Pearl

[fatguy87]

My vote for coach of the year goes to Pearl.

It's not just because he has a great team this season, but it's because it's one of the best teams in the last 10 years. That level of excellence deserves a reward.

 

[crestcat]

Yep, looks like Pearl just barbecued the Tide today

I understand Pearl likes ti barbeque

 

[billoliver40]

Pearl is definitely COY. No questions.

 

[Edgarman]

pearl was high on my wish list to replace cal but i don’t know if even pearl could ‘ve had the success that pope has this year, having to put a team together starting from absolute zero.
my vote for coy is still mark pope

We would have had several of Auburn's starters, including Broome. Bruce is actually a dirtbag of a man but one hell o a coach & recruiter. He is an informer, cheater, liar. Is this how low we are willing to go to win? I hope not.

 

[NerlensCat]

We would have had several of Auburn's starters, including Broome. Bruce is actually a dirtbag of a man but one hell o a coach & recruiter. He is an informer, cheater, liar. Is this how low we are willing to go to win? I hope not.

If he is cheating in Auburn, he ain’t doing it well. I don’t think he has had a top ten recruiting class since he has been there. Calipari had those same allegations before we hired him. I trust Pearl more than Calipari.

 

[michaeluk26]

I’m not even sure why people around here have hated on him so much in the past. Yeah, he had a recruit over for a BBQ when he wasn’t supposed to and lied about it. That’s such a silly, minor thing compared to the stuff going on these days. The fact he seemingly wasn’t even looked at as a replacement for Cal is crazy.

He also ruined a kid's career, or tried to, by illegally taping their conversation and trying to get the kid to lie and say, I think it was PITT or Illinois, gave him a car to come play there. Then turned it into the NCAA. It got him blackballed for D1 for 20 years. That's a downright scummy thing to do. That's some rat/snitch like stuff bro.

And the BBQ thing he also tried to get Craft to lie about it as well. Cal at least had plausible deniability in his UMass and Memphis situations. Having said all that if he's killing it at Auburn, he'd def kill it here. He's got the energy and ego to do all the non basketball stuff required. His teams play very hard as well. Hope we can hand them an L in Rupp.

 

[jeffky]

such a good and likable coach he has a good thing going on at

such a good and likable coach he has a good thing going on at Auburn

Been there for a awhile too . Patience grasshopper patience

 

[IFerg1969]

If we would have hired Pearl... you dont think the whole auburn team follows him to Kentucky just like our whole team followed Cal to Arkansas... isn't that how this works now when they are getting NIL money?

I wanted Pearl, he was like 3rd on my list... i think we would be final 4 contender In year one.... but Barnhart sucks and whoever else had a holier than thoug approach that didn't throw the bank at Nate Oats. I like Pope but I refuse not to acknowledge she was like 8th to 10th on what should have been the list but instead was 3rd for Mitch Barnhart who has been terrible at big hires here. 50% hit rate. We would have never even hired pope if he hadn't played here.... this is Kentucky !!! Not Louisville. Anyway I hope Pope works out cause that's who we got...

But Indiana and Carolina are getting damn good coaches next year I bet .

I’m right there with you. I felt like Pearl was one of the “must” calls. Pope would have been there at anytime during the search process. College sports has become a win-at-all-costs endeavor. I’ve never felt like that was the UK admins feeling though. Seems like they put other priorities ahead of that. I get not wanting to run a dirty, cheating program. But,I’ve never felt Bruce Pearl ran those kinds of programs.

I would like to have seen an effort made to get him to UK at the very least. I WANT things to work out with Pope, but he has some things to prove and questions to answer. Pearl was/is a proven commodity.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I love Pope, but I would have taken Pearl in a nanosecond! And anyone who says otherwise is just a virtue signaling fool!

I love pope too, but it was a mistake not even calling Pearl. He would've crawled here. Pearl is just exponentially better right now. We could've won big now while letting Pope cut his teeth elsewhere.

Again i love Pope, but you have to take Pearl at that point in time.

 

[saxonburgcat]

if pearl wins all that then i’m certain he will be coy
but up to this point i vote pope

I think Pope has done a tremendous job here and I was thrilled about the hire from day one but losses to Ohio State and Texas, etc would keep me from voting for him as COY. I believe his day will come in the near future!

 

[saxonburgcat]

I’m right there with you. I felt like Pearl was one of the “must” calls. Pope would have been there at anytime during the search process. College sports has become a win-at-all-costs endeavor. I’ve never felt like that was the UK admins feeling though. Seems like they put other priorities ahead of that. I get not wanting to run a dirty, cheating program. But,I’ve never felt Bruce Pearl ran those kinds of programs.

