Tigers X - Number one Source to Talk Auburn Tigers Sports
Pat Dye Field => Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum => Topic started by: Ogre on March 18, 2014, 11:13:18 AM
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SPLASH! AUBURN HIRES BRUCE PEARL AS BASKETBALL COACH
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn hired Bruce Pearl as its new basketball coach Tuesday, bringing in a frequent visitor to the NCAA Tournament, a coach with SEC experience, a three-time national coach of the year and fan favorite.
Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005 through the 2011 season, taking all six of his teams to the NCAA Tournament. He's been an ESPN basketball analyst the last several seasons,
"I'm humbled and blessed to be back in the game that I love," Pearl said. "I don't know how long it will take, but it's time to rebuild the Auburn basketball program, and bring it to a level of excellence so many of the other teams on campus enjoy."
Pearl was the second fastest to 300 career wins in NCAA history, trailing only North Carolina's Roy Williams. Pearl is a two-time SEC coach of the yeaer.
Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs welcomed his new coach.
"From the moment I met Coach Pearl and heard his vision for our basketball program, it was clear he’s the right man at the right time for Auburn," Jacobs said.
"Coach Pearl is a proven winner who will bring energy and excitement to our program. We have raised the bar for Auburn basketball, and I could not be more excited for our student-athletes and our future under Coach Pearl’s leadership. I know he agrees with me — it’s time to win."
Pearl won a Division II national championship at Southern Indiana during the 1994-95 season. He went 231–46 in nine seasons there from 1992-2001. He spent the next four years at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he went 86-36 that included two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Sweet 16.
He was hired at Tennessee in time for the 2005-06 season and promptly led the Vols, in order, to the NCAA Tournament's second round, two straight Sweet 16 appearances, a first-round game, the Elite Eight and back to the first round.
He went 145-61 at Tennessee in six seasons.
Pearl replaces Tony Barbee, who was dismissed last Wednesday at the end of a 14-16 record.
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Fucking Awesome.
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AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs has made a big splash by hiring former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl as the Tigers' new men's basketball coach, according to the school.
Pearl's hire ends a whirlwind six-day search that focused its energy on him.
"I'm humbled and blessed to back in the game that I love," Pearl said. "I don't know how long it will take, but it's time to rebuild the Auburn basketball program, and bring it to a level of excellence so many of the other teams on campus enjoy."
Jacobs, who led the search alone and promised to conduct the search for a new basketball coach quickly, has now remade his top sports, landing Gus Malzahn for the football program, stealing Sunny Golloway away from Oklahoma for baseball, hiring two-time national champion Clint Myers for softball and now landing Pearl, a proven coach coming off of a show-cause.
"From the moment I met Coach Pearl and heard his vision for our basketball program, it was clear he’s the right man at the right time for Auburn," Jacobs said. "Coach Pearl is a proven winner who will bring energy and excitement to our program. We have raised the bar for Auburn basketball, and I could not be more excited for our student-athletes and our future under Coach Pearl’s leadership. I know he agrees with me — it’s time to win."
Pearl, who was instantly identified as a top candidate for the job after Jacobs fired Tony Barbee following Auburn's SEC Tournament loss, is a proven coach with a 231-99 record in 10 seasons at the Division I level, piling up eight NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteen finishes and one Elite Eight.
Before he was hired at UW-Milwaukee, Pearl spent 10 years at NCAA Division II Southern Indiana, where he won the national championship.
Pearl, 54, has been working as an ESPN analyst and the vice president of marketing for the H.T. Hackney Company, also comes with some baggage.
He is in the final months of a three-year show-cause penalty levied, a penalty that requires a school to produce evidence to the NCAA for hiring him and bans him from recruiting until the show-cause expires on Aug. 23 of this year.
In 2008, Pearl hosted three recruits, including current Ohio State star Aaron Craft at his home for a cookout – an NCAA secondary violation – and then lied about the cookout to the NCAA, turning a secondary violation into a major violation.
But Auburn feels like it's well-equipped to take on a coach with Pearl's history.
Dave Didion, who returned to Auburn as assistant athletic director of compliance last year, was the lead investigator on Pearl's case, according to a source, and the school feels that a strong compliance department led by Didion and compliance director Rich McGlynn will be able to guide Pearl well on compliance issues.
Didion also signed off on Auburn's pursuit of Pearl, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
Beyond the problems the show cause presents, though, Pearl brings instant credibility and exposure to a basketball program that hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Popular with fans and media, Pearl has a big personality that makes him a good fit for building support for the school across the state.
In addition to his lengthy history of winning, Pearl knows the SEC, and he understands what it's like to revitalize basketball at a school with a high-profile football program.
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I just jizzed. And still have massive wood. This is friggin awesome.
Kudos JJ.
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(http://www.tigersx.com/images/pearl.jpg)
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http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10626778/bruce-pearl-accepts-auburn-tigers-head-basketball-coaching-job (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10626778/bruce-pearl-accepts-auburn-tigers-head-basketball-coaching-job)
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Looking forward to him appearing at a women's basketball game in full body paint and titty-bumping the women's basketball coach -- whoever that may be.
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Looking forward to him appearing at a women's basketball game in full body paint and titty-bumping the women's basketball coach -- whoever that may be.
Wait....Does bumping titties with him cause memory loss?
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(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOQPXp0BZvI/TweufuJei-I/AAAAAAAAAJo/-v9lIr83cqw/s1600/riperwte44hhrped2.jpg)
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His Wife...DOUBLE BOOM!
(http://loserswithsocks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/bp1.jpg)
(http://www.korkedbats.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/brandy-miller-and-pearl.jpg)
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Too soon?
(http://ama-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/11101934.jpg)
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Too soon?
(http://ama-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/11101934.jpg)
Where am I?
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This is another wait and see situation with more upside than down.
When all of the crap went down and UT, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash. I think we will not see any issues out of him.
But I also ponder what this means for us long-term. Will he rebuild and then move on? Will he rebuild and then love it here? Or will he find out that there is no rebuild and jump ship?
In either case, it brings more hope than we have had the last 10 years.
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This is another wait and see situation with more upside than down.
When all of the crap went down and UT, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash. I think we will not see any issues out of him.
