Great win for Bruce Pearl's team yesterday........if I am Steve Alford, I would be a little nervous right now......I work with some Iowa alum and there are rumors going about Bruce Pearl being mentioned as someone who can reignite the Hawkeye program......the talk also includes bringing in Kenyon Murray as an assistant......those guys could really make things special in Iowa City.
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UW-Milwaukee
- Thread starter CerealCityGriz
- Start date
It's going to be an extremely hostile environment for UW-Milwaukee though. Playing in Chicago you can bet that not only will Illinois fans turn out that despise Pearl, but the Illinois-Chicago fans as well. Illinois probably has more motivation against Bruce Pearl as they do playing anybody else.
The background:
In 1990, Pearl (former assistant coach for Iowa) was trying to recruit Deon Thomas to Iowa. Thomas decided to go to Illinois instead, where Jimmy Collins (current Illinois-Chicago head coach and Illinois recruiter at the time) had lured Thomas.
Pearl ended up recording a conversation between himself and Thomas where he interrogated Thomas until he admitted that Illinois offered him $80,000 and a Chevy Blazer for signing with the Illini. Pearl submitted the tape to the NCAA and a two-year investigation of Illinois followed. The claim against Deon Thomas was never proven, but the NCAA found other minor violations (including buying their recruits hot dogs and ice cream at games) that resulted in sanctions from the NCAA.
It should be an interesting week of press. I'm sure this will be one of the main stories starting tomorrow.
The background:
In 1990, Pearl (former assistant coach for Iowa) was trying to recruit Deon Thomas to Iowa. Thomas decided to go to Illinois instead, where Jimmy Collins (current Illinois-Chicago head coach and Illinois recruiter at the time) had lured Thomas.
Pearl ended up recording a conversation between himself and Thomas where he interrogated Thomas until he admitted that Illinois offered him $80,000 and a Chevy Blazer for signing with the Illini. Pearl submitted the tape to the NCAA and a two-year investigation of Illinois followed. The claim against Deon Thomas was never proven, but the NCAA found other minor violations (including buying their recruits hot dogs and ice cream at games) that resulted in sanctions from the NCAA.
It should be an interesting week of press. I'm sure this will be one of the main stories starting tomorrow.
Totally agree with you.......I read about the Deon Thomas saga in Raw Recruits.......it will be very interesting to see what happens in Chicago.....
2 Black Nines
Well-known member
Pearl is an absolute sleezball, he should have been blackballed from coaching permanetly
SeatownGrizzly
Well-known member
The Illinois fans may have extra motivation and may be looking to extract revenge. However, I don't see how that will have any impact on the players. That was a long time ago, and the players will be more focused on the game than the hype by the fans.
I don't think Chicago will be all that hostile environment for UW-Milwaukee. Their fans will be there, as Milwaukee is only 90 miles to the north, and closer to Chicago than Champaign. Also, I think a lot of neutral fans will behind UW-Milwaukee as the underdog, despite the Bruce Pearl turmoil.
I don't think Chicago will be all that hostile environment for UW-Milwaukee. Their fans will be there, as Milwaukee is only 90 miles to the north, and closer to Chicago than Champaign. Also, I think a lot of neutral fans will behind UW-Milwaukee as the underdog, despite the Bruce Pearl turmoil.
