Post by kaygee on Feb 10, 2005 8:38:17 GMT -6
High time for Collins, Pearl to reconcile
Teddy Greenstein
February 10, 2005
ESPN play-by-play man Jerry Punch: "Will they shake? Will they talk? Here comes Bruce Pearl. We'll see if [Jimmy] Collins will come toward Pearl. Let's see if they will shake. Here comes Collins ... He walks right by. Pearl extends the hand, and Collins walks by. They still have not shaken, and this crowd recognizes the fact that these two guys just don't like each other."
Analyst Bucky Waters: "The crowd waited for that exchange, or lack thereof, with great anticipation. They were rewarded."
As the seconds melted away in Illinois-Chicago's game Saturday at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, there was no talk of Cedrick Banks' 29 points or a rivalry that has produced an NCAA tournament team for three consecutive seasons.
No, all eyes were on the handshake line.
After Collins continued his policy of walking past Pearl without acknowledging him, the cameras showed him smiling, almost laughing. But UIC's coach found no amusement in what had transpired.
"People in the stands were calling me every kind of name," Collins said. "I was going to smile and walk it off. I'm not going to be a Ron Artest."
A postgame handshake might seem trivial, given that even bitter rivals John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors managed to clasp palms after every tennis match.
But it is a big deal to Collins, who was scarred by a recruiting scandal 15 years ago while he was an assistant at Illinois and Pearl was at Iowa. So fresh are the wounds that Collins doesn't merely call Pearl his enemy.
"Do I believe in the devil tomorrow when all my life I've believed in God?" he asked.
Pearl, on the other hand, is reluctant to add to the story.
"I'm tired of talking about it and reading about it because it's taking away from these players and this league," he said. "What we should have been talking about after the game was Cedrick Banks' 22 points in the first half, how dominant Armond Williams was at times and what a gutsy effort my kids gave to win a big conference game."
Pearl, who brings his Milwaukee team to Chicago on Thursday night to face Loyola, said the rivalry needs no sideshow. He's right.
Heading into Saturday's 85-75 victory by UW-Milwaukee, the teams ranked 1-2 in Horizon League play since Pearl took over the Panthers in 2001. One team has knocked the other out of the league tournament in each of the last three years.
The games feature good, clean play, with no signs that the coaches despise each other. But they do.
It stems from one of the ugliest recruiting scandals in college basketball history, when Collins and Pearl were vying to sign former Simeon star Deon Thomas.
Pearl contends at one point, Thomas told him Illinois was offering $80,000 and a Chevrolet Blazer. Pearl, then a 29-year-old assistant, huddled with his bosses, who decided to buy audio equipment and have Pearl tape subsequent conversations with Thomas.
When an NCAA investigator inquired, Iowa officials decided to turn over the tapes, which appeared to back Pearl's claim. Thomas later said he was just trying to get Pearl off the phone.
The NCAA cleared Collins and Illinois in Thomas' recruitment but sanctioned the Illini for other violations.
"That was a two-year investigation, and nobody saw what my kids went through," Collins said. "They were teased every day over a bald-faced lie. And I'll never forget the looks on their faces when my face came up on TV and people called me a cheater.
"So should I be a sport and shake hands? My convictions run deeper than that."
Told that Pearl wishes people wouldn't focus on the coaches' feud, Collins replied: "If he really hates it, then he would come out and say, 'The guy went through an investigation, nothing came out and I acted wrong.'
"Until he comes out and admits he did me wrong, why should I kiss his butt? I'm trying to be civil. But for me to go up and shake his hand would indicate all is forgiven."
The recruiting scandal also took a huge toll on Pearl, who withstood death threats and was ripped by analyst Dick Vitale, who said during a 1990 broadcast that Pearl had committed "coaching suicide" and that his taping of a call was "totally unethical."
Pearl rebuilt his career at Division II Southern Indiana, where he won a national championship and went 231-56 in nine seasons. After leading UW-Milwaukee to its first NCAA tournament berth in 2003 and twice being named Horizon League coach of the year, he figures to draw interest for future Big Ten openings.
Collins, meanwhile, has built a top-notch program after Illinois officials shot down his hopes of succeeding Lou Henson. UIC had never reached the NCAA tournament before Collins arrived nine years ago. Last season marked the Flames' third trip to the Big Dance.
But Collins will not shake Pearl's hand, and Pearl will not apologize, saying he was not at fault. Horizon League officials could step in, but they haven't.
So the melodrama will not die.