But I also ponder what this means for us long-term. Will he rebuild and then move on? Will he rebuild and then love it here? Or will he find out that there is no rebuild and jump ship?
In either case, it brings more hope than we have had the last 10 years.
I don't know how we will treat our basketball coach.
But there has never been a football coach to experience success at Auburn and then leave for "greener pastures." They either love it here or we give them every reason to stay.
I get the feeling that if we're investing this much money and effort into the basketball program, we'll be willing to do the same for Pearl.
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If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.
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If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.
In his 19 years of coaching college basketball, he's made the tournament 17 times.
I agree. If he can't do it, no one can.
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No more Jew jokes around here. Nip it. Nip it in the bud.
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If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.
I thought we already did?
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AUBURN DAILY EXTRA
Auburn Family invited to Bruce Pearl news conference tonight at Auburn Arena
All members of the Auburn Family are cordially invited to the news conference to welcome Auburn head men's basketball Coach Bruce Pearl. The news conference will take place at Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. tonight. Parking is available at the Stadium Deck, Coliseum and Auburn Arena. Fans should enter through the Scholarship entrance, and seating will be in the 100 level. For more information about the new coach, read the story http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031814aaa.html (http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031814aaa.html).
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I thought we already did?
I mean officially
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As much flack as most of us have given JJ over the years--and a lot of it deserved very rightfully, I might add-- he has made some fantastic hires. I mean out of the park hires. TBD on the results but damn, I guess this is the 4th homer.
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Very good news for the Auburn Basketball Program! I have to agree with others; if he can't improve it I don't know who else could do it who is available.
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We're still shitty
But srlsy shitty, I recall seeing some pieces on Pearl's time at UT. He was doing the Trooper thing in the cafeteria, getting up on tables and leading cheers. Getting the student body excited about the program.
On another note, I'm not making fun of Bret Bulemia anymore for being a slob and having a smoking hot wife. Pearl is not a slob but he ain't exactly a Chippendale dancer either. How $$$ in the $$$ world did he $$$ get a wife like $$$ that?
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We're still shootty
But srlsy shootty, I recall seeing some pieces on Pearl's time at UT. He was doing the Trooper thing in the cafeteria, getting up on tables and leading cheers. Getting the student body excited about the program.
On another note, I'm not making fun of Bret Bulemia anymore for being a slob and having a smoking hot wife. Pearl is not a slob but he ain't exactly a Chippendale dancer either. How $$$ in the $$$ world did he $$$ get a wife like $$$ that?
Look, he may be like me and not be able to wear Bermuda shorts in summer. Or, his Rabbi may have left a happy bump on him at circumcision.
Don't just jump to the conclusion that his smoking hot babe for a wife is with him for the money. And as a former Chippendale dancer, I am insulted that you use this in your example. Just because we danced professionally and look "hot" by societies standard does not mean that people should treat us as objects in their illustrations and analogies.
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Look, he may be like me and not be able to wear Bermuda shorts in summer. Or, his Rabbi may have left a happy bump on him at circumcision.
Don't just jump to the conclusion that his smoking hot babe for a wife is with him for the money. And as a former Chippendale dancer, I am insulted that you use this in your example. Just because we danced professionally and look "hot" by societies standard does not mean that people should treat us as objects in their illustrations and analogies.
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m606/Itsallfuckinghappening/gifs/tomcruiselaugh.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/Itsallfuckinghappening/media/gifs/tomcruiselaugh.gif.html)
(http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m620/VickieThaoKPOP/GIFS/AfterSchool-Laughing.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/VickieThaoKPOP/media/GIFS/AfterSchool-Laughing.gif.html)
(http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j370/Jezey/Laughing%20Crying%20Gifs/LagunaBeach3.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/Jezey/media/Laughing%20Crying%20Gifs/LagunaBeach3.gif.html)
(http://i597.photobucket.com/albums/tt57/panic-girl13/gifs/laughing.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/panic-girl13/media/gifs/laughing.gif.html)
(http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab153/lia1825/Gifs/xt10.gif) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/lia1825/media/Gifs/xt10.gif.html)
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Pearl's been a HC 19 season. 17 of those, his team made the NCAA tourney. :jaw:
Auburn's been to the NCAA tourney 8 times total. :jaw:
Basketball Wood. I most definitely has it!
(http://www.arkansassoldierz.com/basket_ball_court.jpg)
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Happy about the hire. Even though his name had been thrown around the last few days, I never even seriously considered Pearl coming here. Why would a guy with his credentials come to a basketball shit hole like Auburn? There are several jobs opening up around the country with much more potential and recent success than ours, including Virginia Tech in the ACC.
As many have said, name one coach that has gone on to greater success after a stint at AU. Here's the thing. Tony Barbee didn't become a shitty coach overnight. Lebo proved he could win somewhere else. Just about any coach around the country can handle the X's and O's...but it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's. No one has been able to recruit to this program for over 15 years. Why? They invested the money in a badly needed new arena and made the game experience 10X what it was. And the program is in worse shape than it's ever been.
WT and I were going back and forth on this and he mentioned what some have talked about. Is it the shoe/apparel contract? Some feel we're black balled ($1 to WT) because of it and we're never going to get the players as long as we're with Under Armour. If that's the case, how does Pearl overcome that? How does Pearl finally get legit D1 players to come to Auburn? If he can't, he'll just be added to the list of failed AU Corches.
I'm not trying to be negative but 15+ years of being a laughing stock in an overall shitty league has just jaded me. Love the fact that JJ or whoever is responsible for this hire went after the splash hire...the biggest name available. Great job!!! But, how does Bruce Pearl do what few before him have been able to do...get top notch players to sign with Auburn.
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So do we rename the arena the "Black Pearl"?
What will the student section be called, "The Pearl Necklaces"?.
Just read what Dax's uncle in the above post had to say. Damn, he needs a pick me up!
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Jay Jacobs open letter...
When I made the decision to move our basketball program in a new direction, I pledged to find a coach who will lead a turnaround. I promised to hire the coach who will give our student-athletes a chance to succeed on the court and in the classroom.
We found our man in Coach Bruce Pearl. We needed a leader who will bring passion and energy to our program, and Coach Pearl fit the mold better than anyone.
