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Paw Master [16946]
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Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 3, 2022, 2:39 PM
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To be clear, I am not advocating for a coaching change, and certainly not for a change to Pearl, as he just signed a huge new contract.
But I still think he is an interesting case study on what energy and enthusiasm within a program can do to change a culture, and how fan and performance on the court are interrelated.
Prior to taking a chance on a coach who had significant questions marks, Auburn's basketball history looked like this: 8 NCAA appearances in its 100+ year history, with a single Elite 8 appearance nearly 30 years ago. Basketball was clearly an afterthought at a football factory. The two coaches who followed Cliff Ellis combined for a record of 145-168 (53-11 SEC) over 11 seasons, with zero NCAA appearances.
Enter Bruce Pearl. Three seasons in, Pearl was 44-54 (16-38 SEC), with two losing seasons and no NCAAs. But he turned the proverbial corner that third season. Despite a losing record in the SEC and missing the dance, Pearl's team won 18 games and had its first winning season in years. Since that time, his teams have gone 115-39 (52-29), with two NCAA appearances (one Final Four) and would have had a third had the tournament not been canceled in 2020. This season, Auburn is #1 in the country, and the energy surrounding the program has been compared to that at Duke. Auburn is a BASKETBALL school.
How did this happen? Could Bruce Pearl walk into Littlejohn and have us on this trajectory within 5 years? Could anybody? Can Brownell? I don't have the answers to those questions, but they need to be studied, because whatever Auburn has, I'd like some of. We have been compared to them for decades, and have many things in common. Their football fortunes seem to be on the wane, but hoops is on fire.
Would you trade places with Auburn - a losing record in football for a dominant basketball season? I wouldn't make that trade personally, but I see no reason why we can't be a factor in both. I would rather be a consistent top tier program in football and occasional dark horse in basketball than the other way around. Strange to say, but I don't think I would hire Bruce Pearl for Clemson tomorrow, if he became available - nor would I hire Rick Pitino. Heck, I am not sure I would even hire Ratface for us, if he were available for next season. Gonna wait out the rest of the season before I decide where I am on Brad. Go Tigers!
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Paw Warrior [4984]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 3, 2022, 2:41 PM
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He is a sleeze and crook with no integrity. Do you need more??
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Tiger Spirit [9781]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 3, 2022, 2:47 PM
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Bruce Pearl Admits Wrongdoing at Tennessee
He was charged with unethical conduct by the NCAA for this, and additional charges came down later. ... In short, the issues which led to Pearl's firing from Tennessee stemmed from recruiting violations and a cover-up.
Despite finding Auburn guilty of the highest-level violation—a Level I-aggravated designation for its part in the bribery scandal four years ago—the Committee on Infractions accepted the school’s 2021 postseason ban and applied no additional postseason sanctions. Despite having a head coach involved in his second major infractions case in his last two jobs, Pearl is suspended a mere two games. The charges (which were hidden by the school for nearly two years when it refused to release the Notice of Allegations) were serious; the punishment was not.
This might not have been on par with the all-time bamboozling by North Carolina, when the Tar Heels maneuvered their way to a great escape after decades of academic fraud. But Auburn’s ability to emerge with relatively minor sanctions is a notable outflanking of the governing body of college sports. If the texts I got from those in the industry are any indication, it only deepens the distrust in the NCAA’s ability to create and enforce a level playing field.
So Pearl is a cheat plus not a particularly good cheat. Yet you want a hypothetical of him coming to Clemson? Do you have no morals?
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Paw Master [16946]
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Did you read the part where I said I would not hire Pearl?
Feb 3, 2022, 3:46 PM
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or Pitino? I would much rather have a middling basketball program that was clean and reputable than cheat to get to where Auburn is. As much as I would not sell my soul for success, and as disappointed as I am in Auburn for making this hire, I don't really believe that cheating is why Auburn is #1 right now. So my question was, is there a coach out there who you believe could achieve a transformation in our program on a similar trajectory to Auburn's, WITHOUT cheating?
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Rival Killer [2965]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 3, 2022, 2:51 PM
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For the record, I would be ok with cheating.
It's not really fair to compare our basketball programs to other programs that cheat. If there was no money involved, we would have landed Zion.
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Valley Legend [12519]
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Taking the prior NCAA stuff he has gotten in trouble with...
Feb 3, 2022, 2:52 PM
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He knows how to get a football school enthusiastic about basketball.
Yeah it took him awhile to get it going but they were really bad.
Just like it took OP to get it competitive after Clemson under Shyatt.
I will say you can find a coach who can get the fanbase excited who is the up and up. Rick Barnes did a lot at Clemson a little similar to Bruce Pearl.
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Orange Immortal [67117]
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He's a scumbag, a liar and a cheat...
Feb 3, 2022, 2:58 PM
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which is exactly why Auburn hired him.
As long as he wins, none of the character flaws will matter to them at all.
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Clemson Conqueror [11531]
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Re: He's a scumbag, a liar and a cheat...
