a degree if he stays one more year due to dual credit courses taken in high school. With a 4.3 gpa. I see him staying. It is likely Lamb, Miller, and Liggins will stay as well as Lamb needs more improvement and Liggins and Millier aren't draft ready yet. Add 3 of the top 5 players in the country coming in (2 much needed big men), plus the 22 player. They will be tough. They will FINALLY have that balance of freshman talent plus experience that everybody says is necessary to win a championship. So if they don't do it next year. It will never happen under Cal.

Never say never with coach Cal. Next years team I agree Cal will have UK looking almost like a pro team out on the floor after camp Cal but if they dont win the championship I wouldn't give up. I can promise you he will just reload and reload some more.

 

[salutethehill]

I'm still at a loss for all this. There were no free cars, or houses for parents, or anything devious. There was an attempted cover up of a back yard barbecue which he knowingly lied about. Clearly this is not a good thing to do, but is that really all it takes to be fired from your job? I think what gets me is how arbitrary the rules seem to be. the NCAA could decide next year that coaches can host HS Juniors for recruiting reasons and this whole issue would no longer be valid. Again, I'm not saying that will happen, but having this whole issue stem from something so petty just irks the hell out of me.

I think the whole issue stemmed from something back in the late 1980s.

 

[YoungOrange]

Never say never with coach Cal. Next years team I agree Cal will have UK looking almost like a pro team out on the floor after camp Cal but if they dont win the championship I wouldn't give up. I can promise you he will just reload and reload some more.

^^Exactly what he said. Saying that if you don't win a national title next year then you never will is just silly. The most talented teams don't always win. That's the beauty of it.

 

[volinexile17]

Billie G is a hell of a coach. Yeah, he had some issues at UK but mainly in part because of his personal lifestyle. When he gets his life straight and it seems he has, your gonna see the old Billie G who can truly coach a team to win. I would take him in Knoxville any day. The difference in Cal and Billie G is the recruiting. Cal recruits some much talent, he will win alot of games, but not championships. Billie G can coach an average team to beat good teams when his head is on straight.

Disagree. For a guy who was supposed to "eat, breathe, and sleep" basketball, he ran a crappy predictable half-court offense. Toss it to Patterson in the post, if that doesn't work clear out and let Meeks shoot or drive. All game.

And he ran full practices the day of games for the entire season. By the end of the 08-09 season, that whole team was completely gassed.

His alcoholism may have been getting the best of him in Lexington, but a guy who is a hell of a coach should be able to do more than he did with those UK teams.

 

[SportsFreak]

Evidently Gillespie is a front runner for the Texas Tech position. He met with Tech officials earlier this week in Florida and it supposedly went well. I have heard he has changed some of his old habits (drinking, going to bars, etc.), and is ready to coach again. I hope he does well. I just wish he would have made those choices while he was here at UK, but I'm happy with Cal. I know. He's shady. But honestly, he really hasn't done anything wrong here yet. Until that happens, I'm okay with him.

 

[SportsFreak]

They have already signed at ut....

What did they sign though? If they only made and signed a financial aid agreement (which a LOT of top players in the country are doing now), they are not obligated to attend and play for UT. It essentially takes care of all of the paperwork, without obligating them to the university. Brandon Knight done that this year with us.

 

[Drivebye]

There is no news article to this, no twitter feed, nothing like that. Just a Kentucky fan, who lives in Kentucky, around other Kentucky fans. I will tell you right now that this is making their day. They are loving every second of it. Before you get mad and bash me, let me get to where I am going with this. They are not rejoicing to kick you while you are down. They are rejoicing because whether we admit it or not (and we never will), Bruce Pearl was a threat to UK. There. I said it. They want Pearl out of the SEC because he was slowly starting to get UK level recruits and creating UK caliber teams. That scared the crap out of us.

Feelings and biases aside. He is/was great for the SEC. He made it more competitive, gave it an energy that was much needed, and re-sparked some rivalries. I really wish he would have thought things through a little more before he made some of the choices he made. If he is given the opportunity to stay, I hope that he learns from this, grows, and moves on. If he leaves, I wish him the best and I hope that UT will find a coach who will bring that same intensity to not only the UT program but to the SEC as well. Us Kentuckians love a good challenge. lol Seriously though, whatever happens...good luck you'all.

Tennessee shouldn't give a rat's a$$ about what Kentucky or any other school thinks. It's us against the World, It always has been.eace2:

 

[SportsFreak]

Tennessee shouldn't give a rat's a$$ about what Kentucky or any other school thinks. It's us against the World, It always has been.eace2:

lol

 

[volinexile17]

From an ESPN article on Josh Harrelson:

Former Wildcats coach Billy Gillispie took extreme measures to motivate Harrellson. At halftime of UK's 77-64 loss at Vanderbilt on Feb. 17, 2009, Gillispie banished Harrellson to a bathroom stall in the Wildcats' locker room. After the game, Gillispie made Harrellson make the 200-mile drive back to Lexington riding in the team's equipment van.

