bleedingTNorange
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Yes, not only will Pearl sit out another year of coaching to wait on Martin to be fired and Tennessee to have an opening, but he will also take anywhere from 50-75 percent less than what other schools are offering him.
He just loves Tennessee that much.
Yes, not only will Pearl sit out another year of coaching to wait on Martin to be fired and Tennessee to have an opening, but he will also take anywhere from 50-75 percent less than what other schools are offering him.
He just loves Tennessee that much.
Lets be clear before we go any further here Petitions are the kind of thing middle schoolers get excited about when it comes to bringing a Gatorade machine to the cafeteria. Putting much stock in a petition is not a wise thing, but some Tennessee fans have apparently crafted a Petition to Promote the Rehiring of Bruce Pearl (currently has 27,000+ signatures). Im not here to justify a petition, but I am here to beg someone in the SEC to please, please, please consider bring back Bruce Pearl. The SEC desperately needs a quick infusion of Bruce. The SEC is not only dangerously on the verge of putting on 2 teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time in decades, but the SEC has kind of become one of the running jokes of college basketball. With nearly half the teams currently sitting in a deadlock at 7-7, the SEC is the definition of mediocrity. Bruce Pearl is exciting. Bruce Pearl is a proven winner in the SEC, something that many of the recent coaching hires have failed to prove. Just ask Frank Martin.
Does it have to be Tennessee who hires Pearl? No, of course not. In fact, I would argue that while Tennessee is obviously a proven and seamless fit for Pearl, Tennessee is the one school that has considerable justification for not hiring him. The whole fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me mentality comes into play with Tennessee, and I wouldnt blame anyone for not necessarily seeing the risk to go back down that road again as a worthwhile one. Although, the argument could also be made that with recent re-hirings such as Bobby Petrino at Louisville, the precedent has been set for that kind of thing to happen and to potentially work. Sure, the first few weeks were dramatic and caused Louisville plenty of negative attention but no one seems to be too concerned with it now that the dust has settled. In fairness though, Tennessees issues with Pearl involved NCAA infractions.
Take Tennessee out of the equation if you will. To any other school in the SEC drowning in mediocrity right now though I beg the question: Why not? (Mark Stoops voice). Seriously, why not? Most of the schools in the SEC right now are struggling to fill seats. Winning non-conference games is not even #1 on the list of problems. Not only are the arenas half-empty on many nights, but the passion among the fan bases across the SEC pales in comparison to SEC football, or more importantly other basketball teams.
When Pearl was at Tennessee, things were exciting. Tennessee basketball fans cared, and Pearl gave them something to be excited about. Pearl may not have taken Tennessee to any Final Fours, but he packed the arena on most nights and ignited a passion among the fan base that hadnt been seen in a while before him, and hasnt been existent since his departure.
For the Alabamas, Auburns, Texas A&Ms, South Carolinas, etc Why not take a chance on Pearl? The SEC is so down right now, that it wouldnt take much to catapult into the level of teams right below Florida and Kentucky. Heck, Georgia managed to do it this year with average talent. Pearl can recruit. Pearl can put fans in the seats. Pearl can win games in the SEC. The risk seems well worth the potential reward, and you cant convince me that Pearl wouldnt be a better option than some of the current coaching hires at these schools.
As great as it is to know that Kentucky wont be challenged for the #2 spot in the SEC this season, the conference lacks intrigue and excitement. Someone, anyone Please . Bring back Bruce.
Personally, I think that Cuonzo is a great coach. However, I think that if Cuonzo got a call from the Big 10 (Purdue... Illinois... etc) that he would return to the area where he grew up playing basketball.
Bruce hasn't left Knoxville. He still is a Black Sheep in many Universities due to his turning over illegal recruiting methods early in his career.
Bruce continues to bleed orange. My question is, when is Bruce Pearl available? Let the countdown begin!
He doesn't have to wait. The vacancy is coming...soon
Bruce would work for less than any other replacement coach, much less than the shining stars of coaching that Tennessee cannot afford. Combined with the increased attendance for the rest of Martin's contract, it would be budget neutral. I think most Bruce Pearl supporters would agree with that. Only the Martin surrogates are Pollyannas.It's got to be the most Pollyanna thing I've ever heard. And there are really people that believe it.
Bruce would work for less than any other replacement coach, much less than the shining stars of coaching that Tennessee cannot afford. Combined with the increased attendance for the rest of Martin's contract, it would be budget neutral. I think most Bruce Pearl supporters would agree with that. Only the Martin surrogates are Pollyannas.
:yes: There are plenty of such fans judging by the sheer number threads on a bringing back a fired coach with two NCAA strikes.And that would be a walk in the park for Tennessee to accomplish wouldn't it? And the NCAA and Emmert don't base their decisions on what sports writers think. But, I'm curious, are UT fans so delusional they think the entire country is behind us on this?
Bruce would work for less than any other replacement coach, much less than the shining stars of coaching that Tennessee cannot afford. Combined with the increased attendance for the rest of Martin's contract, it would be budget neutral. I think most Bruce Pearl supporters would agree with that. Only the Martin surrogates are Pollyannas.
Nope, did you ask him to put it in for a minute or two while you had dinner? The one with the life size photo of Martin as his avatar joined midway through Cuonzo's first season to counter all you bad mouthers. He is definitely on the payroll!
Nope, did you ask him to put it in for a minute or two while you had dinner? The one with the life size photo of Martin as his avatar joined midway through Cuonzo's first season to counter all you bad mouthers. He is definitely on the payroll!
Why do you resort to fabrications to protect Martin? You know as well as I do that Tennessee never ran the 1-3-1 in the Mississippi State game. It is insane not to use a defense that has been so effective for the Vols when the good teams shred the man-to-man! Cuono's words after the Alabama game. Watch his interview. He does not like the 2-3 they started with in that game because the direct pass is open and teams can work for the shot. He likes the 1-3-1 because there are not direct passes and to penetrate you have to go over the top. Their length with Thompson on the point, Stokes in the middle, Davis and McRae on the wings, and Richardson running the base line makes that very difficult to do according to Martin himself. Yet he refuses to use it some in every game? Please tell me why! Don't tell me teams can score on it with regularity because they can't. A team scoring is no reason to immediately revert to the man-to-man which Martin has done against Vandy, Florida (held scoreless for 7 minutes while Tennessee cut the lead from 7 to 2 in the final minutes), and Missouri, all games they should have won! If Tennessee had run it for 15 minutes of the second half against Florida as they did against Alabama, they would have won that game, and Florida would have an SEC loss!Yea, we played it, and on the very first possession gave up a 3 you said it never gives up lol.