Feb 3, 2022, 3:10 PM
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Dittos ...... does not fit into the Clemson culture!
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Orange Immortal [67117]
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If Tennessee thought he was bad enough to fire...
Feb 3, 2022, 3:13 PM
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that pretty much tells you all you need to know.
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Orange Immortal [61172]
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Wouldn't want Pearl, but there is absolutely no reason
Feb 3, 2022, 3:21 PM
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that Clemson can't have what Auburn has, and certainly no reason Clemson can't have a basketball program that is consistently in the top 15-20 in the country. NONE. Anybody who disagrees with that is in deep, deep denial, and I can only conclude has some kind of mental disorder based around an unhealthy attachment to the status quo, and an unreasonable fear of change. It is flat out insanity, not unlike women who stay in abusive relationships with men who beat them, cheat on them and denigrate them, but still proclaim "but he's really a good man".
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Orange Immortal [67117]
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I agree but I'm not sure it's a case of denial...
Feb 3, 2022, 4:38 PM
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It more a matter of having that defeatist "we've never done it so clearly we can't" mentality or, as you said, "an unhealthy attachment to the status quo".
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Freshman [-99]
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Re: Wouldn't want Pearl, but there is absolutely no reason
Feb 3, 2022, 7:03 PM
[ in reply to Wouldn't want Pearl, but there is absolutely no reason ] |
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that Clemson can't have what Auburn has, and certainly no reason Clemson can't have a basketball program that is consistently in the top 15-20 in the country. NONE. Anybody who disagrees with that is in deep, deep denial, and I can only conclude has some kind of mental disorder based around an unhealthy attachment to the status quo, and an unreasonable fear of change. It is flat out insanity, not unlike women who stay in abusive relationships with men who beat them, cheat on them and denigrate them, but still proclaim "but he's really a good man".
You would make the same assertion if you were a fan of a different college.
There's no rational basis for your assertion that Clemson should be consistently in the top 15-20 basketball programs in the country. You are basically like a UConn fan asserting Uconn should be a consistent top 15-20 program in football.
The difference is Clemson is competitive in basketball and UConn isn't in football.
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All-Time Great [89655]
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Count me as one . . .
Feb 3, 2022, 4:12 PM
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not interested in destroying our reputation with a shady Coach . . . but I do think there is someone that can make us more competitive than we are presently.
Random question for those who know Dabo . . . If he were to quit coaching football and say, “Dadgummit, I’d like to try my hand at coaching basketball!” . . . at whatever level he entered into basketball coaching, do you think he would be competitive? Do you think he would be successful?
Coaches that can turn programs around do exist . . . Wanting one first, then finding him isn’t my job . . . GN, I’m looking at you.
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Paw Master [16946]
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I 100% believe that Dabo would be successful at it
Feb 3, 2022, 5:00 PM
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He has such self belief, faith and leadership qualities, I think he would be a great coach of any (mainstream) sport at any level. Maybe not cricket, or curling, but probably just about anything else.
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Clemson Conqueror [11531]
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Re: I 100% believe that Dabo would be successful at it
Feb 4, 2022, 12:20 AM
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I agree!
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Rival Killer [2802]
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Re: I 100% believe that Dabo would be successful at it
Feb 4, 2022, 8:32 AM
[ in reply to I 100% believe that Dabo would be successful at it ] |
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Do NOT let any remaindered English club know this! Though I do seem to recall some serious discussion about how parts of Ted Lasso were built out of studying Dabo Swinney’s approach to sports.
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All-Conference [435]
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Re: Count me as one . . .
Feb 4, 2022, 3:50 PM
[ in reply to Count me as one . . . ] |
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Dabo is the kind of person who doesn't need to be an x and o expert. He excellent in people and finding the right people. He would excell at anything where it's business or sports with his skillset.
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Paw Master [17827]
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Interesting thoughts...
Feb 3, 2022, 4:45 PM
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...and I agree. There's no reason why it can't be done here.
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All-TigerNet [10572]
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Cheater, Liar
Feb 3, 2022, 5:12 PM
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With a track record of same
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Clemson Conqueror [11928]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 4, 2022, 12:38 AM
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If Bruce Pearl walked into a church he would explode into flames.
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Orange Phenom [14765]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 4, 2022, 8:12 AM
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Not likely to happen as Bruce prefers synagogues over churches. Pearl makes Bobby Petrino look good.
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Orange Phenom [14765]
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Re: Curious about people's thoughts on Bruce Pearl (long)
Feb 4, 2022, 8:20 AM
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I'd definitely offer Coach K a 5 year plan, if it were even remotely plausible that he would consider the job a challenge a la Spurrier. Better yet, if Brownell is rushed out of the building after a mere 12 seasons at the helm, I'd like to see a young ex Dook product at Clemson.
We need a young aggressive coach who recruits well and has an idea of how success is achieved.
I don't accept that this is as good as it gets, just because we have sucked for so long.
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