Stop Saying Bruce Pearl
by Flakbait on Mar 18, 2010 7:56 PM CDT
42 comments
I keep seeing the name Bruce Pearl brought up as "the guy we have to get". This is my effort to keep this from being a situation like we had when Ferentz was hired. Instead of looking for reasons to like the guy, all anybody could do is bitch that he wasn't Bob Stoops.
So this is it. After today I'm not going to say Bruce Pearl's name in connection with the Iowa job, I'm not even going to state the obvious... IT ISN'T GOfING TO HAPPEN. And neither should you.
* Spent 6 years as an assistant at Iowa under Tom Davis. A period of time he no doubt considers invaluable in his professional development and a special time in his personal life. Surely came to love Iowa City as the utterly kick ass city that it is.
* He grew up in Boston, Iowa ties don't run that deep.
* Makes $2.3 Million a year. The guy is dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking rich.
* Iowa would not increase his pay significantly. Taxes would take about 40% of it, child support would take more
* Has spent 5 years building Tennessee into HIS program. His staff, his players. Has his team in the NCAA as a 6 seed. A fucking 6 seed!
* Would be rebuilding Iowa from the ground up. The only 6 seed he will be seeing anytime soon will say "Monsanto" on the bag.
* Is the basketball coach at a football school.
* Would be the basketball coach at a football school.
* Tennessee is in the top 5 nationally for attendance.
* If CHA is sold out for every game it will not be top 5 in attendance.
* He already said no once.
* Is divorced with children aged 14 and 10. They probably live in Knoxville and a move to Iowa City would make it very difficult for him to spend time with them.
* Has been kicking all kinds of SEC ass, including in his division. There has been concerns expressed that other schools in his division are getting better.
* The Big 10 is no easier than the SEC and without divisions he will be facing the top teams every year.
* Has already said no once.
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FREE BRUCE PEARL WOOOOOO BRUCE PEARL!!!!!
Whether we have a chance or not is frankly irrelevant, as far as I’m concerned. I have less than zero (negative zero?) say in the matter – I don’t donate any money to UI, I didn’t go to school there, and I don’t even live in Iowa anymore. So for now, as we as Iowa BB fans sit in limbo awaiting news of a new coach, I’m a full-fledged member of the I Would Very Much Like To Have Former Iowa Men’s Basketball Assistant Under Tom Davis And Excellent Head Hoopyball Coach In His Own Right (And If Nothing Else It Would Send Illini Nation Into An Eye-Clawing Apoplectic Rage) Current Tennessee Men’s Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl As The Next Iowa Men’s Basketball Head Coach coalition (the IWVMLTHFMIBAUTDAEHCIHORCTMBCBPATNIMBHCC).
"Do a flip!" - Bender B. Rodriguez
That
is the best acronym I have ever seen. I’m picturing that acronym printed, in one line, on the front of a t-shirt. It would probably have to be very small print though.
Hey Dolph, you look like I need a beer.
by Give Eddie a Beer on Mar 19, 2010 9:46 AM CDT up reply actions
I like an acronym that spells something
like, Barta’s Regressing Under Crumbling Expectations Pursuing Everyone Available (except) Redacted Lobo-coach i.e. B.R.U.C.E.P.E.A.R.L.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 19, 2010 12:13 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Haha!
Has been kicking all kinds of SEC ass…
you mean, ESS EEE CEE AAASSSS!?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
What up Ben Jacobson?
In the past 10 years, just four team owners have not paid a luxury tax and are not on pace to pay one this year: Donald Sterling, Jerry Reinsdorf, Chris Cohen (Golden State), Bob Johnson (Charlotte).
Two owners’ teams averaged an operating income of over +$10 million per year while their teams have lost over 60% of their games: Donald Sterling and Jerry Reinsdorf.
Especially after today.
Jeesh! What an embarrassment…
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 20, 2010 11:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Let me remind you
http://espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=274000053
Keep your eyes firmly on the road ahead of you. Ignore that rearview mirror.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
Usually I'm pretty sharp
but I’m failing to pick up what you’re dropping. Come again?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 21, 2010 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions
Lickliter was the bell of the ball after this close loss in the Sweet 16
similar to Jacobson’s status having knocked off Kansas. I am saying Iowa needs to keep its eyes focused and not suddenly be seduced by this as I believe Barta was initially uninterested in Jacobson.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on Mar 21, 2010 10:55 AM CDT up reply actions
Except
Jeff Caple, Travis Ford, Thad Matta and Mark Turgeon (to name just a few) have also parlayed similar runs into meaningful careers. The crux of your anti-TL sentiment all season has been that he is/was a terrible communicator, which just amplified his other problems. Do we know that Jacobson has similar issues? We sure as hell know he understands the state of Iowa, something TL apparently didn’t (Iowa has corn…Indiana has corm…hey! They’re the same thing!). I don’t know that we should categorically eliminate a new candidate because of one similar (not same) set of circumstances. Oh, and Jacobson’s team beat their Goliath. For the record, my vote continues to be VCU coach, Shaka Smart, but I wouldn’t kick and scream about Bruce Pearl coming “home.”
