Pearl to talk to Tennessee

[nohopspanther]

The SEC is ridiculously overrated every year. They have exactly one real team in Kentucky. The rest of that conference blows year in and year out for basketball.

[DunkingDan]

pantherband1 said:

Con:

-Have to grow a mullet and lose a few teeth to fit in.
-Send his children to hillbilly land to finish school.

In the Knoxville area are some of the highest ranked schools in the country. Oak Ridge and Blount County have very high rated as well.

Don’t see any mullets around here, the last one I saw was in Chicago.

As a note we are proud to be called hillbillies. If you don’t like our ways do us a favor and stay home. We do have a tourist season down here. He, He, He. No limit either.
By the way we have some very ggo dentist as well. Guess you have watched to much TV.

[DunkingDan]

Rambler63 said:

Last year I worked in Arkansas producing the University of Arkansas women's basketball broadcasts. From what I know of the SEC, Pearl would be nuts not to go hard after the Tennessee job. Look at the pros and cons:

PROS:
1. He would double his base salary with the stroke of a pen.
2. He would make as much in endorsements as he does in base salary-- there is little competition from pro sports in SEC country.
3. He would be the top dog in the state in basketball-- unlike being behind Bo Ryan and Tom Crean.
4. Tremendous facilities.
5. Built in rabid fan base.
6. His biggest competition would be the Tennessee women's team and the football team. Vanderbilt is hampered by being the only private school in the league.
7. You can have a rebuilding year and still make the tournament in the SEC because your RPI is always spiked by Florida and Kentucky.
8. Great media markets by SEC standards-- Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville.
9. Men's basketball expectations are pretty low at Tennessee right now.
10. Your recruiting budget is enormous.

CONS:
1. You have to live in the South.
2. Warmer weather leads to more "bad hair days."
3. Bruce Pearl will stick out as having the highest energy of anyone in the entire state.
4. Will probably have to hire an additional accountant.
5. He will sweat like Nixon in a sauna on those hot Tennessee nights.

We do have air conditioning down here as well as indoor plumbing.

[DunkingDan]

UICJason said:

Con:

Order of importance at his own school:
1. Football
2. Women's Basketball
3. Men's Basketball

Women’s basketball is successful because we have the best coach (No. 1 wins in basket ball). THey also play some damed fine basketball.

Men’s hoops had a glory day. Remember Ernie Grunfield he was one of ours. You could not get a ticket and the Lady Vols where drawing less than 100 fans per game then.

We are proud of all out teams.

But in the south football is King, however we love our hoops as much as anybody as well.

[DunkingDan]

sauby said:

Why would he go somewhere and play on a court named after the Womens Coach??

We wouldn't want you if you feel threatened by a woman.

She has how many wins 880 and counting. If she remains health she will easily go over 1000 before she is done.

[mcdadenets50]

DunkingDan said:

Remember Ernie Grunfield he was one of ours.

We won't forget Ernie. He traded Ray Ray and ruined the Bucks. You can claim him all you want.

[UICJason]

Feel free to post like 20 times DunkingDan.

As for the SEC being overrated, I TOTALLY agree. I wasn't making my comments in the sense that I thought it was good or was right, but it is true. The SEC is highly rated, is more high profile, etc.

Sad, but true.

[ringoutahoya]

UICjason....we meet again. I thought WSI would be it, but I see it extends into b-ball boards.

[Unimane]

I have the unique position of being a Grad student at UWM and an alum of Tennessee, living about half of my life in Tennessee and the other half in Wisconsin. So, I can tell you quite a bit about the differences and the stereotypes between the two. Plus, this Pearl talk is win-win for me. Either he goes to UT or stays at UWM, both teams I actively follow and cheer.

One, as far as the stereotypes go, both states put a lot of stock into things that are mostly garbage. I think northerners have watched too much Beverly Hillbillies. No one in Knoxville marries their sister, loses their teeth or can't read (At least not any more than anyone else.). There are good schools, museums, interesting things to do, etc.

On the other hand, despite the cold weather (Which does suck.), I prefer Milwaukee to Knoxville, which would surprise most southerners. There are more things to do, more progressive, more diverse and much more friendly than southerners will give it credit for (Southerners, though, are also very friendly.).

Basketball-wise, getting back to Pearl, Tennessee does offer quite a bit more than UWM. They have a ton of money, great facilities, a solid recruiting base, a natural rivalry with Kentucky waiting to happen and a primetime stage for a coach who's successful. The SEC is consistently underrated, in my opinion. This year was a down year, but in the last ten years, four different schools have gone to the Final Four and they have 3 National Champions. That beats the "greatest conference" ACC.

[uicMayur]

The UT job would be a huge move for Pearl. I'm sorry, but if things work out, Bruce will undoubtedly take the offer. UT is already a much more traditional college campus and things like building fan bases, excitement, and student support are already pre-made. All Bruce will have to do is guide his Vols team back to winning ways, and the Thompson-Boling Arena (24k capacity, second largest campus arena in the nation) will be roaring.

This is a great oppurtunity for Bruce and he will take it in a heartbeat if things work out.

Take a look at the UT arena. It speaks for itself!

[Hack]

Yeah, look at that Summitt Court ... where 880 wins have been piled up against (to steal a line from newfoundglory) the Helen Keller Universities of the world.

OT: To compare Summitt's accomplishment to Dean Smith's is a complete joke.

[Unimane]

If he wins, what the women do at UT will make no difference. But, to call them the "Helen Keller" competetion is incredibly ignorant and disrespectful. If you ever played against the Lady Vols you might change your tune.

[NYCVol]

HackPanther said:

Yeah, look at that Summitt Court ... where 880 wins have been piled up against (to steal a line from newfoundglory) the Helen Keller Universities of the world.

OT: To compare Summitt's accomplishment to Dean Smith's is a complete joke.

While I agree that Summitt and Dean's accomplishments shouldn't be compared, I think it's very short sighted to demean Pat's accomplishments. She plays the toughest competition year in and year out. We don't demean the record of Florence Griffith Joyner because it's a woman's record.

The game is different and I have been blistered by some Vol fans for suggesting that the records should be designated as separate. To each his (or her) own, I guess.

I will agree with those that say our men should be able to replace the floorboards so we're not playing on The Summitt. Unfortunately, that's not going to be the case.

[PantherAlumBB]

Someone on the radio pointed out that Adolph Rupp played a lot of weak teams, too. She's obviously had a great career and I would hope that Pearl or Lutz or whoever coaches UT and the guys that play there would not have a problem playing on a court named after her anymore than the NC women's team should have a problem playing in the Dean Dome.

But might it not be possible that the success of the UT women's program crowds out fan support and attention for the men's team? The challenge for UWM - whether Pearl stays or goes - is to come out of the shadow of MU. The problem at UT may not be that the Lady Vols aren't great. Its that they are great.

[DunkingDan]

To say that Pat summit played a lot of week teams shows that you have not looked at their schedule. Not only are at least 1/3 rd of the SEC teams ranked but Pat plays all the top 20 progams she can every year to prepare her eams for the tournment. Check out her schedule vs the rankings before that she plays a soft schedule.

Also check and see how many final fours she has been in and how many titles.

sports.espn.go.com/ncw/rankings

sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/teams/tag/schedule