Mission accomplished. No snags. No last minute jitters.

Champ Search front man Cedric Dempsey couldn't have been happier with the way Tennessee's hunt for a new men's basketball coach developed.

"I've been involved in a lot of searches in my life, and I think this one went as well as any," Dempsey said from his home in California. "You can normally anticipate a snag somewhere along the line.

"I even had one where our guy walked out right before the press conference. But I was very pleased with this search."

Bruce Pearl didn't bolt on Monday. He stuck around and accepted UT's five-year deal worth $800,000 annually.

There's no question Dempsey feels UT made the right choice with Pearl.

"(UT athletic director) Mike (Hamilton) called me Sunday night after spending a lot of one-on-one time with Bruce and he was very excited," Dempsey said. "He said it was a good fit and that's a sign of a job well done."

Pearl returned from Philadelphia and the Lady Vols' NCAA tournament game early Wednesday morning and leaves for St. Louis today for the men's Final Four and the national coaches convention.

"One of the first things we looked at was, did the person have integrity," said Dempsey, a former NCAA president. "Bruce had demonstrated that.

"He went through a very difficult situation when he was an assistant at Iowa (reporting Illinois for possible recruiting violations), and that told me a great deal about his character."

Pearl's other positive traits were just as noticeable.

"I was extremely impressed watching him on the sideline and his game strategy," Dempsey said. "Plus, he has shown a good ability to recruit to a school of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's mid-major size.

"There was quality talent to go with quality coaching. Add to that his external skills (dealing with the fan base and media), and you've got a quality coach."

From beginning to end, Dempsey felt Tennessee and his search firm were on the same page.

"As a team, we worked very well with Mike," Dempsey said. "He had great insight, he weighed the strengths of the candidates, and did a fine job finding the right fit."

Dempsey credited a two-day meeting with Hamilton in Dallas early in the search process with getting things off to a strong start.

"We started with an excellent pool of candidates and you can credit the University of Tennessee for that," Dempsey said. "There's no reason in the world why Tennessee can't compete on a high level and it's not difficult to attract candidates to that kind of situation."

Champ Search impressed officials from Pearl's former school, too. The firm has been hired to find Pearl's replacement.

"Yeah, I won't be directly involved in that search," Dempsey said. "I haven't played golf in three months and I'm supposed to be retired."

Dempsey also confirmed once again that Bob Knight of Texas Tech was a candidate for UT.

"There was a demonstration of interest there from both sides," he said. "But I'm not sure that Mike even talked with Bob. There were a lot of good people on the list and Mike wanted the best fit for Tennessee."

Recruit Update: Matthew Dotson, a Tennessee signee out of Hickman County, was happy with the Pearl decision.

"He likes hard workers and a tough kid," Dotson said. "I think I can fit and play that role.

"I'm not the greatest athlete, but I make up for it with scrappiness and hustle."

Dotson said he plans to enroll at UT for the first summer session in June.

Giles County's Tyler Smith, the Vols' most high-profile signee, is scheduled to meet with the UT's new coaching staff next week.