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 21, 2010 11:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Lickliter was a terrible communicator on every front
but, his style was proven to be a non-starter with the Iowa fan base as well. I think Lute and Tom Davis grooved a style expectation for the Iowa fanbase and rather than fight that, go with it. Moreover, I think it works better at Iowa to have a style that will allow us to bring in some high flyers. My major concern with Jacobson is he is not going to bring in the Chicago players. His style is unappealing to that fast, super athletic type. It is very contrained. It works with what he has going up there in Cedar Falls. We need to think much differently. Moreover, I think Lickliter might actually be a better coach than him. So it is not merely about coaching.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
by StoopsMyAss on Mar 21, 2010 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
As a lifelong Chicagoan/Chicago-area guy
I don’t know that their players are the end-all, be-all. Sure, there are excellent players to be had, but how many of them stick around more than a season or two? For the longest time, Illinois’ best teams (excluding the Flyin’ Illini) were composed mostly of “downstate” (i.e. Peoria) players. What is imperative with a school like Iowa is that they hold down the very best talent in their own state first. Iowa has a not-so-proud tradition of losing guys like LaFrentz, Heinrich, Bohannon and (initially) Haluska to other programs. Keep those players in-house and your teams are much better.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 21, 2010 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions
I disagree
the notion that Iowa has to secure the Iowa players is over-hyped. There are not a lot of really top flight Iowa players and they have their own hopes and dreams to factor into the equation. If Iowa gets them fine. But their is a lot of great talent in Chicago, Minny, St. Louis, and in Iowa and Illinois. Plus, the next coach will bring his own network (hopefully) and it might not include any of these areas. Iowa has also recruited Detroit well in the past.
Players gravitate to style, program culture/history, and the coach. If Iowa gets back to 12K-15K attendance with a good coach who has a fun style of basketball then all the youngsters in the state will see what it felt like in the 1980s and 1990s around here. When a tournament invite was not a shock.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
And I
Wisconsin with you. Bo gets Wisconsin kids to stay home and then lands an impact player or two from outside of the state and (poof) competitive teams! Or to put it another way, if Pierre Pierce wasn’t a sex criminal, his talent + Brunner + Haluska + Horner = sure as hell not losing to Northwestern State in the first round.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 21, 2010 5:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Unless we hold the lead
with a playmaker who is not incarcerated.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 9:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Details, schmeetails
Honestly I will continue to blame [redacted] for everything. That makes it much easier on me, and life is all about what is easiest on me.
I only blame [redacted]
for the housing market crash, the on-going war in Afghanistan and H1N1.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 6:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Don't forget about SARS
I’m pretty sure that outbreak happened soon after he left us for the wasteland of NM.
Too lazy to actually look it up, but I think I’m right, therefore I am
by HeroPatriotStanzi on Mar 22, 2010 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions
He couldn't have caused SARS, [redacted] isn't Asian,
although I DO blame him for the Korean War.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 7:03 PM CDT up reply actions
Butler lost to their goliath in the round of 16, not the second round
But they beat Maryland in the second round (granted, a 4 seed). If UNI knocks off MSU, maybe Jacobsen has a leg up on Lick. I would still prefer a coach with a track record in a major conference and MULTIPLE runs in the tourney.
Our last two coaches were hired after taking a mid-major to the sweet 16, once in their career. No more of that road please.
The tournament is a tricky guage
of a coaches ability. Yes, that Alford cannot get out of the second round suggests he has lots of work to do as a coach. Yes, Jacobson getting to the Elite Eight would suggest he is a strong coach and good tournament coach as well. But, teams come in hot and cold to the tournament and match-ups are important so some coaches benefit from these things while others do not. John Wallace got hot and Syracuse rode him to the final…then John Wallace slipped into obscurity. Kansas loses in the first or second round several times as a dominant #1 seed.
If Jacobson ran a more athletic offense I would be more open to him. But he is running the equivalent of the Wishbone offense in football (to me) and I don’t want to see us hire another specialist whose appeal is limited like that. I also do not think the fans will give him the time. If he goes out next year and wins 15 games averaging 62 points a game and recruits two 6’ 4" forwards then I don’t think that will go over well. Barta needs to make a symbolic and actual break from everything that the fans have seen over the past three years. Which means:
- outgoing coach
- uptempo style
- good recruiter of long athletic types
Then when Iowa wins 15 games it will still feel different. And I fully expect Jacobson to be successful at UNI or whereever he ends up.