I would like to have seen an effort made to get him to UK at the very least. I WANT things to work out with Pope, but he has some things to prove and questions to answer. Pearl was/is a proven commodity.

There weren't many on this board calling for Pearl to be considered before Pope was hired. Right now, Pearl is "the flavor of the month" but what has he done at Auburn prior to this year? He has 1 Final Four, 3 times in the round of 32, 1 time in the round of 64 and wasn't in the post season 6 times for one reason or another.

Those results would not be acceptable here. One could make the case that those results are impressive for Auburn. But, I still think I would rather see more post season success in 10 years than 1 FF and making it out of the first round 2 times.

 

[bthaunert]

There weren't many on this board calling for Pearl to be considered before Pope was hired. Right now, Pearl is "the flavor of the month" but what has he done at Auburn prior to this year? He has 1 Final Four, 3 times in the round of 32, 1 time in the round of 64 and wasn't in the post season 6 times for one reason or another.

Those results would not be acceptable here. One could make the case that those results are impressive for Auburn. But, I still think I would rather see more post season success in 10 years than 1 FF and making it out of the first round 2 times.

There were more on here than you’re giving credit for. I was/am one who is a huge Pearl fan. He’s been at 4 programs and taken all 4 the furthest in the post season in their programs history. That’s really impressive.

He’s not the flavor of the month. He’s been talked about for a long time as a really good coach.

I think Pope can win here. I hope he bucks the trend of programs hiring alum who wouldn’t have been considered otherwise and takes us to a title eventually.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

There weren't many on this board calling for Pearl to be considered before Pope was hired. Right now, Pearl is "the flavor of the month" but what has he done at Auburn prior to this year? He has 1 Final Four, 3 times in the round of 32, 1 time in the round of 64 and wasn't in the post season 6 times for one reason or another.

Those results would not be acceptable here. One could make the case that those results are impressive for Auburn. But, I still think I would rather see more post season success in 10 years than 1 FF and making it out of the first round 2 times.

There were plenty and i was one of them. Many wanted oats, who would've also been good. Pope was top of no one's list except Mitch.

I love Pope and think he will be good here but right now, both the other guys are better.

 

[AuburnAlumni]

I was a Cliff Dweller at Auburn back in 98-2000 while I was in school at AU. I've seen AU have great basketball with Chris Porter and Co. in flashes but never anything consistent. But what Bruce has done is arguably one of the greatest program building jobs in ANY sport. We were a graveyard job after Ellis left and before Bruce got here.

He has taken arguably the worst job in major Div 1 basketball and won 2 SEC Regular Season Titles, 2 SEC Tournament Titles, had 2 different teams reach #1 in the polls, had multiple NBA draft picks, go to the school's first Final Four and turned our arena into one of the most difficult places to play in College Basketball. He's got Auburn fans traveling like UK fans to away games, with thousands of AU fans showing up in Columbia, Starkville, Oxford, Tuscaloosa, etc. His player development is off the charts...guys like Chaney Johnson, who was D2..is now a top notch SEC level player. Johni Broome has become a superstar, Denver Jones from FAU, etc.

He is universally loved across campus and the fan base because he is ALWAYS out in the community, always helping promote other sports, always helping to promote AUTLive, or many other charities. He's incredibly approachable, unbelievably personable....he's the total package.

And now, similar to what Billy Donovan did in the early 2000s, he's sustained the success at Auburn for almost a decade, to the point that High School Juniors/Seniors think of Auburn basketball as winning basketball now.

He's done an unreal job.

 

[UK90]

Hands down, the coach of the year right now. I live in Opelika(basically Auburn). He has turned Auburn into a Rabid Basketball school.

I think Pitino may have a better case for coach of the year.

The Auburn program was already on solid footing and expected to be good this year, so it ain’t like Pearl’s pulled off some unexpected miracle. Whereas that St. John’s program looked dead and buried until Pitino got his hands on it.

 

[Rockfly78]

Pearl was my guy when we were looking for a coach to replace Cal. Actually if Cal didn't come in the first place Pearl was my choice back then as well. I'm not sure why a large part of our fans hate him so much

 

[NerlensCat]

I think Pitino may have a better case for coach of the year.

The Auburn program was already on solid footing and expected to be good this year, so it ain’t like Pearl’s pulled off some unexpected miracle. Whereas that St. John’s program looked dead and buried until Pitino got his hands on it.

You are obviously discounting the fact that he is doing this in a historically strong SEC. Who is St. John’s playing every game? I would say, Pitino is right there with Scheyer for second. Before league play, I would have said Pope was the leader given the way he constructed the roster, but Pearl and Auburn are just killing it right now.

