Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Tennessee Has a Pearl in Basketball Head Man

As my fellow columnist Harlan Goode so astutely noted this past Friday, basketball lies on its deathbed in New York City – where Isiah Thomas and Stephon Marbury are conspiring to sully the good name of the city that gave the world Rucker Park.

Things aren’t looking good in the state of Indiana, either. The soul of basketball – the state of crowded high school gyms in one-horse towns – finds itself embroiled in an ugly scandal involving former Indiana University Head Coach Kelvin Sampson, who was forced out after allegations of recruiting improprieties arose. His Hoosiers, a once-promising squad featuring the dazzling tandem of Eric Gordon and DJ White, now look understandably disoriented, shaken and bound for a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament. The twin emblems of basketball culture are in complete disarray.

Yet, as the saying goes, when God closes a door, he opens a window, and Saturday night, we discovered that this does indeed apply to the basketball gods. On the same day that the now Samspson-less Hoosiers moped their way to a far too narrow victory over Northwestern, a national audience was treated to a Volunteer State showdown between top-ranked Memphis and second-ranked Tennessee that somehow exceeded expectations. This column isn’t about the game, though it was an instant classic, but rather about the man for whom Saturday night was something of a coming-out party, a full emergence onto the national stage – Tennessee’s ebullient head coach Bruce Pearl.

Dedicated readers of the Streak might know that my track record for predicting the future leaves much to be desired – remember, I picked Gilbert Arenas for NBA MVP at the beginning of the season. So while I won’t pick Pearl’s Vols to end their season cutting down the nets in the Alamodome, Saturday night’s win provides me the perfect opportunity to sing the praises of one of college basketball’s rising stars.

That Pearl is a talented coach seems to be beyond doubt – the man has more national titles to his name than his counterpart Saturday night, John Calipari (though it should be noted that Pearl won his ring with Division II Southern Indiana). Yet when he left the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005 after taking Panthers to the Sweet 16, few expected to hear from him again. After all, men’s basketball had long been a distant third on the sports scene in Knoxville, trailing the football team and the women’s hoops squad. What has transpired in three short years attests to Pearl’s coaching talent and charisma – top recruiting classes, a new training center and the first No. 1 ranking in school history. Dick Vitale might have mentioned it a mere thousand times Saturday night, but it bears repeating: Bruce Pearl has awakened a sleeping giant in the world of college hoops. He has done the unthinkable – shifted the center of gravity of the SEC from Lexington (home of the storied Kentucky Wildcats) to Knoxville.

The dizzying rise of Volunteer basketball by itself makes Pearl a man worth keeping an eye on, but it is Pearl himself who makes this story so endearing. I don’t mean to imply that he is a saint. Illinois fans will probably never forgive Pearl for ratting out sketchy Illini recruiting practices to the NCAA while he was an Iowa assistant, but merely that he is an inherently likeable man. In a world peppered with big egos (Mike Krzyzewski), hot tempers (Bob Knight) and gruff personalities (John Calipari), Pearl is a refreshing break.

Could anybody imagine Krzyzewski painting his chest to cheer on his school’s women’s team, like Pearl did last year? Probably not. Would any sideline reporter want to approach Bob Knight at halftime with his team trailing? Not unless he or she had a death wish. Yet Pearl, while talking with Erin Andrews at the break of Saturday night’s contest, sounded anything but indignant – his amazement at Memphis’s early three-point shooting spree made him sound almost like a regular spectator enjoying a spectacular game. And while his experiences with the aforementioned Deon Thomas scandal at Illinois may lend to him a slimy appearance, a quick perusal of ESPN the Magazine’s recent feature on Volunteer Tyler Smith depicts Pearl as a compassionate coach.

The Volunteers’ first-ever stay on top of the rankings may well be short-lived – the team has a date with Vanderbilt in Nashville today – and the team’s reliance on the three leaves it prone to a March meltdown. Yet in a college hoops season almost devoid of intrigue, the Vols give college hoops fans an antidote to the cautionary and sobering tale unraveling in Bloomington. An exciting offense, a traditional football powerhouse taking charge on the hardwood, and an ebullient and down-to-earth coach – it’s enough to make you want to paint your face and sing “Rocky Top.”

Brendan Roach is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. He can be reached at roachthehoya.com. THE LOSING STREAK appears every other Tuesday in HOYA SPORTS.

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