Iowa’s basketball identity, yes even today, was grooved by Lute Olsen and Tom Davis, both of whom played an offensive oriented style with long, tall, athletic players. I think much of the Iowa basketball fanbase still imagines this model when they imagine a winner. Season tickets are often purchased like stocks…based on a perception of potential. And most people spend money based on entertainment as much if not more than supporting the U.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
For the record, SMA,
I’m not advocating the hiring of Jacobson. I wouldn’t be enraged if he were hired, but he’s well down my personal list (which I’m sure the search committee is intending to look at any time now…). This back-and-forth was just the by-product of what I thought was an oddly-timed, categorical “no” from NorseHawk posted almost at the same instant that Jacobson’s team was finishing what has been the biggest upset of the tournament so far. Again, I hope the hire Iowa makes will show a little bit more imagination than just going for the yearly Flavor of the Tourney.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions
I actually posted it AFTER he had knocked off Kansas
He’s a solid coach who has done great work at UNI, but he’s not what Iowa needs right now. We need someone who can recruit like hell and bring in a strong influx of talent, and I don’t see him as that guy. I also agree with SMA that someone willing to play at a faster pace would be preferable since it’d be more likely to get fans back. There are far too many similarities between Lickliters Butler teams and Jacobsen’s UNI teams for my liking.
Oh, I know KM
almost everytime I post anything it is far less a direct response to the OP and more a piggyback on those thoughts. I think Barta has found his guy, by the way. I have a feeling he’s all set and now it is a matter of getting a stamp of approval from the hiring committee and then finding a good media window. I think it is going to be Barbee or however you spell his name. I have to research this dude…I hope it is a good hire — assuming I am correct.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
Does it concern you
that he’s essentially Calipari’s protege?
Oh, shit! His son’s name is…Hayden?!? Hired!
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 5:26 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm fine with Calipari as a mentor
he has, arguably, the best player relationships in all of college basketball. He gets that part of it. He is actually coaching his guys too, but also seeing them beyond just the Xs and Os. Which TL never, it seems, was able to do. Players love him and play their asses off for him. And they don’t play stupid. So, if Barbee had any of this rub off him, I am all for that. Besides, assistant coaches always try to be their own men when they break free so I am sure Barbee is more than just a Calipari guy. He has an interesting history. A little of this and a little of that. But i don’t know much about him. He would need to grow in the job I am sure. But if he plays the right style, can realte to the player and draw some unique talent, and has some social skills. Hire his ass.
I would not be surprised if he gets the gig. That Wyoming thing is not small deal.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
Okay...I just watched a handful of youtube clips of Barbee
and my kneejerk reaction is that he is not the most refined public persona, but he is emotional, intense, outgoing, very comfortable in his skin. The big question is can he recruit to Iowa…meaning, UTEP and Memphis and Wyoming do not exactly have tough admissions standards. If Barta thinks he can do that, then I could see the fanbase liking him. He really seems hands on. I think he is not aloof at all. This job would be a handful for him too. A much bigger step up in class. He would need to grow a bit.
"I’m sick of following my dreams. I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and hook up with them later." M.H.
I still think they're a week or so away from making the final decision
But I would love this. Great recruiter, learned under a great coach in Calipari, has some experience with the area, wants to run, has had success at UTEP. He’s been at the top of my (realistic) list from the start.
Any word on if he might pick up the worst parts of Calipari?
Namely the “Final Four Banner Revocation” parts of Calipari? We really don’t need to win at that cost. I think “can stay out of compliance troubles” to the wishlist for a new coach.
Don't forget that UNI would go to the Elite Eight through a depleted MSU team
I know MSU won without Lucas, but that is a really tough hill to climb for Lucious and the Spartans. I think UNI might just win the game, but ,unless Turner blows out his knee when OSU beats Tennessee, their run ends there.
Don't count your chickens
when OSU beats Tennessee
The Buckeyes have looked anything but convincing for the last few weeks, tourney included.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 6:43 PM CDT up reply actions
The PearlGasm will be incredible here when/if UT wins.
"Based on my estimates, it appears that Stanzi shall transcend the ages." - Cairo
by ReadingRambler on Mar 22, 2010 8:18 PM CDT up reply actions
PearlGasm?
Is that what gave you your necklace?
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Mar 22, 2010 9:00 PM CDT up reply actions
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