 

[UKBrassowTipIN]

This is his 11th year at auburn and he's been past the 2nd round once. (Which was a FF)...but it IS auburn which was bottom of the barrel

At UT he had some good teams, but the knock on pearl is his teams are usually garbage on defense and sometimes he's incapable of adjustments (last year Cal literally ran the same play every single time down the floor to Reeves)

 

[NerlensCat]

You are obviously discounting the fact that he is doing this in a historically strong SEC. Who is St. John’s playing every game? I would say, Pitino is right there with Scheyer for second. Before league play, I would have said Pope was the leader given the way he constructed the roster, but Pearl and Auburn are just killing it right now.

I left off Todd Golden at Florida. He is doing a heck of a job too. Of course, you could say that about Missouri Coach too. Lots of great coaches in the SEC.

 

[runt#69]

I'll still take the field over Auburn this year. Auburn ain't winning the title this year.

Go ahead, call me crazy.

I just got "that feeling" they aren't going to be the one left standing.

 

[NerlensCat]

I'll still take the field over Auburn this year. Auburn ain't winning the title this year.

Go ahead, call me crazy.

I just got "that feeling" they aren't going to be the one left standing.

You could be right, but until someone knocks them off the perch, they are dominating a very tough SEC. We were the best team in 2015 and lost too. It happens.

 

[UK90]

I'll still take the field over Auburn this year.

This ain’t exactly a bold take. The field over the favorite is ALWAYS the smarter bet in the wild crapshoot that is a 68 team single elimination format.

 

[TTTblue24]

Pearl was who I wanted soon as cal left, I always thought he would be perfect for the program & bbn. Also knew he probably wouldn’t be considered because of our “holier” than though approach in the athletic dept and Matt confirmed that pearl would not be considered. Now there’s no rules and it’s thunder dome with the ncaa so Mitch can’t use that one anymore.
I do want and hope pope kills it here, I just felt Pearl was the man for the job based on experience and fit.

 

[MadaboutBlue]

You guys are crazy. I am very bullish on Pope after this year, but you cannot compare what Pearl is doing in a historically strong SEC. It ain’t even close right now.

I have never advocated for Pearl to coach at Kentucky, although Pearl seems to be firing on all cylinders at this point in his career. Pope is doing a good job,, he's a good choice for us, and who knows how this season will play out. I do think that Pearl at this point is at the zenith of his ability where I suspect Pope has a bit more work to do to re before he reaches his ceiling. That's all I'm saying.

 

[clifm]

The guy can flat out coach and seems to get the best out of his players, seems like he runs good sets and inbounds under the basket as well.

I have always thought he was a good coach just some of his antics that got him in trouble with Tennessee.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

Pearl is at Auburn for the people dogging his tenure there. He would get better overall rosters here and post season successes would reflect that.

It's like Pope being at byu isn't the same as Kansas n the big 12. Same thing with Auburn and UK n sec. Doesn't mean byu and auburn can't beat the blue bloods but the blue bloods have way better overall basketball resources and support.

 

[Wildcat-in-STL]

auburns having a great year and they better win the title because 7 of their 8 guys are seniors. and most of them have played a year or more for Pearl so a whole new team in their first year at Auburn , will struggle next year.

 

[NerlensCat]

auburns having a great year and they better win the title because 7 of their 8 guys are seniors. and most of them have played a year or more for Pearl so a whole new team in their first year at Auburn , will struggle next year.

Not a crazy take, but with the transfer portal these days, lots of programs are losing a bunch of guys every year.

 

[dynastydreamuk]

There weren't many on this board calling for Pearl to be considered before Pope was hired. Right now, Pearl is "the flavor of the month" but what has he done at Auburn prior to this year? He has 1 Final Four, 3 times in the round of 32, 1 time in the round of 64 and wasn't in the post season 6 times for one reason or another.

Those results would not be acceptable here. One could make the case that those results are impressive for Auburn. But, I still think I would rather see more post season success in 10 years than 1 FF and making it out of the first round 2 times.

Yea and nobody was calling for Pope. Like one guy I remember saying we should hire pope..and i always thought he was nuts. I actually now think this poster I'm thinking of was a mitch barnhart burner account lol.

Again I hope pope does great... but if he fails, mitch barnhart will go down as one of the worst athletic directors we have had. The only school I can think of where hiring one of your own has worked is Duke with their coach now and I think that's just because they are still getting the top 5 recruits, but still thus far underperformed in the tournament.

I have not seen any proof Pope can coach defense here or any other school. And we seem to have a big problem with fundamental rebounding... drives me nuts on free throws. This is KENTUCKY we are talking about.

 

[saxonburgcat]

There were plenty and i was one of them. Many wanted oats, who would've also been good. Pope was top of no one's list except Mitch.

I love Pope and think he will be good here but right now, both the other guys are better.

There were more on here than you’re giving credit for. I was/am one who is a huge Pearl fan. He’s been at 4 programs and taken all 4 the furthest in the post season in their programs history. That’s really impressive.

He’s not the flavor of the month. He’s been talked about for a long time as a really good coach.

I think Pope can win here. I hope he bucks the trend of programs hiring alum who wouldn’t have been considered otherwise and takes us to a title eventually.

If I remember correctly, Pearl was pretty much the 4th choice of this board. He was behind Hurley, Musselman, and Oats. Yeah, he probably had more support than I gave him credit for but this board is very much about who is hot at the moment. Pearl is a great coach, no doubt about it. Having said that, if he doesn't make at the very least an E8 this year, I don't think we will see another thread like this one next season.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

If I remember correctly, Pearl was pretty much the 4th choice of this board. He was behind Hurley, Musselman, and Oats. Yeah, he probably had more support than I gave him credit for but this board is very much about who is hot at the moment. Pearl is a great coach, no doubt about it. Having said that, if he doesn't make at the very least an E8 this year, I don't think we will see another thread like this one next season.

Iirc most people knew Hurley was unrealistic. Many wanted oats and he would've been good. Pearl was the best choice right then because he is an elite coach and ready to embrace the full duties of the job.

You are correct though in that many had him down the list. Above Pope mind you, but down the list.

 

[TheAnonymous13]

From pissed off AU fan. Can we get a restraining order on Pat Adams. Good grief he is horrible. Would have run the turds out of arena if not for him calling

He was never great, but Pat is now entirely incompetent.

 

[IFerg1969]

There weren't many on this board calling for Pearl to be considered before Pope was hired. Right now, Pearl is "the flavor of the month" but what has he done at Auburn prior to this year? He has 1 Final Four, 3 times in the round of 32, 1 time in the round of 64 and wasn't in the post season 6 times for one reason or another.

Those results would not be acceptable here. One could make the case that those results are impressive for Auburn. But, I still think I would rather see more post season success in 10 years than 1 FF and making it out of the first round 2 times.

You say “only one FF”. Auburn had NEVER been to a FF until Pearl. He did it at a place that has always been a football school and is not an easy place to win big at. Cal had only been to one more FF than Pearl before coming to UK. I’m not saying I felt he should have been called #1. I just think he should have gotten one before Pope. Again, I like Pope. He has more to prove though. Maybe that’s a good thing.

 

[Dreklie]

Auburn is so good this year they’re getting the Ky treatment from refs without having the history of KY. Can we be beat yep been proven already but this team is good enough to cut the nets in April and this might be Bruce’s best chance to do it

you are high if you think UK gets a favorable whistle lol

 

[saxonburgcat]

You say “only one FF”. Auburn had NEVER been to a FF until Pearl. He did it at a place that has always been a football school and is not an easy place to win big at. Cal had only been to one more FF than Pearl before coming to UK. I’m not saying I felt he should have been called #1. I just think he should have gotten one before Pope. Again, I like Pope. He has more to prove though. Maybe that’s a good thing.

Just to set the record straight, I never said, "only one FF" and I did include his entire post-season results at Auburn when I said, "He has 1 FF..." Having said that, his record at UT is far more impressive than his record at Auburn.

 

[Fox2monk]

Honestly if he was your coach how could you not like him? He’s always crazy engaged
Iike that.

 

[PhattyJ4UK]

I don’t think it’s the bbq that makes pearl slimy

It’s the snitching a fellow coach and recording a player thing that people don’t seem to remember for me.

 

[UKwootwoot]

I'll still take the field over Auburn this year. Auburn ain't winning the title this year.

Go ahead, call me crazy.

I just got "that feeling" they aren't going to be the one left standing.

I mean, yeah…. Even our ‘14-15 team entered the tournament at a 49% chance to win. An absolutely insane percentage, but the field still had a higher percentage over an undefeated team

 

[michaeluk26]

I don’t think it’s the bbq that makes pearl slimy

It’s the snitching a fellow coach and recording a player thing that people don’t seem to remember for me.

Exactly what I posted in this thread. Not a single person mentioned it but you. It was a damn scummy move. I've learned people will ignore everything if it's something they "think" will benefit them. And even though the BBQ thing wasn't a big deal he still lied and tried to get Craft to lie as well.

 

[pauled]

I think Pearl and several coaches will come back down to earth when these super seniors finally leave their programs! Seems like some of the players in the SEC have been playing 10 years!