Doug Harrellson, a construction worker in St. Charles, Mo., said his son didn't tell him about the Vanderbilt incident until earlier this season.

"He didn't tell me about it because he feared what repercussions he'd have after I got my hands on the coach," Doug Harrellson said. "I don't tolerate those things. That's unacceptable to me. I don't care who you are. As a parent, if you did that in this day and age, they'd throw you in jail. That's not motivation; that's motivating a kid to not want to do it."

NCAA tournament: Kentucky's Josh Harrellson finds new life in tournament - ESPN

Billy G - Hell of a coach!

 

[Shaun1985]

SportsFreak, my Kentucky friends were laughing when we got rid of Pearl. I'm not sure if that's the reason or not but they are laughing even harder since our candidate list came out. Didn't kentucky try to talk to Jamie Dixon before Cal?

 

[IA VOL]

From an ESPN article on Josh Harrelson:

Former Wildcats coach Billy Gillispie took extreme measures to motivate Harrellson. At halftime of UK's 77-64 loss at Vanderbilt on Feb. 17, 2009, Gillispie banished Harrellson to a bathroom stall in the Wildcats' locker room. After the game, Gillispie made Harrellson make the 200-mile drive back to Lexington riding in the team's equipment van.

Doug Harrellson, a construction worker in St. Charles, Mo., said his son didn't tell him about the Vanderbilt incident until earlier this season.

"He didn't tell me about it because he feared what repercussions he'd have after I got my hands on the coach," Doug Harrellson said. "I don't tolerate those things. That's unacceptable to me. I don't care who you are. As a parent, if you did that in this day and age, they'd throw you in jail. That's not motivation; that's motivating a kid to not want to do it."

NCAA tournament: Kentucky's Josh Harrellson finds new life in tournament - ESPN

Billy G - Hell of a coach!

They're throwing people in jail for making players sit in the pooper for 20 minutes now? Damn, tough laws in Kentucky.

How about this article:
And he still gives much of the credit to Gillispie. “I still talk to him,” he said of Gillispie. “Every coach is different … he helped make me to the player I am today.”

Josh Harrellson lifts Kentucky Wildcats past West Virginia Mountaineers - College Basketball News | FOX Sports on MSN

 

[UNAVol89]

If Kentucky didn't win a championship last year, they never will.

ftfy.

 

[volinexile17]

They're throwing people in jail for making players sit in the pooper for 20 minutes now? Damn, tough laws in Kentucky.

How about this article:
And he still gives much of the credit to Gillispie. “I still talk to him,” he said of Gillispie. “Every coach is different … he helped make me to the player I am today.”

Josh Harrellson lifts Kentucky Wildcats past West Virginia Mountaineers - College Basketball News | FOX Sports on MSN

I'm sure humiliating kids is cool in Iowa.

Btw, like the avatar.

 

[Meeks54]

If Kentucky doesn't win a championship next year. They never will. Rumor has it that T. Jones will be the only one leaving. Brandon Knight can have a degree if he stays one more year due to dual credit courses taken in high school. With a 4.3 gpa. I see him staying. It is likely Lamb, Miller, and Liggins will stay as well as Lamb needs more improvement and Liggins and Millier aren't draft ready yet. Add 3 of the top 5 players in the country coming in (2 much needed big men), plus the 22 player. They will be tough. They will FINALLY have that balance of freshman talent plus experience that everybody says is necessary to win a championship. So if they don't do it next year. It will never happen under Cal.

:crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy::crazy:

I am sorry, but you saying that is pretty hilarious. Kentucky could get put out in the first round next year and then turn around and put together a monster class with left over juniors and win it all the next year. Not trying to start a UK pissing match on a UT message board, but seriously, this needed to be addressed. Your whole post might be an attempt at being classy, but you fail. You fail pretty big.

You are also clearly out of the loop in terms of what Kentucky people are saying at the moment about NBA departures. Also, I love how you are pretending to be a UK fan. I can tell by all the "they" comments that you are not hiding your posing well.

 

[Meeks54]

SportsFreak, my Kentucky friends were laughing when we got rid of Pearl. I'm not sure if that's the reason or not but they are laughing even harder since our candidate list came out. Didn't kentucky try to talk to Jamie Dixon before Cal?

NO. Jamie Dixon was NEVER offered the coaching position at UK. EVER.

It was all media questions and coaches who were never offered saying they were happy where they were at. Mainly because they knew the job was not coming to them.

And I don't think I would ask that guy anything about UK basketball. Read the OP. Really read it. You think that is a UK fan?