We found a coach who agrees with me - it's time to win.
With this hire, the bar has been raised for Auburn basketball. Coach Pearl is a proven winner. He will work tirelessly to generate excitement for our program, and his track record says he will succeed.
As you no doubt know, Coach Pearl was removed from coaching for three years after an NCAA infractions case that occurred at his previous job.
After looking at the case and talking to Coach Pearl face to face, I am convinced without a doubt that he has learned from his mistake.
I've thought about this a great deal, and obviously so has Coach Pearl. I believe people who are genuine and sincere deserve second chances. If I did not believe Coach Pearl's apologies were sincere and heartfelt, I would not have even considered him.
I believe his apology was heartfelt and his remorse is real. I believe people deserve a chance for redemption when they admit their mistakes, and that is why I hired him.
This is a great day for Auburn. I believe you will enjoy getting to know Coach Pearl, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the future of Auburn basketball has never been brighter.
Thank you for your support. God Bless and War Eagle!
Jay Jacobs
P.S. If you don't have tickets already, put down a deposit for the 2014-2015 basketball season. For information on tickets, please call Tigers Unlimited at 1-855-282-2010. You don't want to miss it.
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Pearl's been a HC 19 season. 17 of those, his team made the NCAA tourney. :jaw:
Auburn's been to the NCAA tourney 8 times total. :jaw:
Basketball Wood. I most definitely has it!
Break out the Starburys...we goin' dancin'!!
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Who shows up first in the stands dressed like ZZ Top?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIJtlozd-Tw# (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIJtlozd-Tw#)
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Now at the TigersX Basketball outing we will actually watch basketball (and actually fucking go) next year!
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Happy about the hire. Even though his name had been thrown around the last few days, I never even seriously considered Pearl coming here. Why would a guy with his credentials come to a basketball shoot hole like Auburn? There are several jobs opening up around the country with much more potential and recent success than ours, including Virginia Tech in the ACC.
As many have said, name one coach that has gone on to greater success after a stint at AU. Here's the thing. Tony Barbee didn't become a shootty coach overnight. Lebo proved he could win somewhere else. Just about any coach around the country can handle the X's and O's...but it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's. No one has been able to recruit to this program for over 15 years. Why? They invested the money in a badly needed new arena and made the game experience 10X what it was. And the program is in worse shape than it's ever been.
WT and I were going back and forth on this and he mentioned what some have talked about. Is it the shoe/apparel contract? Some feel we're black balled ($1 to WT) because of it and we're never going to get the players as long as we're with Under Armour. If that's the case, how does Pearl overcome that? How does Pearl finally get legit D1 players to come to Auburn? If he can't, he'll just be added to the list of failed AU Corches.
I'm not trying to be negative but 15+ years of being a laughing stock in an overall shootty league has just jaded me. Love the fact that JJ or whoever is responsible for this hire went after the splash hire...the biggest name available. Great job!!! But, how does Bruce Pearl do what few before him have been able to do...get top notch players to sign with Auburn.
One of two things we need to hope for: that a new shoe contract is in the works OR Bruce Pearl is a big enough name to overcome the shoe obstacle and attract elite players. You are right about getting the players and about Lebo, etc. We gotsta get 'em here. One big difference between this hire and those, at least I think, is that his reputation is already established as one of the better coaches in the biz. They were both up and comers, imo.
Obviously, he could fizzle here. We all know it. But, he gives us as good of a shot as anyone out there that would consider it. And, I'm delightfully surprised that he did decide to come. Hopefully, that means that he intends to turn us into a winner for reals. I would like to think he isn't risking his rep on just collecting a paycheck till he can move on to the ACC.
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This cat got in a mosh pit of Auburn students when he got off the plane.
He is in!
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This cat got in a mosh pit of Auburn students when he got off the plane.
He is in!
Awesome video of just that:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464)
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Awesome video of just that:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464)
This is absolutely great. I gots to say, I've never been this excited about a basketball hire. I don't know how real the guy is and don't want to know. I'm sold. That about the cell phone was classic.
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We bowlin' baby!
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Do you know how to download videos to Facebook?
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This cat got in a mosh pit of Auburn students when he got off the plane.
He is in!
That.
That did it.
All in.
And yes, he's kind of chunky but in a lovable teddy bear kind of way. And the over the top personality is attractive as well. I can see where he'd score a hot wife - it may not all be the $$$. I'll bet he is fun to be around and be married to.
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Awesome video of just that:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464 (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=359209800884464)
Looks like everyone who has been going to the games was there to welcome him at the airport....All 30 of them.
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Looks like everyone who has been going to the games was there to welcome him at the airport....All 30 of them.
Tens of people there to greet him.
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That.
That did it.
All in.
And yes, he's kind of chunky but in a lovable teddy bear kind of way. And the over the top personality is attractive as well. I can see where he'd score a hot wife - it may not all be the $$$. I'll bet he is fun to be around and be married to.
You are always looking for the french benefits...
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Looks like everyone who has been going to the games was there to welcome him at the airport....All 30 of them.
Was his wife there and are there pictures of her?
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Do you know how to download videos to Facebook?
http://auburn.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1621661 (http://auburn.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1621661)
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Looks like everyone who has been going to the games was there to welcome him at the airport....All 30 of them.
Was Garman asleep back there?
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and to the Naysayer Snaggle, it is about a lot of things, but most importantly it starts with the coach.
Look at UF they were never a basketball school till Donovan got there. It just takes that one special coach.
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It just takes that one special coach.
And a whistle. They need a good whistle.
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Was Garman asleep back there?
On another plane I'm guessing yes.
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Not sure if already discussed but...
Pearl's been a HC 19 season. 17 of those, his team made the NCAA tourney.
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Not sure if already discussed but...
Pearl's been a HC 19 season. 17 of those, his team made the NCAA tourney.
You are the first. Good point.
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and to the Naysayer Snaggle, it is about a lot of things, but most importantly it starts with the coach.
Look at UF they were never a basketball school till Donovan got there. It just takes that one special coach.
I don't know if I'm so much a naysayer as I am cynical. Love, love, love the hire. They went for the splash and hit a perfect can opener. Couldn't axe fo mo. Just wondering how he'll change the very definite culture or maybe pattern of the inability to get players to come here. If it really is the UA contract that's in the way, how do you get around that? Because there is most definitely something going on.
