Bruce Pearl

He'll take over in Ames next year when Hoiberg moves to the NBA. Pearl and Pollard = birds of a feather.
 
Not next year but a couple years from now this is how I see it:

Bill Self goes to NBA

Jon Groce goes to Kansas

Bruce Pearl goes to Illinois
 
Not next year but a couple years from now this is how I see it:

Bill Self goes to NBA

Jon Groce goes to Kansas

Bruce Pearl goes to Illinois

That would be hilarious! No way that would happen though.

Maybe UCLA will hire him after they give Stevie the boot. He'd be a good fit there.
 
That would be hilarious! No way that would happen though.

Maybe UCLA will hire him after they give Stevie the boot. He'd be a good fit there.


Coincidentally, there is an interview with former Illini bb star Marcus Liberty, in his local Sarasota paper where he admits that he was ready to commit to Cuse,but the day before his HS coach, the notorious Sonny Cox, came in and told him he was attending Illinois to play for Henson and his bagman Jimmy Collins. At the time Pearl contacted the NCAA contending that Henson and Collins paid 80k and a Blazer to acquire Libertys services( liberty was the #1 rated prep player in the nation). In the interview the reporter asked him if money changed hands and Liberty did not deny it...but said he never got any of it. Pearl is definitely a guy who pushes the envelope but Henson and Collins were dirty ...and Cox drove around in a fancy Mercedes ..on a HS coach salary? Right.
 
Coincidentally, there is an interview with former Illini bb star Marcus Liberty, in his local Sarasota paper where he admits that he was ready to commit to Cuse,but the day before his HS coach, the notorious Sonny Cox, came in and told him he was attending Illinois to play for Henson and his bagman Jimmy Collins. At the time Pearl contacted the NCAA contending that Henson and Collins paid 80k and a Blazer to acquire Libertys services( liberty was the #1 rated prep player in the nation). In the interview the reporter asked him if money changed hands and Liberty did not deny it...but said he never got any of it. Pearl is definitely a guy who pushes the envelope but Henson and Collins were dirty ...and Cox drove around in a fancy Mercedes ..on a HS coach salary? Right.

The Bruce Pearl-Illinois incident involved Deon Thomas not Marcus Liberty.
 
Coincidentally, there is an interview with former Illini bb star Marcus Liberty, in his local Sarasota paper where he admits that he was ready to commit to Cuse,but the day before his HS coach, the notorious Sonny Cox, came in and told him he was attending Illinois to play for Henson and his bagman Jimmy Collins. At the time Pearl contacted the NCAA contending that Henson and Collins paid 80k and a Blazer to acquire Libertys services( liberty was the #1 rated prep player in the nation). In the interview the reporter asked him if money changed hands and Liberty did not deny it...but said he never got any of it. Pearl is definitely a guy who pushes the envelope but Henson and Collins were dirty ...and Cox drove around in a fancy Mercedes ..on a HS coach salary? Right.

Sonny Cox also wouldn't allow his players to talk to white recruiters. And was suspended by the state for fixing players' grades. Charming guy.
 
In the early 90's I was in Knoxville for the Notre Dame-Tennessee football game. A lawyer aspiring to be an agent invited me to meet him at breakfast where his quest was prep football recruiting expert, Tom Lemming. I had gotten to know Tom and had tailgated with him in Iowa City and Ann Arbor. He called me in the 80's to tell me that a great prospect from Chicago King High School wanted to play at Iowa.

He asked me to call Carl Jackson (recruited Chicago) an tell him about the DE/OLB prospect. I did that but an offer did not materialize from Iowa. His name was Peyton Minter and he later was All Big Ten at Purdue.


Fast forward to Knoxville as Tom related a story to me about the dinner he sponsored that year
for the six high school all americans from Chicago. All of them had a way home from the downtown restaurant except Minter. So Tom offered to drive him home. They drove through areas that look liked a war zone with broken down buildings and junker cars. Suddenly, there was a shiny new Blazer
parked on the street. Peyton noticed that Lemming had looked at the Blazer as they drove by and said, "Looks like Marcus is home."

What more proof do you need?
 
In the early 90's I was in Knoxville for the Notre Dame-Tennessee football game. A lawyer aspiring to be an agent invited me to meet him at breakfast where his quest was prep football recruiting expert, Tom Lemming. I had gotten to know Tom and had tailgated with him in Iowa City and Ann Arbor. He called me in the 80's to tell me that a great prospect from Chicago King High School wanted to play at Iowa.

He asked me to call Carl Jackson (recruited Chicago) an tell him about the DE/OLB prospect. I did that but an offer did not materialize from Iowa. His name was Peyton Minter and he later was All Big Ten at Purdue.


Fast forward to Knoxville as Tom related a story to me about the dinner he sponsored that year
for the six high school all americans from Chicago. All of them had a way home from the downtown restaurant except Minter. So Tom offered to drive him home. They drove through areas that look liked a war zone with broken down buildings and junker cars. Suddenly, there was a shiny new Blazer
parked on the street. Peyton noticed that Lemming had looked at the Blazer as they drove by and said, "Looks like Marcus is home."

What more proof do you need?

Car like that wouldn't have lasted one night on the South or near-West sides of Chicago in the 80's.
 
If you take what Pearl said at face-value, he wants to go to a school that has another sport which has won championships and he wants to rebuild the men's basketball program to get at that same level. Think about those schools that have premier football programs, yet have lacked on the basketball side... and a school that MIGHT have an opening in a year or two

One HUGE one comes to mind...

Auburn.

The Tigers haven't been a consistent winner on the court, and Tony Barbee has been very lackluster down there. Pearl has coached in the south before and he can coach there again.

Another program that come to mind:
Georgia (another school that has tradition in football - and national championships to back it up - Fox could be shown the door)

And the wildcard:
Texas (better than Auburn on the court, but Rick Barnes hasn't had the results lately - football team has several national titles but the basketball program is still second fiddle)
 
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Can't beat them then join them. Or SEC where everyone cheats.

We aren't talking about football here and if he got himself in trouble at Tenn for doing things improperly, you really believe it just started there?

It is like the girl that I coach in Volleyball that got in trouble for lying to her mother. I was ribbing her and said we all know it is the first time you lied to your mom, isn't it? Her reply was: Well, I got in trouble, who knows what happened in the past.

We all know full well that when folks get in trouble for something, it is very rarely the first time something like that ever happened. In Pearl's case, I would be shocked if he was doing things that crossed the line at previous stops.

#Kelvin Sampson#Jim Harrick#Tubby Smith
 
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