ego74 said:
Bruce Pearl was a central figure in the Deon Thomas University of Illinois recruiting controversy in 1989. He recorded a phone conversation between himself and Deon Thomas where Thomas said that Jimmy Collins of Illinois (now coach of UIC) offered to buy him a car or something if he went to Illinois. I think that Pearl has been semi-blackballed from being a head coach at major universities ever since - he had to take his first head coaching job at a D-II, despite having been Tom Davis's assistant at both Stanford and Iowa. I might have some of the details wrong, but that's the basic plot.
I don't understand the blackballing of this guy. Even as an Illinois alum (which means I am supposed to hate the guy) I can understand what he did, he was a young assistant coach trying to do what he thought his coach and AD would want him to do. He's obviously a good coach, as UWM's victory over BC today illustrates - his team went toe to toe with a physical opponent and came out on top. The the fact that he had to coach in Division II for so long is ridiculous. But if he ever got the head coach job at Iowa, that would really escalate the Illinois-Iowa rivalry.
Bring Steve Alford home to Indiana, and let Iowa have Bruce Pearl..
Bruce is a good coach, but having met him many times when he coached here in my city, the guy is irritating, and just a "little" too full of himself...
He is dangerous on the bench, but he definitely likes to let you know that too...
Bruce is a good coach, but having met him many times when he coached here in my city, the guy is irritating, and just a "little" too full of himself...
He is dangerous on the bench, but he definitely likes to let you know that too...