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That.
That did it.
All in.
And yes, he's kind of chunky but in a lovable teddy bear kind of way. And the over the top personality is attractive as well. I can see where he'd score a hot wife - it may not all be the $$$. I'll bet he is fun to be around and be married to.
Ok, so apparently that is not the first Mrs. Pearl. And he ain't no choirboy either. I did not recall all of this, but it sounds Petrino-esque. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin... I'm a forgive-and-forgettin' Christian, and I say, if his rambunctiousness, and misdemeanoring is behind him...
From ESPN.
In August, the cloud of NCAA shame will be officially lifted from his name, when the show-cause penalty he earned for lying during the course of a 2011 investigation at Tennessee is over. The investigation, the accusations and the penalties shamed Pearl, which maybe wasn’t a bad thing.
No one needs public censure or ridicule, but Pearl, who tried to pretend he didn’t recognize a barbecue in his own backyard, was on the verge of becoming something plenty of successful people become: a tad too big for his own britches. Success comes easily, followed by adoration and admiration, and suddenly no one looks quite as pretty as that darned good-looking face staring back in the mirror.
Because remember, before the NCAA mess, there were the pretty girls in bikinis on the boat and the messy divorce, complete with a hair salon called Alimony's owned by his ex-wife.
If Pearl's response to his success wasn’t all wrong, it was at least a tad tacky -- a sign that the coach who had worked so hard, who had been almost publicly shunned by the coaching community after turning in Illinois to the NCAA while an Iowa assistant, had maybe lost some of his up-by-the-bootstraps ways.
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Here's the whole article:
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/96481/humbled-hungry-pearl-right-fit-for-auburn (http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/96481/humbled-hungry-pearl-right-fit-for-auburn)
It’s about the record, because it’s always about the record.
Auburn didn’t hire Bruce Pearl because he did well in the interview or because he already has some orange in his wardrobe.
Auburn hired Pearl because everywhere he’s gone, he’s won. From the smallest of the small (Division II Southern Indiana), to the middest of the majors (Milwaukee) to the biggest of the bigs (Tennessee), Pearl’s win-loss record is an unimpeachable 462-145.
And no doubt Auburn also hired Pearl because he’s a huge get for a program that doesn’t get many huge gets. He has charm, charisma and a name that immediately legitimizes a program that has long been the illegitimate child of its behemoth football team.
Auburn typically views basketball season as the stopgap between a BCS title game and spring practice. Adding Pearl could dramatically change that seasonal timeframe.
In getting Pearl now, at this particular crossroads of his career, Auburn gets a man who is ideally suited to fix what ails the Tigers.
Coaches love to break huddles with "stay humble, stay hungry."
Bruce Pearl is both humbled and hungry.
“I’m humbled," in fact, is how he began his statement included with the news of his hiring.
For Tony Barbee, Auburn was a step up the coaching ladder, a reward for winning at even-harder-to-win UTEP. Maybe things weren’t great on The Plains, but the money, the budget, the recruiting potential -- all of it was better than at El Paso. In 2010, here came a wide-eyed, new big-league coach, ready to conquer the world.
Pearl isn’t wide-eyed. He is clear-eyed. He comes to the Tigers hat in hand, happy to have the chance to coach again.
In August, the cloud of NCAA shame will be officially lifted from his name, when the show-cause penalty he earned for lying during the course of a 2011 investigation at Tennessee is over. The investigation, the accusations and the penalties shamed Pearl, which maybe wasn’t a bad thing.
No one needs public censure or ridicule, but Pearl, who tried to pretend he didn’t recognize a barbecue in his own backyard, was on the verge of becoming something plenty of successful people become: a tad too big for his own britches. Success comes easily, followed by adoration and admiration, and suddenly no one looks quite as pretty as that darned good-looking face staring back in the mirror.
Because remember, before the NCAA mess, there were the pretty girls in bikinis on the boat and the messy divorce, complete with a hair salon called Alimony's owned by his ex-wife.
If Pearl's response to his success wasn’t all wrong, it was at least a tad tacky -- a sign that the coach who had worked so hard, who had been almost publicly shunned by the coaching community after turning in Illinois to the NCAA while an Iowa assistant, had maybe lost some of his up-by-the-bootstraps ways.
To his credit -- really to his immense credit, because no one takes the blame for anything these days -- Pearl has spent his time in NCAA exile talking about what he did. He’s cautioned kids, coaches and anyone who will listen not to make the same mistakes he’s made, to always tell the truth and to own up to your mistakes.
Now Pearl re-enters the profession after a come-to-earth free fall, duly chastened, thoroughly reinvigorated and truly repentant.
And most of all, hungry to get back to work.
Auburn needs a hungry coach -- starving, actually -- because this job isn’t easy. The Tigers have eight NCAA Tournament berths in their history, five in the Sonny Smith era. The last successful run came in 2003 under Cliff Ellis. A year later, he was fired.
Pearl isn’t a magician and Auburn fans would be wise to remember that, but he is no stranger to rebuilding jobs.
Southern Indiana won 10 games before he arrived. Before he left, he had the team in the Division II national title game. Milwaukee never had won a Division I league title before Pearl. By the time he left, the Panthers had been to the Sweet 16.
And Tennessee had missed the NCAA tournament four straight years before Pearl arrived. Then, suddenly the Vols were 6-for-6 in tourney berths and, at one point, were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
That, of course, is why Auburn hired him -- the track record of success.
But the Tigers really are getting so much more.
They’re getting exactly what they need -- a coach who knows how to win, yes, but a coach who is hungry to win and humbled to have the chance to try again.
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Ok, so apparently that is not the first Mrs. Pearl. And he ain't no choirboy either. I did not recall all of this, but it sounds Petrino-esque. I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin... I'm a forgive-and-forgettin' Christian, and I say, if his rambunctiousness, and misdemeanoring is behind him...
It is behind you, isn't it coach?
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From ESPN.
:fu: ESPN.
