Illini fan's take: Why Bruce Pearl is so reviled

[SFJon]

I was of age when all this went down with Bruce Pearl and Illinois. I am not the foremost expert on the subject but I can tell everyone here the not so obvious reasons why the grudge has been so long lasting.

1. The accusations came from Iowa. Iowa is one of the most if not the most bitter rival Illinois has in basketball. Illinois is constantly battling Iowa for top talent from Chicago and the state of Illinois.

2. Illinois fan's feel that Pearl coerced Thomas into saying that the cash and car story had actually happened. Thomas claimed afterwards that he agreed to the story just to get off the phone because Pearl was constantly bothering him about his choice of schools.

3. The cash and car story was never mentioned on the list of infractions that caused Illinois to be given sanctions by the NCAA. The official reason for sanctions were *far* less serious than the Deon Thomas related accusations. Many Illinois fans feel Pearl purposely tried to get any dirt on Illinois because he lost Thomas as a key recruit. (Thomas became Illinois' all-time leading scorer.) If that accusation was never made by Pearl the other minor infractions would have never been serious enough to warrant an NCAA investigation in the first place. To my knowledge there was no NCAA investigation on going at the time before Pearl/Thomas.

4. The cloud and sanctions that hung over Illinois basketball greatly hurt the program. Remember that Illinois had just had their best season in their history the year before this happened. Recruiting was greatly hurt during this period. It took ~8 years for Illinois to regain prominence in basketball that it had before the sanctions. This whole 8 year period was blamed on Pearl's actions.

5. Jimmy Collins obviously blames Pearl for this. Collins also feels that this episode hurt his credibility as a head coach and basically cost his the head coaching job at Illinois after Coach Lou Henson retired. Collins refusal to bury the past with Pearl is a constant reminder and reinforcement to many Illinois fan that Pearl is still to blame in this situation.



I'm not saying anything about Pearl is true or false. I'm giving people here the Illinois fans' rationale for the intense dislike for Pearl.

[PantherAlumBB]

It all sounds completely unhinged. No one denies that Thomas said he was offered money. I suppose they think that Pearl made him say it but that seems far fetched. If Pearl had that kind of power, he probably could have talked him into going to Iowa.

So now it boils down to an argument either that Pearl shouldn't have taped the call or that he shouldn't have gone public. But there was nothing illegal about a party to a conversation taping it and I would think that reporting a potential recruiting violation would be an honorable thing.

I sort of understand being upset about NCAA sanctions but if the program was clean, there wouldn't have been sanctions.

What you are left with is a bunch of people who are upset with the wrong guy for the wrong reasons.

[SFJon]

Findings by the NCAA in the Illinois case

1. A girlfriend of Thomas and her sister took a photograph of Thomas, two teammates, and Illini players Nick Anderson and Ervin Small on the floor of the Assembly Hall on Jan. 28, 1989. They got the picture developed and obtained Collins’ inscription on the back: “Yea, Deon, you belong with us man, and we want and need to have you with us. The Fellas”.

2. Collins made an in-person, off-campus recruiting contact with Deon Thomas at Aunt Sonya’s in Champaign. According to the UI response to the NCAA, this was accidental, unplanned and very brief.

3. Illinois representatives visited Simeon High School more than once during the week of April 3, 1989. The only evidence that Henson was at the school on April 7 was a statement of Renaldo Kyles, whom the NCAA believed over Henson and Simeon coach Bob Hambric.

4. Jimmy Collins made an illegal recruiting contact with Ervin Small during the 1984-85 school year. According to the UI response to the NCAA, Collins was in Bob Hambric’s office for reasons completely unrelated to Small when Small coincidentally entered to check for mail. An exchange of greetings but no other conversation ensued.

5. During the 1988-89 and 1989-90 season, four players had listed non-relatives as relatives in order to provide them with complimentary tickets to games. (self-reported)

6. In filling out applications for loans, a Decatur auto dealer did not required three players to provide as much credit information as was normally required of borrowers. (self-reported)

7. At about 11 p.m. during mid-term exame in May 1990, Collins provided between $7 and $10 to purchase dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Thomas repaid Collins within a few days. (self-reported)

8. In May 1990, Collins loaned Ervin Small, who had completed his eligibility, between $5 and $10. (self-reported)

9. Lack of institutional control.

[damasa]

SFJon, as in San Francisco?

[SFJon]

Correct.

[damasa]

Nice, whereabouts?

I'm a panther fan but I also live in SF.

[SFJon]

Currently I live in the Duboce Triangle. ;D

[Ron Mexico]

This was well presented and all, but I want to know why BP is so reviled among Illini fans, but nobody seems that mad at the NCAA. Pearl was used by the NCAA as part of an investigation, and his credibility was also hurt. I don't claim to know everything about this, but shouldn't the always-hypocritcal ethical crusaders at the NCAA be the ones who get taken to task?

[SFJon]

I agree with you to a point. I think Illinois fans blame the NCAA as well. When the sanctions where handed down, believe me when I say people were irate at the NCAA.

I think people are still upset with Pearl because he fairly or unfairly (depending on who you talk to) tried to get Illinois trouble. And the basis he used to start the investigation turned out to be without merit the NCAA's eyes. To Illinois fans, this gives credence to the idea that Pearl setup the situation to hurt Illinois. Or at best he wanted to obtain any dirt about Illinois no matter how little facts he had about the situation before turning the tapes over.


I'm sorry if I'm looking like I'm trying to bad mouth your coach. That's not my intent here. I am try to show why there so much hatred about the past between the two parties.

Believe me that Pearl is not the only coach that has drawn the wrath of Illinois' fans. Bobby Knight and Digger Phelps are also very high on the list as well due to their supposed involvement with this investigation.

[Ron Mexico]

No, you're presenting your case well. I just have seen so much hatred towards BP from Illinois and hardly any mention of the NCAA, which has traditionally been one of the most hypocritical and corrupt organizations in sports.

It's easier to see where Illini fans are coming from, but I think the extremists among you need to tone it down. I'm just anticipating a good game between two exciting teams.

[SFJon]

I totally agree. People lose perspective at times. The minority have said things that are totally over the line and then some.

We are lucky that Thursday's match up looks to be one of the most entertaining of the 3rd round games.