"For the sake of our players and the league," Pearl said, "we need to turn the page."
Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune
Teddy Greenstein
February 10, 2005
ESPN play-by-play man Jerry Punch: "Will they shake? Will they talk? Here comes Bruce Pearl. We'll see if [Jimmy] Collins will come toward Pearl. Let's see if they will shake. Here comes Collins ... He walks right by. Pearl extends the hand, and Collins walks by. They still have not shaken, and this crowd recognizes the fact that these two guys just don't like each other."
Analyst Bucky Waters: "The crowd waited for that exchange, or lack thereof, with great anticipation. They were rewarded."
As the seconds melted away in Illinois-Chicago's game Saturday at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, there was no talk of Cedrick Banks' 29 points or a rivalry that has produced an NCAA tournament team for three consecutive seasons.
No, all eyes were on the handshake line.
After Collins continued his policy of walking past Pearl without acknowledging him, the cameras showed him smiling, almost laughing. But UIC's coach found no amusement in what had transpired.
"People in the stands were calling me every kind of name," Collins said. "I was going to smile and walk it off. I'm not going to be a Ron Artest."
A postgame handshake might seem trivial, given that even bitter rivals John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors managed to clasp palms after every tennis match.
But it is a big deal to Collins, who was scarred by a recruiting scandal 15 years ago while he was an assistant at Illinois and Pearl was at Iowa. So fresh are the wounds that Collins doesn't merely call Pearl his enemy.
"Do I believe in the devil tomorrow when all my life I've believed in God?" he asked.
Pearl, on the other hand, is reluctant to add to the story.
"I'm tired of talking about it and reading about it because it's taking away from these players and this league," he said. "What we should have been talking about after the game was Cedrick Banks' 22 points in the first half, how dominant Armond Williams was at times and what a gutsy effort my kids gave to win a big conference game."
Pearl, who brings his Milwaukee team to Chicago on Thursday night to face Loyola, said the rivalry needs no sideshow. He's right.
Heading into Saturday's 85-75 victory by UW-Milwaukee, the teams ranked 1-2 in Horizon League play since Pearl took over the Panthers in 2001. One team has knocked the other out of the league tournament in each of the last three years.
The games feature good, clean play, with no signs that the coaches despise each other. But they do.
It stems from one of the ugliest recruiting scandals in college basketball history, when Collins and Pearl were vying to sign former Simeon star Deon Thomas.
Pearl contends at one point, Thomas told him Illinois was offering $80,000 and a Chevrolet Blazer. Pearl, then a 29-year-old assistant, huddled with his bosses, who decided to buy audio equipment and have Pearl tape subsequent conversations with Thomas.
When an NCAA investigator inquired, Iowa officials decided to turn over the tapes, which appeared to back Pearl's claim. Thomas later said he was just trying to get Pearl off the phone.
The NCAA cleared Collins and Illinois in Thomas' recruitment but sanctioned the Illini for other violations.
"That was a two-year investigation, and nobody saw what my kids went through," Collins said. "They were teased every day over a bald-faced lie. And I'll never forget the looks on their faces when my face came up on TV and people called me a cheater.
"So should I be a sport and shake hands? My convictions run deeper than that."
Told that Pearl wishes people wouldn't focus on the coaches' feud, Collins replied: "If he really hates it, then he would come out and say, 'The guy went through an investigation, nothing came out and I acted wrong.'
"Until he comes out and admits he did me wrong, why should I kiss his butt? I'm trying to be civil. But for me to go up and shake his hand would indicate all is forgiven."
The recruiting scandal also took a huge toll on Pearl, who withstood death threats and was ripped by analyst Dick Vitale, who said during a 1990 broadcast that Pearl had committed "coaching suicide" and that his taping of a call was "totally unethical."
Pearl rebuilt his career at Division II Southern Indiana, where he won a national championship and went 231-56 in nine seasons. After leading UW-Milwaukee to its first NCAA tournament berth in 2003 and twice being named Horizon League coach of the year, he figures to draw interest for future Big Ten openings.
Collins, meanwhile, has built a top-notch program after Illinois officials shot down his hopes of succeeding Lou Henson. UIC had never reached the NCAA tournament before Collins arrived nine years ago. Last season marked the Flames' third trip to the Big Dance.
But Collins will not shake Pearl's hand, and Pearl will not apologize, saying he was not at fault. Horizon League officials could step in, but they haven't.
So the melodrama will not die.
"For the sake of our players and the league," Pearl said, "we need to turn the page."
Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune