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http://msn.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/auburn-now-has-the-best-coaching-tandem-in-the-country.php (http://msn.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/auburn-now-has-the-best-coaching-tandem-in-the-country.php)
Auburn Now Has the Best Coaching Tandem in the Country
Published on: March 18, 2014 | Written by: Clay Travis
Sixteen months ago Auburn's football coach was Gene Chizik and its basketball coach was Tony Barbee.
This was the worst combo of head coaches in the SEC, and one of the worst tandems in the entire nation.
Fast forward 16 months and everything has changed -- Auburn now has Gus Malzahn installed in football and today they added Bruce Pearl in basketball. In just sixteen months Auburn has gone from having two of the worst head coaches in college athletics to having the best. Think about what a wild transition this is for an athletic program. Jay Jacobs has gone from being booed after hiring Gene Chizik to putting together the best coaching tandem in college athletics.
If athletic directors could win the Heisman trophy for a year's performance, Jay Jacobs would be the unanimous selection this year.
What a total whirlwind, from one of the worst coaching combos in the country to the best in just sixteen months.
Pearl will win big at Auburn because the SEC is so awful at basketball. He immediately becomes, at worst, the third best coach in the conference. (And you can argue, as I would, that Pearl is second only to Billy Donovan). Given that Auburn employs the lead investigator who gave Bruce Pearl a three-year show cause, expect for Pearl and Auburn to appear before the NCAA and seek a lifting of his penalties that run until August. Expect the NCAA to acquiesce and expect uniformly positive national media reaction to this hire for two reasons: 1. Pearl was vastly overpenalized for a minor transgression and 2. the media, like most college basketball fans, love Bruce Pearl.
The SEC badly needs Pearl back in the conference too. You think Pearl's attempt to resuscitate a dead Auburn program might play well on the new SEC Network? Mike Slive and company desperately need for SEC basketball to be relevant national programming. Love him or hate him, Pearl makes great television.
Meanwhile pity poor Tennessee, the most snakebit program in major college athletics ever since Phil Fulmer was fired. Basically, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong with Tennessee athletics. I halfway expect for Butch Jones to get electrocuted using his microphone during spring practice. If General Neyland came back to life tomorrow, Mississippi State would find a way to hire him as football coach while Tennessee somehow found a way to rehire Derek Dooley.
Here's Tennessee in the six years with Bruce Pearl:
145-61, with six NCAA tournament appearances.
Here's Tennessee in the seven years without Bruce Pearl coaching -- the four before he was hired and the three after he left.
121-99, with one play-in game as an 11 seed against Iowa.
If Tennessee loses to Iowa tomorrow, the day after Auburn hires Bruce Pearl, be glad you don't have to check athletic director Dave Hart's email. It will be nasty, not as nasty as when Bruce Pearl comes to Knoxville coaching Auburn and gets a standing ovation from Vol fans, but close.
But this isn't really a story about Tennessee's collapse, it's about Auburn's miraculous rise over the past 16 months, from the depths of Gene Chizik and Tony Barbee despair, to a new athletics dawn.
Now that Pearl and Malzahn are both at Auburn, who else can even compete with Auburn for the best football and basketball coaches in the country?
Ohio State has a great duo with Urban Meyer and Thad Matta. You can make a strong argument for the Buckeye duo. Michigan State is rolling with Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo. You could also consider Coach K and David Cutcliffe at Duke as well as Rick Pitino and Bobby Petrino at Louisville. But all of these tandems came together over a decade or more. None of them were put together in 16 months. Other than these five tandems? There isn't anyone even close to the Malzahn and Pearl combination in college athletics. This doesn't even consider the incredibly exciting brand of football and basketball both bring to the table. Who doesn't love watching Malzahn with his sweater-vest and turtle neck fist pumping after touchdowns and Pearl sweating like a mad man as he gesticulates like a crazy sideline maestro. Plus, considering what both Malzahn and Pearl have already accomplished -- and are likely to accomplish in the future -- I'd take Malzahn and Pearl as the best coaching duo in college athletics over the other four combinations I laid out here.
Sixteen months ago what odds would you have given me on Auburn pulling off this seismic change in coach ranking, from one of the worst combinations in the country to one of the best? Hell, this makes the kick six against Alabama seem downright likely.
How good is to be an Auburn Tiger fan right now?
One of my buddies just texted me and said, "You should just become an Auburn fan for the next 5-10 years."
It's good advice.
Everyone in college athletics is looking up to the Auburn Tigers.
War damn eagle, indeed.
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I'm stoked right now for real. Finally, FINALLY, the Auburn Arena can be put to good use and Auburn basketball will be relevant again.
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Happy about the hire. Even though his name had been thrown around the last few days, I never even seriously considered Pearl coming here. Why would a guy with his credentials come to a basketball shit hole like Auburn? There are several jobs opening up around the country with much more potential and recent success than ours, including Virginia Tech in the ACC.
As many have said, name one coach that has gone on to greater success after a stint at AU. Here's the thing. Tony Barbee didn't become a shitty coach overnight. Lebo proved he could win somewhere else. Just about any coach around the country can handle the X's and O's...but it's about the Jimmy's and Joe's. No one has been able to recruit to this program for over 15 years. Why? They invested the money in a badly needed new arena and made the game experience 10X what it was. And the program is in worse shape than it's ever been.
WT and I were going back and forth on this and he mentioned what some have talked about. Is it the shoe/apparel contract? Some feel we're black balled ($1 to WT) because of it and we're never going to get the players as long as we're with Under Armour. If that's the case, how does Pearl overcome that? How does Pearl finally get legit D1 players to come to Auburn? If he can't, he'll just be added to the list of failed AU Corches.
I'm not trying to be negative but 15+ years of being a laughing stock in an overall shitty league has just jaded me. Love the fact that JJ or whoever is responsible for this hire went after the splash hire...the biggest name available. Great job!!! But, how does Bruce Pearl do what few before him have been able to do...get top notch players to sign with Auburn.
This what what I was trying to convey. And then Joe Dean Jr. was on this morning and brought something to light I never considered...Pearl doesn't have a string of former players in the NBA like most of the top tier coaches. So that in itself excites me knowing he can get us to the tourney without two or three McDonald All-Americans. But his reputation alone should draw talent. STOKED!
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I don't understand the whole shoe thing? Kids just don't want to wear UA over Nike?
