By Gentry Estes
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE -- Bruce Pearl prefers to think Ray Mears is now hanging out with Stu Aberdeen, drawing up basketball plays with his old assistant coach.
"He left us too soon," said Pearl, the University of Tennessee men's basketball coach.
Mears, the winningest coach in UT men's basketball history, died at 1:15 p.m. Monday at NHC Health Care Center, a nursing home in Knoxville. He was 80.
Mears had a 278-112 record for his 15 seasons in charge of the Volunteers: 1963-77. Mears developed a reputation as the game's P.T. Barnum. He coined the phrase "Big Orange Country" while averaging nearly 19 victories per season with unforgettable showmanship.
His health had waned in recent years due to a stroke and a long battle with depression that led to his retirement from coaching in 1977.
"Coach Mears was a true Tennessee legend," UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said in a statement. "He created a tradition of basketball success, pageantry and fan support by which all future basketball teams and coaches will be measured."
Originally from Dover, Ohio, Mears arrived at Tennessee from Wittenberg University and won a Southeastern Conference title in 1967. The peak of his tenure occurred at the end during the "Ernie and Bernie" days, when stars Ernie Grunfield and Bernard King led the Vols into consecutive NCAA tournaments.
"He was doing what Bruce Pearl is doing now," said Baylor School basketball coach Austin Clark, who played for Mears from 1973-76. "He would go around to the fraternities and drum up spirit with the students. He just had great pride in the Orange and what he was doing, and he sold it."
There will be no shortage of Mears stories. Wearing his trademark bright orange blazer to games, Mears is best recalled for his ability to rile opposing fans and delight his own with trademark innovation.
He led the Vols into pregame warm-ups wearing Harlem Globetrotter-type suits and to the strands of "Sweet Georgia Brown." His team would walk the court of opposing gymnasiums before games.
Mears once had the Vols play on 12-foot goals during an orange-and-white scrimmage, because he thought that's where the game should go.
"It didn't go very well," Clark recalled with a laugh, "but he was very innovative in what he did. I think he would be much more recognized now-a-days with the media attention that college basketball has.
"When I look at Coach Pearl, I see a young Coach Mears. They have the same stature, the same kind of haircut. They look very much alike to me, and they both have great passion with what they're doing. People are drawn to that."
Pearl did much to bring Mears back to the forefront during his first two seasons with the Vols with his actions, success and ideas.
Mears twice returned to the program for games in the past two seasons. Alongside famed UT broadcaster John Ward in 2006, Mears received a banner at Thompson-Boling Arena in his honor. He was also present with former players when King's jersey was retired during last season's home victory over Kentucky.
"It was just really good," Pearl said. "So often, a lot of times those things take place after somebody's passing."
Pearl has worn a bright orange jacket for games against Kentucky and Vanderbilt in tribute to Mears.
"My guess is he was just being himself. That's all I do," Pearl said. "It's not a marketing twist. We're passionate, we're enthusiastic, we love what we're doing and we want Tennessee basketball to be relevant and be a factor.
"When you're a bit of an underdog, there are some things you've got to do to overcome."
