By Trashtalk Superstar
Just one day after Drive and Dish speculated about the possibility of John Calipari, Bruce Pearl and Kelvin Sampson -- princely souls that they are -- being in the top five in next week's AP Top 25, Kentucky upset Tennessee 72-66.
Drive and Dish has been tough on first year Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie. But after pulling major upsets over Vanderbilt and now Tennessee, it looks like "Billy Clyde" is starting to get things under control in Lexington. Two weeks ago, he was a goat to many Wildcats fans. But now he's probably the toast of the town ("toast" may not have been the best choice of words -- sorry about that -- but you know what I'm trying to say [Kentucky may be starting to embrace Gillispie]).
Tennessee plays a fun style of basketball. They throw full court pressure at teams and they look to turn turnovers into transition baskets. They've also got guys who can break you down off the dribble and get to the rack. And they LOVE to shoot the three. Best of all, they run, run, run and run some more.
Tennessee is fun to watch and they'd be fun to play for.
But Head Coach Bruce Pearl is a dirtbag. He's as sleazy a guy as you'll find in college basketball ... and that's really saying something.
Last night's loss aside, Tennessee will be a highly seeded team in the NCAA Tournament and they'll probably be a trendy Final Four pick in a lot of people's NCAA brackets. But I believe that they're overrated and that they're not likely to reach the Final Four.
Time will tell.
In the meantime, congratulations to Kentucky.
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5 comments:
Bruce Pearl optimizes the phrase "dirtbag." From the entire Iowa/Illinois Tom Davis/Lou Henson recruiting debacle of the early 90's, to his appearances on "Rome is Burning." That alone raises the readings on the "sleaze machine."
I will give him one thing. The obligatory post-game handshake (Whether or not the handshake is genuine or not) is an opportunity for Pearl to show his sportsmanship. I shouldn't use that word too loosely associated with Pearl. Recruits - parents of the recruits more specifically - eat all of this up.
In the name of sportsmanship, let's just hope this chump doesn't reach San Antonio.
Rocky Top Tennessee! UK is just a bunch of toothless hayseeds that have an eroding basketball program. On the other hand, UT is on the rise with the man that everybody loves to hate: Including this website! Give him some love! He doesn't have the built-in advantages that Billy G has at UK. When all else is equal, we're better!
Bruce Pearl dirty bag toilet, poopey coat
Question: Is Rick Majerus' face a part of the official St. Louis Billikens Mascot? Have any other schools honored their coach in such a way
Mark Buckets,
don't forget how Bruce Pearl wouldn't honor the Letters of Intent of a couple of Buzz Peterson's (who Pearl replaced) recruits. One kid even enrolled in school, started fall classes and began pre-season basketball work outs, only to have Pearl tell him that there wouldn't be a spot for him on the basketball team (and that his scholarship wouldn't be honored).
But when Peterson's prized recruit, Tyler Smith, wanted out of his Letter of Intent, Pearl wouldn't grant him a release (which almost any other coach would have done). Because of NCAA rules, Smith was forced to sit out an entire year -- the length of time in which a Letter of Intent is binding.
Smith attended prep school for a year and then enrolled at Iowa the following year.
Ironically, after one year at Iowa Smith transferred to Tennessee in order to be close to his ailing (now deceased) father.
So, thanks to Tyler Smith's familial misfortune, Bruce Pearl got his man after all.
Despite my Trashtalk moniker, I'm generally positive and I usually don't hate on people, but Bruce Pearl is just too damn slimy.
It's too bad that he's risen as high in the coaching profession as he has. No reputable university should have ever hired him to be the head coach (and public representative) of their basketball program. And, truth be told, Tennessee's athletic department has always treated men's basketball as an afterthought (that's why Kevin O'Neill left Knoxville to coach at Northwestern). Frankly, I don't think schools like North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan or UCLA would have hired him.
But life often isn't fair and Bruce Pearl made the most of the opportunity. He's turned Tennessee into a winner, and as I said in the post, the Vols are a fun team to watch.
Bruce Pearl is unscrupulous and unethical. He's a liar, a cheater, and an ego maniacal sleazeball.
But Bruce Pearl is here to stay.
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