That can't be it. Surely they aren't picking schools based on what kind of game shoe they have to wear unless UA simply sucks ass and is uncomfortable. Then I'd understand.
If Nike is being closed doors threatening them to not go to UA schools, fuck Nike. And it's bullshit. Nike will throw a huge contract to a superstar NBA player no matter what college he went to nor what shoe he wore on game night.
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"War Eagle, and.......I'm baaaaaack!" #winning
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I don't understand the whole shoe thing? Kids just don't want to wear UA over Nike?
That can't be it. Surely they aren't picking schools based on what kind of game shoe they have to wear unless UA simply sucks ass and is uncomfortable. Then I'd understand.
If Nike is being closed doors threatening them to not go to UA schools, fuck Nike. And it's bullshit. Nike will throw a huge contract to a superstar NBA player no matter what college he went to nor what shoe he wore on game night.
Nike is big in the AAU circuit, and from what I've heard that makes it tough for an Under Armour program to get access to those recruits.
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Auburn got a steal. Particularly the buyout portion.
http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_signs_6-year_deal.html (http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_signs_6-year_deal.html)
Bruce Pearl signs 6-year Auburn deal worth $2.2 million per year that includes hefty buyout for both sides
By Joel A. Erickson
on March 18, 2014 at 6:43 PM, updated March 18, 2014 at 8:29 PM
AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs has signed new basketball coach Bruce Pearl to a six-year deal worth $2.2 million per year in the first year.
After the first year, according to Jacobs, the contract has a $100,000 escalator in each succeeding year -- meaning $2.3 million in his second season, $2.4 million in his third year, and so on.
""When you see the contract I signed, you can tell," Pearl said, "(Jacobs) raised the bar in men's basketball"
Pearl's contract also includes a hefty buyout if he decides to leave Auburn early. If Pearl leaves Auburn in the first two seasons, he owes the school $5 million, then it decelerates to $4 million in the season after that and down to $1 million.
"We've made an investment in basketball, and he has to," Jacobs said.
If Auburn fires Pearl before the end of his contract, Pearl's buyout is half of his pay, so $1.1 million per year.
Pearl's salary represents a significant increase from what the Tigers were paying former coach Tony Barbee, who made $1.5 million per year.
And it's raise from the $1.9 million Pearl made at Tennessee.
Barbee is still owed $2.4375 million through 2017, a buyout negotiated at $750,000 per year, payable in monthly installments.
According to salaries compiled by the Knoxville News-Sentinel last year, that figure would tie Pearl for third among SEC coaches with Arkansas' Mike Anderson, behind only Kentucky's John Calipari and Florida's Billy Donovan.
No contract has been released by Auburn yet after Pearl was hired Tuesday morning, ending a whirlwind search that lasted six days, but Pearl has signed a letter of agreement.
"He's signed a letter of agreement," Jacobs said. "We're working on the contract today. We just couldn't get it all done last night."
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Triple BOOM!
(http://i.imgur.com/nRZPLmK.png)
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I'll say this, if Coach Pearl only stays at Auburn for 3-4 years then goes to the NBA or wherever, then he'll have put the Auburn basketball program light years ahead of where it is today, IMO.
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Jay Jacobs really gets it. Who knew? :aubie:
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Is it just me, or is there a bit of a resemblance?
(http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/e0d45be/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F8b%2Fb521b6851d42974b1413a94521d25e%2Fmedia%3Af8f132724fe44bf9bd9ed1e244e14958AuburnPearlBasketball.JPEG)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Ralph_Jordan.jpg/220px-Ralph_Jordan.jpg)
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Is it just me, or is there a bit of a resemblance?
(http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/e0d45be/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F8b%2Fb521b6851d42974b1413a94521d25e%2Fmedia%3Af8f132724fe44bf9bd9ed1e244e14958AuburnPearlBasketball.JPEG)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Ralph_Jordan.jpg/220px-Ralph_Jordan.jpg)
Jay Jacobs looks nothing like Shug.
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http://youtu.be/Okgb6I6mXBQ (http://youtu.be/Okgb6I6mXBQ)
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Bruce Pearl's teams have increased their win total by an average of 7 games in his first year at a school.
Bruce Pearl holds or shares the record for single-season wins at all three schools where he's coached.
How about this: #Auburn basketball sold just 189 regular season tickets last year. Since 10 a.m. today? 250 deposits on regular season tix.
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Nike is big in the AAU circuit, and from what I've heard that makes it tough for an Under Armour program to get access to those recruits.
I understand this premise. I do not understand why.
My suspicion is benefits. E.g., Do Nike and the other companies have paid "handlers" that take care of things for the AAU coaches? Do these coaches help take care of their players?
There is a lot of expense involved in travel. If so, is the player influenced out of loyalty or familiarity toward one school over another because of the shoe connection? I can't imagine there being someone at Nike calling a recruit and telling them that they need to go a specific school. But, I'm sure their old AAU coach could say this to them and it would hit home. They could stay in touch with the AAU coach throughout their college career and if the coach provides benefits for the player, is this a violation?
Someone needs to splain it to me.
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Is it just me, or is there a bit of a resemblance?
(http://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/e0d45be/2147483647/resize/652x%3E/quality/85/?url=%2Fcmsmedia%2F8b%2Fb521b6851d42974b1413a94521d25e%2Fmedia%3Af8f132724fe44bf9bd9ed1e244e14958AuburnPearlBasketball.JPEG)
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/95/Ralph_Jordan.jpg/220px-Ralph_Jordan.jpg)
Shug did coach our basketball team for 10 years compiling a 95-77 record. Both better than Barbee and Lebo. I blame Nike.
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Like I said: Get Person as an assistant.
http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_brings_two_familia.html (http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_brings_two_familia.html)
Bruce Pearl brings two familiar faces to Auburn as he starts building coaching staff
Brandon Marcello
March 19, 2014 at 6:30 AM
AUBURN, Alabama -- Bruce Pearl has a few hires left to make, but his first two assistants will provide a comfortable atmosphere for the coach as he re-enters the college ranks as Auburn's coach.
Longtime assistant Tony Jones, who served as Pearl's top assistant at Tennessee, will take the same position at Auburn following a three-year break from the college ranks. Steven Pearl, his son, will join the staff and help with player development.
