Bull****! The recruit decommitted from Iowa to stay home at Illinois. Iowa was pissed at him like TX is pissed at RP. Pearl was determined to prove something dirty was going on, even if he had to do so illegally. He paid some of the recruit's acquaintances to produce dirt. Pearl pestered the recruit unrelentingly. While I don't know the full extent of the conversation, I'm sure Pearl led the witness. The recruit wanted to get rid of him, but didn't know how to do it and made some really bad choices in knowing confirming untrue statements. Who knows why the 17 year old did what he did but he did. Nothing wrong was done. The NCAA investigated this for 16 months and they couldn't find anything. However, because Illinois had previous "problems" that made them elligible for the death penalty and the fact that the NCAA spent 16 months investigating this, they packaged a bunch of relatively minor violations into a penalty. Illinois couldn't participate in March Madness one year and they lost a couple of scholarhips (I don't think it was much more than this if at all). The investigation screwed their recruiting for a year, forced the recruit to not play his freshman year (he was the #1 recruit in the nation and went on to become the all-time Illinois scorer), and the assistant coach, Jimmy Collins, had his reputation and career hurt pretty bad. Illinois had some problems, but they weren't doing anything wrong here. Pearl's illegal and unethical actions led to penalties and hurt reputations that were outrageous relative to the crimes. He was wrong and he rightfully payed a price. You know you're on shakey grounds when your defense is that my bosses approved my illegal actions. When he got a shot at a Div 2 school, he had one of his players busted by the police for marijuana, without any prior intervention. Pearl's defense is that it was an accident and he didn't mean to do it. Now the man is a heck of a BB coach and all this happened years ago, but does a scorpion's nature ever change?
Did the previous T. coach went to 4 straight NCAA tournaments? Yielded to to the winning pressure, TU fired their coach anyway. The current coach never saw the NCAA tourney sun light for his entire career at TU. This new hired coach will face tremedous pressure from TU fans which will never match up to the expectation of TU woman basketball.
IndianaTiger.... interesting story. Did you read it in Star Magazine? Illinois didn't do anything wrong??? I'll go back now and dig up the charges for you.... I believe there were 14 in six different recruiting violation categories. Illinois was in very deep **** and got off lightly, quite frankly... exactly how much jail time did Pearl serve for his "illegal actions".... that's certainly a new spin.
I didn't say they didn't do anything wrong. However, they didn't do anything wrong regarding this recruit. They were in load of trouble because of two prior major infractions. The things that they did find was elevated to major because of those prior infractions. Whether or not someone spends time in jail is irrelevant as to whether the activity is illegal or not. It's generally illegal to tape a conversation with someone without their permission.
Tennessee has been a bad career move for the following coaches, Kevin O'Neal, Green, Peterson and now Pearl. You can't blame him for striking when it's hot. I mean mid-majors can have one successful season and that's it for awhile. Don't know if he problems with Illinois makes him a long shot for a big ten job, but UT just can't seem to get in together in men's hoops. Heck O'Neal left for Northwestern. Before he came to UT he was at Marquette. UT sells a pipe dream to coaches like Peterson and then pulls the rug from out form under them. Something wrong with that men's program. It must suck being in the shadow of two programs instead of just football. But, maybe Pearl felt that he'd never get a chance at a big ten school.
Actually at some point in the past she was asked if she might be interested in the men's job and she declined. I heard an interview of her a year of so ago. She basically said there might be "issues" with a female coach having to discipline a young man etc.
IndianaT.... if you're still interested you can go to http://www.davesez.com/archives/2004_07.php and scroll down to "findings" on the Illinois penalties in 1989. Don't get me wrong... there are no plaques or statues of Bruce Pearl on the Iowa campus. He has achieved "snitch status" there, too. However, the unnamed assistant coach mentioned in over half of the 14 violations in 11 different categories was Jimmy Collins. He was a loose cannon back then. No, they never nailed him for Deon Thomas, but check out all the charges for "free" cars and cash. Taking recruits to the Final Four, all expenses paid, is a little over the top.... wouldn't you say... especially when you're already on probation. As I mentioned on another thread, my brother-in-law is the head BB coach at LaSalle and was an assistant at Illinois under Hensen back then. Let's just say I know for a fact that Jimmy Collins was "outta control" with his recruiting philosophy. Pearl will pay forever, I guess, for his decision... but to blame him for what was going on at Illinois borders on the ridiculous. It's like the SNL skit where the two diplomats start beating up the translator for what their saying.
