March 12, 200818 yr Around the SEC: The anti-Pearl crowd reveals itself Lest anyone thinks Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl is not the most polarizing coach in the Southeastern Conference, here’s all the proof you need: On Tuesday, he was named co-SEC Coach of the Year, sharing the award with Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie, in a voting of his peers. And it was highway robbery. How UK finished 12-4 in league play after the embarrassments of November and December is still a mystery. Gillispie did an admirable job in salvaging Kentucky’s season and deserves credit accordingly. Here’s the catch: Gillispie had to dig himself out of his own hole and still doesn’t have a championship to show for it. Pearl, meanwhile, had the Vols rolling along all season, culminating in UT’s first-ever No. 1 ranking and first outright SEC title in 41 years. And for that, he is forced to share the award? This proves conclusively that while Pearl might be the SEC’s flashy, rising star, he’s also among the most despised coaches in the conference.
March 13, 200818 yr Around the SEC: The anti-Pearl crowd reveals itself Lest anyone thinks Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl is not the most polarizing coach in the Southeastern Conference, here’s all the proof you need: On Tuesday, he was named co-SEC Coach of the Year, sharing the award with Kentucky’s Billy Gillispie, in a voting of his peers. And it was highway robbery. How UK finished 12-4 in league play after the embarrassments of November and December is still a mystery. Gillispie did an admirable job in salvaging Kentucky’s season and deserves credit accordingly. Here’s the catch: Gillispie had to dig himself out of his own hole and still doesn’t have a championship to show for it. Pearl, meanwhile, had the Vols rolling along all season, culminating in UT’s first-ever No. 1 ranking and first outright SEC title in 41 years. And for that, he is forced to share the award? This proves conclusively that while Pearl might be the SEC’s flashy, rising star, he’s also among the most despised coaches in the conference. Pearl is not respected, BCG does not deserve this award. Pelphrey at Arkansas overachieved after inheriting a program on the decline, and Pearl should not have to share this award. IMO the SEC COY is a joke!
March 13, 200818 yr Pearl is not respected, BCG does not deserve this award. Pelphrey at Arkansas overachieved after inheriting a program on the decline, and Pearl should not have to share this award. IMO the SEC COY is a joke! At least you're consistent. Was Pearl not respected in 2006 when he was SEC COY? I think if anyone isn't respected, its Donovan. 2 National titles, no SEC COY honors.
March 13, 200818 yr This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Tenn was picked first (in which they finished) and UK was picked second (in which they finished). TN exceeded those expectations by remaining ranked in the Top 5 nationally much of the year and being #1 for the first time in history. Add to that winning their first outright SEC title since 1967 and you've got a COY. Does Gillespie deserve it? I don't know. Based only on the last 2 months, yes. The one thing he did do was take a near disaster of a season and turn it into a "survive and advance" campaign. Factoring in their start, their injuries and the true measure of the athletes that were healthy he did a pretty good job. As to UK being picked #2 that was typical of UK predictions. It is big news if they aren't picked #2 or higher even if they have all JUCO's coming in.
March 13, 200818 yr If it's SEC coach of the year...do we only consider the conference results? Does OOC factor in, and if so, to what degree? If it's all based on SEC play, then the case for Gillispie is really strong...however, is it viewed that way because of how much UK struggled with their OOC schedule? Personally, I think Pearl should have won the award outright. It doesn't bother me that Gillispie won a share though, because he did a great job coaching this year and helped the team overcome a lot of adversity.
March 13, 200818 yr If it's SEC coach of the year...do we only consider the conference results? Does OOC factor in, and if so, to what degree? If it's all based on SEC play, then the case for Gillispie is really strong...however, is it viewed that way because of how much UK struggled with their OOC schedule? Personally, I think Pearl should have won the award outright. It doesn't bother me that Gillispie won a share though, because he did a great job coaching this year and helped the team overcome a lot of adversity. I would think it would only be SEC play since it is SEC COY and not National COY. Just my guess.
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