Comments on: Pearl: “These Were The Best Years Of My Life!”

By: jjj

jjj — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:38:30 +0000

It's not about winning although that certainly helps. Pearl brought so much more to campus and to Knoxville. That's why this decision is so bad. We may get a decent coach (which I'm not nearly as optimistic as you are) but we'll never get back what he gave to UT as a whole and to Knoxville.

By: jjj

jjj — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 08:34:33 +0000

Thanks Jaws2. I'm a border kid (one parent from KY and the other from TN) and I grew up loving the Wildcats in bball because let's face it UT men's basketball didn't exist. I rooted for UT at everything else but the men's team was beyond irrelevant. I've been thrilled to see UK's football team make progress over the years even though there's a ways to go because it makes the games more fun for me and my family. I can also tell you firsthand that Pearl did far more for UT than give us a program. He brought a boost to the entire UT campus. His impact on the student body and environment is immeasurable. He also made himself a part of the community like no one else has and not just the usual "have to PR charity junk." This is a huge loss that goes beyond UT men's basketball for us. Our AD should be fired immediately and Bruce rehired.

By: Cal

Cal — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 02:26:04 +0000

Shaka Smart, Welcome to Knoxville.

By: HoustonVol

HoustonVol — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 20:10:11 +0000

As a life long UT fan, this makes me sad. I love Pearl. However it was the right decision. You cannot have your coach lying to the NCAA and asking for recuits parents and kids to lie on his behalf. Sorry I will not support a coach that supports this behavior. Anyone that thinks that this is the end of UT basketball for another 30 years is not seeing the whole picture. We have facilities that compete with anyone, we are in the top 5 in attendence, and are able to compete nationally for recruits. This is a school that you can build a career and win national championships. This will be a very attractive job, and it will draw lots of interest. The violations against the program were minor in compared to what is tossed at Pearl. If UT makes a good hire with someone with a clean record, they will receive a slap on the wrist now that Pearl is gone.

By: volsrule

volsrule — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:36:20 +0000

shaka smart

By: Jaws2

Jaws2 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 19:27:19 +0000

As a UK fan, I actually liked Bruce being around. He made great theatre, helped revive the rivalry, and had a lousy record against us. I was hoping he'd stay. Since it's all about money today, the new coacha will either be an up and comer or older established guy that will chase the money. Why not. What could expectations possibly be after penalties. It'll be a nice paying gig.