Bruce Pearl said Tuesday he has a few leads as he searches for a third full-time assistant coach.
"I have 690 text messages right now and the great thing is that we are going to hire at least one or two and I"m going to take my time on that to bring a couple of great assistants in here that can challenge me and help me do what we are going to try to do," he said.
The third assistant will be an important one for the first-year Auburn coach, who will be unable to hit the recruiting trail until Aug. 23 because of a show-cause penalty stemming from his days coaching Tennessee.
Jones will lead the Tigers' recruiting efforts for the time being while Steven Pearl works in the office and in the weight room. Steven Pearl does not expect to be heavily involved in recruiting because of his lack of experience.
"I probably won't be since I'm brand new at it and it would be stupid of them to let me go recruit," Steven Pearl said.
Potential candidates include Auburn legend Chuck Person, a longtime NBA assistant who most recently coached in South Korea. Person attended Pearl's introductory press conference Tuesday inside Auburn Arena but declined an interview request.
Ryan Miller served four years on Tony Barbee's staff at Auburn and could get a call to stay on board. Pearl could also reach out to Jason Shay, another former assistant on his staff at Tennessee. Shay is now an assistant at North Dakota.
Jones will act as the de facto head coach on the road while Pearl serves the remainder of his show-cause penalty for lying to NCAA investigators during the tail-end of his six-year tenure at Tennessee.
"I've seen scouting lists, so I'm going to look them over and obviously once I get with compliance and see when we're able to start being able to contact, we'll meticulously and methodically go through the process and ask the players," Jones said. "And we'll watch film to see what will be something that can supplement what we already have."
Steven Pearl joked technology has changed in the three years since his father -- or as he calls him, "Pops" -- last coached college basketball. He'll by his side as he adjusts to new game film systems and recruiting services.
"I have had a chance to do a lot of things together on and off the court," said Bruce Pearl, "and when you come to a new place like this, it is so important that you bring your family along with you.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BjFuG-sCcAAbbYX.jpg:large)
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Shug did coach our basketball team for 10 years compiling a 95-77 record. Both better than Barbee and Lebo. I blame Nike.
I didn't know Shug wore Nike. Those look like Sears and Roebuck in the pic.
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Bruce Pearl's teams have increased their win total by an average of 7 games in his first year at a school.
20
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Potential candidates include Auburn legend Chuck Person, a longtime NBA assistant who most recently coached in South Korea,
Talk about small ball.
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Potential candidates include Auburn legend Chuck Person, a longtime NBA assistant who most recently coached in South Korea,
Talk about small ball.
Paging Dennis Rodman.
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I understand this premise. I do not understand why.
My suspicion is benefits. E.g., Do Nike and the other companies have paid "handlers" that take care of things for the AAU coaches? Do these coaches help take care of their players?
There is a lot of expense involved in travel. If so, is the player influenced out of loyalty or familiarity toward one school over another because of the shoe connection? I can't imagine there being someone at Nike calling a recruit and telling them that they need to go a specific school. But, I'm sure their old AAU coach could say this to them and it would hit home. They could stay in touch with the AAU coach throughout their college career and if the coach provides benefits for the player, is this a violation?
Someone needs to splain it to me.
Back in the 80s Nike actually paid Big East and ACC coaches to put their kids in Nikes. The big ones were Georgetown and UNC. This opened the door to the influence you see them having now.
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Dan Patrick show this morning.
http://youtu.be/kjdE7_bgii0 (http://youtu.be/kjdE7_bgii0)
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He was just on PF and wow, I'm sold. One thing he said when asked point blank by Paawwwl if he would bolt for a better job as soon as he had some success. He said "No way...no way. I'm 54 and have a chance to build a legacy. I was not leaving Tennessee and plan on building things at AU".
He admitted the roster right now is "Challenged". Special was more my thought.
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He was just on PF and wow, I'm sold. One thing he said when asked point blank by Paawwwl if he would bolt for a better job as soon as he had some success. He said "No way...no way. I'm 54 and have a chance to build a legacy. I was not leaving Tennessee and plan on building things at AU".
First of all that has to be one of the stupidest questions an interviewer can ask. A. What is he gonna say, "Well just between you and me Pawwwl and all the radio listening audience, I plan on staying 3 years then bolting for another team, preferably the NBA". Two: He was just fucking hired, I doubt very much that thought has really run through his mind, outside of dumbass just asking it.
:facepalm:
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First of all that has to be one of the stupidest questions an interviewer can ask. A. What is he gonna say, "Well just between you and me Pawwwl and all the radio listening audience, I plan on staying 3 years then bolting for another team, preferably the NBA". Two: He was just fucking hired, I doubt very much that thought has really run through his mind, outside of dumbass just asking it.
:facepalm:
Totally agree. I was posting more from the standpoint of with the way he answered it, he really opened himself up for major slammage if/when he bolts. He was NO WAY...NO WAY!!!!
But, the rest of his interview....damn, I like this guy. And he's been dipping it in a smoking hawt wife.
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He's gonna leave as soon as Bill Battles done calls, donchu thank PAAAAAAAAWWWWL?
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And he's been dipping it in a smoking hawt wife.
I have been too. I just hope my neighbor or wife don't find out about it.
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I have been too. I just hope my neighbor or wife don't find out about it.
Give Tappy five
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He's gonna leave as soon as Bill Battles done calls, donchu thank PAAAAAAAAWWWWL?
I'm listening to the Podcast of yesterday's PAAAWWWWWLLL show.
He repeated that over and over. The ONLY reason we got him is because Battle didn't take him. Had Battle fired Grant, it would be 100% Pearl to Bama. Auburn would have stood zero chance. Alabama has tr'dition, Auburn don't. He posed the leading question to every ESPN guy that called in as a guest. "Yeah, but if Alabama had have fired Grant, he'd be coaching at Bama today, wouldn't you say"?
:fu:
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Jim from Tuscaloosa, Legend and other sidewalk Gumps announced they're jumping ship. THEY said the Tide has turned and the premiere athletic organization in the state is at Auburn. They, being fairweather hicks as it is, were speaking as if they were already Auburn fans, and definitely will be should the trend continue.
Pretty funny if it weren't so sad. I think it's obvious that an influx of inbred bandwagoners is not exactly what we want...or do we?
