BOOM - Pearl has been hired

[Ogre]

SPLASH! AUBURN HIRES BRUCE PEARL AS BASKETBALL COACH
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn hired Bruce Pearl as its new basketball coach Tuesday, bringing in a frequent visitor to the NCAA Tournament, a coach with SEC experience, a three-time national coach of the year and fan favorite.

Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005 through the 2011 season, taking all six of his teams to the NCAA Tournament. He's been an ESPN basketball analyst the last several seasons,

"I'm humbled and blessed to be back in the game that I love," Pearl said. "I don't know how long it will take, but it's time to rebuild the Auburn basketball program, and bring it to a level of excellence so many of the other teams on campus enjoy."

Pearl was the second fastest to 300 career wins in NCAA history, trailing only North Carolina's Roy Williams. Pearl is a two-time SEC coach of the yeaer.

Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs welcomed his new coach.

"From the moment I met Coach Pearl and heard his vision for our basketball program, it was clear he’s the right man at the right time for Auburn," Jacobs said.

"Coach Pearl is a proven winner who will bring energy and excitement to our program. We have raised the bar for Auburn basketball, and I could not be more excited for our student-athletes and our future under Coach Pearl’s leadership. I know he agrees with me — it’s time to win."

Pearl won a Division II national championship at Southern Indiana during the 1994-95 season. He went 231–46 in nine seasons there from 1992-2001. He spent the next four years at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he went 86-36 that included two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the Sweet 16.

He was hired at Tennessee in time for the 2005-06 season and promptly led the Vols, in order, to the NCAA Tournament's second round, two straight Sweet 16 appearances, a first-round game, the Elite Eight and back to the first round.

He went 145-61 at Tennessee in six seasons.

Pearl replaces Tony Barbee, who was dismissed last Wednesday at the end of a 14-16 record.

[AWK]

Fucking Awesome.

[Saniflush]

AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs has made a big splash by hiring former Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl as the Tigers' new men's basketball coach, according to the school.

Pearl's hire ends a whirlwind six-day search that focused its energy on him.

"I'm humbled and blessed to back in the game that I love," Pearl said. "I don't know how long it will take, but it's time to rebuild the Auburn basketball program, and bring it to a level of excellence so many of the other teams on campus enjoy."

Jacobs, who led the search alone and promised to conduct the search for a new basketball coach quickly, has now remade his top sports, landing Gus Malzahn for the football program, stealing Sunny Golloway away from Oklahoma for baseball, hiring two-time national champion Clint Myers for softball and now landing Pearl, a proven coach coming off of a show-cause.

"From the moment I met Coach Pearl and heard his vision for our basketball program, it was clear he’s the right man at the right time for Auburn," Jacobs said.  "Coach Pearl is a proven winner who will bring energy and excitement to our program. We have raised the bar for Auburn basketball, and I could not be more excited for our student-athletes and our future under Coach Pearl’s leadership. I know he agrees with me — it’s time to win."

Pearl, who was instantly identified as a top candidate for the job after Jacobs fired Tony Barbee following Auburn's SEC Tournament loss, is a proven coach with a 231-99 record in 10 seasons at the Division I level, piling up eight NCAA Tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteen finishes and one Elite Eight.

Before he was hired at UW-Milwaukee, Pearl spent 10 years at NCAA Division II Southern Indiana, where he won the national championship.

Pearl, 54, has been working as an ESPN analyst and the vice president of marketing for the H.T. Hackney Company, also comes with some baggage.

He is in the final months of a three-year show-cause penalty levied, a penalty that requires a school to produce evidence to the NCAA for hiring him and bans him from recruiting until the show-cause expires on Aug. 23 of this year.

In 2008, Pearl hosted three recruits, including current Ohio State star Aaron Craft at his home for a cookout – an NCAA secondary violation – and then lied about the cookout to the NCAA, turning a secondary violation into a major violation.

But Auburn feels like it's well-equipped to take on a coach with Pearl's history.

Dave Didion, who returned to Auburn as assistant athletic director of compliance last year, was the lead investigator on Pearl's case, according to a source, and the school feels that a strong compliance department led by Didion and compliance director Rich McGlynn will be able to guide Pearl well on compliance issues.

Didion also signed off on Auburn's pursuit of Pearl, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Beyond the problems the show cause presents, though, Pearl brings instant credibility and exposure to a basketball program that hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003.

Popular with fans and media, Pearl has a big personality that makes him a good fit for building support for the school across the state.

In addition to his lengthy history of winning, Pearl knows the SEC, and he understands what it's like to revitalize basketball at a school with a high-profile football program.

[GH2001]

I just jizzed. And still have massive wood. This is friggin awesome.

Kudos JJ.

[Godfather]

[AWK]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10626778/bruce-pearl-accepts-auburn-tigers-head-basketball-coaching-job

[Kaos]

Looking forward to him appearing at a women's basketball game in full body paint and titty-bumping the women's basketball coach -- whoever that may be.

[Saniflush]

Looking forward to him appearing at a women's basketball game in full body paint and titty-bumping the women's basketball coach -- whoever that may be.

Wait....Does bumping titties with him cause memory loss?

[Godfather]

[Godfather]

His Wife...DOUBLE BOOM!

[Saniflush]

Too soon?

[Godfather]

Too soon?

Where am I?

[CCTAU]

This is another wait and see situation with more upside than down.

When all of the crap went down and UT, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash. I think we will not see any issues out of him.

But I also ponder what this means for us long-term. Will he rebuild and then move on? Will he rebuild and then love it here? Or will he find out that there is no rebuild and jump ship?

In either case, it brings more hope than we have had the last 10 years.

[Townhallsavoy]

This is another wait and see situation with more upside than down.

When all of the crap went down and UT, I thought it was a bunch of hogwash. I think we will not see any issues out of him.

But I also ponder what this means for us long-term. Will he rebuild and then move on? Will he rebuild and then love it here? Or will he find out that there is no rebuild and jump ship?

In either case, it brings more hope than we have had the last 10 years.

I don't know how we will treat our basketball coach.

But there has never been a football coach to experience success at Auburn and then leave for "greener pastures."  They either love it here or we give them every reason to stay.

I get the feeling that if we're investing this much money and effort into the basketball program, we'll be willing to do the same for Pearl. 

[Saniflush]

If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.

[Townhallsavoy]

If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.

In his 19 years of coaching college basketball, he's made the tournament 17 times.

I agree.  If he can't do it, no one can. 

[WiregrassTiger]

No more Jew jokes around here. Nip it. Nip it in the bud.

[dallaswareagle]

If he cannot pull this program out of the shitter, I move that we discontinue basketball and focus our efforts elsewhere.

I thought we already did?

[The Six]

AUBURN DAILY EXTRA


Auburn Family invited to Bruce Pearl news conference tonight at Auburn Arena
All members of the Auburn Family are cordially invited to the news conference to welcome Auburn head men's basketball Coach Bruce Pearl. The news conference will take place at Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. tonight. Parking is available at the Stadium Deck, Coliseum and Auburn Arena. Fans should enter through the Scholarship entrance, and seating will be in the 100 level. For more information about the new coach, read the story http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/031814aaa.html.

[Saniflush]

I thought we already did?

I mean officially