A Case for Hiring Bruce Pearl
Think of all the coaches that are being named as possible candidates for the Mississippi State basketball head coaching job. Do any of them have the resume of Bruce Pearl? I don’t think so.
Now, Pearl comes with a giant weight of baggage if he was to be hired. For one, he has a three-year show-cause penalty, of which he has only served one year. So, if MSU were to hire Pearl they would basically be putting themselves on probation for two years. He is not allowed to have contact with any recruits, so it would be hard to lock down any talent…at all. BUT, if Stricklin could “show-cause” to the NCAA as to why Pearl’s restrictions should be lifted if State hires him, then they could take the penalties away.
This would all be a big “IF”. The NCAA would not likely do this for MSU, as maybe they would a smaller school. Even if they wouldn’t reverse the ban, could it be worth it for State to hire Pearl?
First, take a look at his record. The guy flat out wins, at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (who?) he went 86-38..making two NCAA tourneys including a Sweet 16 appearance. That got him the Tennessee job where he was 145-61 in six years. He made the NCAA tourney every-single-year. His season ended in the Sweet 16 twice, Elite 8 once. He had a winning record against every SEC school not named Kentucky. Coaching ability – no question he’s got it.
Second, he’s a cheater. There’s no doubt, he likes to bend the rules. He didn’t get his first big time job until he was 45 in part because of a recruiting scandal where he tried to frame Illinois while he was an assistant coach at Iowa. Then he lies to the NCAA about his recruiting barbecue while at UT…and I’m sure he’s done a few things here and there we haven’t heard about.
But hey, aren’t we the same school that hired Jackie Sherrill? JWS bent the rules a little (maybe a lot before he came to Starkville), we won a lot too. I’m not saying we should cheat, but I’m not opposed to getting a coach who hasn’t completely read the NCAA rule book. Please don’t say Jackie left us on probation and that was his problem, because that was nothing….his real problem was the 2001 recruiting class full of Jucos with an attitude.
If MSU were to hire Pearl, we’d be looking at two down years. Well, I say that, but he may get the most out of the remaining guys and make a run. But as far as recruiting, it will take a dip. After that, open ’em up…we’ll be setting sail. And it doesn’t take that long to build a basketball team, you only need five guys on the court. One super-star will take you a long way, and he can be a freshman…so this wouldn’t be a football 5-year rebuilding process. Pearl would have us in the NCAA Tourney every year from 2015-2025. I think I can sacrifice the next two years for that.
Is there a chance of this happening, probably not. Maybe if Pearl just had one more year left on his show-cause penalty there might be a chance. Still, he’s the best coach out there who is available and ready to go. Listening to him on XM, he’s knows his stuff, he’s a great coach, and it would pay off in the long run.