Bare with me. Finebaum plays to his base. His allegiance is ratings-deep. If his mouth-breathing callers start becoming Auburn fans, does he start spinning shit in our favor? Does he start making mountains of Bama's molehills? Does he start ignoring anything that could be perceived as negative to Auburn? Does he perpetrate that bias on College Game Day every football Saturday?
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I'm embarrassed enough that Tammy and Charles claim to be Auburn fans. Hell, I'll switch to Ole Miss if Legend and Jim from Tuxkaloser jump on board.
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Jim from Tuscaloosa, Legend and other sidewalk Gumps announced they're jumping ship. THEY said the Tide has turned and the premiere athletic organization in the state is at Auburn. They, being fairweather hicks as it is, were speaking as if they were already Auburn fans, and definitely will be should the trend continue.
Pretty funny if it weren't so sad. I think it's obvious that an influx of inbred bandwagoners is not exactly what we want...or do we?
Bare with me. Finebaum plays to his base. His allegiance is ratings-deep. If his mouth-breathing callers start becoming Auburn fans, does he start spinning shoot in our favor? Does he start making mountains of Bama's molehills? Does he start ignoring anything that could be perceived as negative to Auburn? Does he perpetrate that bias on College Game Day every football Saturday?
You ask too many questions.
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He was just on PF and wow, I'm sold. One thing he said when asked point blank by Paawwwl if he would bolt for a better job as soon as he had some success. He said "No way...no way. I'm 54 and have a chance to build a legacy. I was not leaving Tennessee and plan on building things at AU".
He admitted the roster right now is "Challenged". Special was more my thought.
Team parking?
(http://i617.photobucket.com/albums/tt255/pacheco911/Journal%20six%204-23-10/journal5047.jpg) (http://media.photobucket.com/user/pacheco911/media/Journal%20six%204-23-10/journal5047.jpg.html)
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Jim from Tuscaloosa, Legend and other sidewalk Gumps announced they're jumping ship. THEY said the Tide has turned and the premiere athletic organization in the state is at Auburn. They, being fairweather hicks as it is, were speaking as if they were already Auburn fans, and definitely will be should the trend continue.
Pretty funny if it weren't so sad. I think it's obvious that an influx of inbred bandwagoners is not exactly what we want...or do we?
Bare with me. Finebaum plays to his base. His allegiance is ratings-deep. If his mouth-breathing callers start becoming Auburn fans, does he start spinning shit in our favor? Does he start making mountains of Bama's molehills? Does he start ignoring anything that could be perceived as negative to Auburn? Does he perpetrate that bias on College Game Day every football Saturday?
No. As evidenced by the years 2000-2007, he will not spin things in Auburn's favor.
But his show will take a different turn. He will hate on Alabama some, but not in an attackful way. It will be more of a "Alabama should be great, but here's why they're not. Let's make sure we point out what Alabama's doing wrong so that everyone knows how to fix it."
Auburn's the opposite. Auburn shouldn't be as good as they are, but they're lucky they have (Tuberville, Cam Newton, Malzahn, Pearl, etc). Auburn's administration and program is corrupt and inept. Just like at these examples....
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THIS is what we're paying for.
http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_putting_auburn_thr.html#incart_river (http://www.al.com/auburnbasketball/index.ssf/2014/03/bruce_pearl_putting_auburn_thr.html#incart_river)
Bruce Pearl putting Auburn through early-morning workouts, doling out discipline in first week
Brandon Marcello
on March 24, 2014 at 6:33 PM
AUBURN, Alabama -- Bruce Pearl is not sure which corner it is, but he definitely knows point guard Malcolm Canada puked somewhere.
The newly-hired Auburn basketball coach is putting his players through the grinder during his second week on the job. Early-morning workouts will be the norm in the offseason, he said, and there's a hard line for his players to obey as well.
Punishment will be handed out for those who disobey. Just ask freshman point guard Malcolm Canada, who did not communicate with the new coaching staff about his plans to miss the team's first meeting.
"He had talked to the coaching staff prior and we had a great visit and he ran until he puked the first day he was back," Pearl said Monday. "I’m not sure what corner he puked in but I think it was that far right-hand corner and he was good with it. He understood that’s what he had to do, so he handled it well and we handled it well. You know school starts, you've got to come back to class."
The Tigers conducted a workout at 5:45 a.m. on Friday and again on Monday. Pearl plans to do early-morning workouts once every week.
"The confidence that comes from that, knowing that the other guys in the league are in bed right now and this is what we’re trying to do," Pearl said. "Those have been the primary things as far as the players are concerned."
No players have left the team since Tony Barbee was fired March 16. The Tigers have two spots open on their roster and have reportedly offered power forward Jackson Davis out of Kentucky a scholarship.
Auburn returns its second-leading scorer in KT Harrell from last season and a young roster that produced only 11 points per game off the bench. Pearl reference Dayton coach Archie Miller, who turned his 13-18 squad around and into a Sweet 16 team with strenuous offseason workouts.
Pearl was hired Tuesday and stayed in town for two days before traveling to ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to fulfill his final weekend as an NCAA tournament analyst for the network.
"We met as a team initially, and then starting at 5:45 the first morning, we met individually and those were really good because I got a chance to get to know them a little bit and find out what they were thinking about," Pearl said. "Some really good kids, we’ve got good kids in the program."
Assistant coaches Tony Jones and Steven Pearl are on the road recruiting this week. Bruce Pearl will stay in town evaluating his current roster while also looking through candidates to join his staff.
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HELL YEAH!
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HELL YEAH!
Agreed. Loving the Pearl hire.
I'll admit that I thought his antics were over the top at UT, but you can't argue with his results. I guess it's like Trooper Taylor: he's our chucklehead.
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Agreed. Loving the Pearl hire.
I'll admit that I thought his antics were over the top at UT, but you can't argue with his results. I guess it's like Trooper Taylor: he's our chucklehead.
(http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/953118/KZIFW.gif)
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(http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/953118/KZIFW.gif)
Exactly, my nurra.
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(http://cdn3.sbnation.com/imported_assets/953118/KZIFW.gif)
Only one reason to have a small towel at your work desk. :tits: