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“Heisman,” an avid Tennessee fan and contributor for The Blue Workhorse,  was upset at men’s basketball head coach Bruce Pearl comments during the NCAA tournament, and became even more enraged upon hearing speculation that Pearl was a candidate to take over at Indiana University. His response:

Tennessee basketball is back and better than ever, and coach Bruce Pearl will forever be loved by Tennessee Volunteer fans.

Or will he?

Attendance is up, significant upgrades have been made to the arena, and most importantly, the basketball Vols are winning. There is no doubt these positive strides began with the arrival of coach Bruce Pearl on the campus of the University of Tennessee, but when it is all said and done will Bruce have done more damage than resurrection at the end of his time on Rocky Top?

The most famous quote of coach Pearl’s three year tenure came as he was checking out his new home court at the cavernous Thompson-Boling Arena.

“I hope this place is big enough,” echoed through the facility once thought to be much friendlier to a Kenny Chesney concert than a top-tier SEC basketball team.

While Pearl has brought the type of excitement back that has not been seen since the Ray Mears’ glory days with Bernard King and Ernie Grunfeld, some are beginning to wonder if Pearl cares deeply about the continued success with the program (like Coach Mears always did), or if Coach Pearl’s antics show that, in his mind, he is above the game itself.

This really came to light over the past week of the NCAA tournament. After defeating Butler 76-71 in overtime, Coach Pearl was summarizing the final minutes of the game and spoke of how he motivated his players to finish off Butler in overtime.

“I told them to bail me out, because I didn’t close the game out the right way offensively,” Pearl recounted. “Whether I believed it or not, I wanted to give them something to rally around. I didn’t want them blaming themselves. I wanted them to put the blame on me.

Some may interpret this postgame interview as insight to how masterful Pearl can be not only when he speaks to the media but to his team in key situations, as well.

However, what it really shows is just how full of himself Pearl really is. That comment may have been a motivating factor in the Vols winning the game in overtime, but does Coach Pearl need to self promote this much?

Maybe the team really did need to bail him out after the questionable handling of the point guard situation? Who is to say the players did not have this running through the back of their minds as they were struggling to find something to jumpstart the team against Louisville? Maybe the players second guessed his pregame speech knowing that Pearl may not truly believe what he was telling the team? Maybe the team was concerned it might be another attempt at a Jedi mind trick?

The next show of pompous arrogance came after the Vols could not break through the round of sixteen, yet again. Following the loss to Louisville, Pearl was asked about his coaching future, in particular the speculation surrounding the Indiana job. His response:

“I absolutely anticipate — if Tennessee will have me — being back at Tennessee. I think they’ll have me.”

Maybe my memory fails me in my advanced age, but I do not recall John Wooden ever having this kind of attitude with his employer, and he had a little better showing with the opportunities he had in the NCAA tournament.

Pearl’s response is a dangerous sign for the University of Tennessee and its basketball fans. An employee who develops that kind of an attitude toward the organization employing him/her is bound to cause problems and distractions that may not warrant the average returns, thus far. Let’s not forget that even the “inept” Jerry Green made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Forget for a moment Pearl yanked two of his point guards in favor of starting a forward who had yet to start a game during the regular season or SEC Tournament, and he played his son during a crucial first half stretch. This guy just threw his players and fans right under the bus.

Basically, Coach Pearl said he lied to his players during the final minutes of a NCAA tournament game, and the University of Tennessee could never get another coach to come here if he decided to leave. This type of attitude, especially flaunted publicly, is dangerous for the future progression of Tennessee basketball.

For one, Coach Pearl may want to ask the guy who coaches in front of 100,000 plus on fall Saturdays how fickle the Big Orange faithful can be. Coach Fulmer brought the first national championship to the football program in over 50 years, and it did not take but a couple of years for the fans to start yearning for “new blood” in the program.

Yes, Bruce has rejuvenated the fan base and his outreach programs have even picked up new fans in the process, but let’s not forget the coach’s checkered past. Did these shady practices follow him to Knoxville?

Many people may wonder how Pearl got to Tennessee. Most know his previous job was with the tourney Cinderellas from a few years back, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but few know about him toiling away at the Division II level after being ostracized from big time basketball.

Coach Pearl was sent to basketball purgatory after he tried to prove Illinois was paying recruits, as an assistant at Iowa. The claims went unsubstantiated and Pearl got blackballed from DI jobs.

While there is no substantive proof that his past has followed him, there is no doubt Coach Pearl is the least liked coach among his peers. There has to be a reason other than Bruce likes to strip-tease in front of several thousand people at a Lady Vols game. No one is asking Pearl to reach out and make sure he ends up on Kevin Stallings’ and Billy Donavan’s 2008 Christmas card lists, but school administrators and fans should be concerned than Bruce is not respected by the other coaches in the league.

Yesterday, the Indiana Hoosiers named Tom Crean, former Marquette head coach, to the same position in Bloomington, with the idea in mind that they needed someone with a squeaky clean background in order to get them out of the mess Coach “Can you hear me now” left behind. But if the job had been offered to Pearl, I do not think Pearl would have wanted to go where the program and game may overshadow his enormous ego.

Vol fans should celebrate the recent success of the basketball program and thank Pearl for getting them to this point. However, they should take every victory in stride knowing that Bruce Pearl will do what is best for Bruce Pearl whether or not ethics or the health of the program stand in the way.

Heisman

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