This time, Texas A&M assistant men's basketball coach Steve Forbes knew he had to say "yes'' to Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl.

Forbes, formally hired Friday as an assistant on the UT staff, said it was with reservation that he declined Pearl's first offer to join the Vols just more than a year ago.

"Bruce offered me the job last year right away, even before he took the job at Tennessee officially,'' Forbes said. "I was recruiting junior colleges in Kansas and he called.

"We were coming off a good year, my first year at Texas A&M, and I just didn't think the timing was right.''

Pearl interviewed Forbes on Tuesday and officially hired him Friday. The 41-year-old Lone Tree, Iowa, native will begin work at UT on June 1.

Forbes said part of his interview in Knoxville consisted of a 30-minute sit-down with Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt.

"It's smart for Bruce and Pat to work together; you can tell they have a very strong bond,'' Forbes said. "I'd bought a nice orange and blue tie to go with my suit, and Pat said, 'That's a very politically correct tie you have on.'

"She asked me some questions, and the last one was, 'Why do you want to come to Tennessee?' I said there was one reason: Bruce Pearl.''

Forbes said he took the orange tie off when he landed back in Houston, for in his former position, orange was not a popular color as it represents the Aggies' rivals, the Texas Longhorns.

"When I went to Dillards to buy the tie, the guy said to me, 'Coach, what are you doing buying an orange tie?' '' Forbes said. "I'll need to work on my wardrobe and get more orange in it when I get there.

"My 10-year-old son, Christopher, wore his Tennessee basketball shirt to school yesterday, the last day of school. We're all excited.''

Others Pearl interviewed were Maryville College coach Randy Lambert, ABA coach/general manager Bob Sundvold, former Texas San-Antonio coach Tim Carter, former Iowa State assistant Damon Archibald, former Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes and Kent State assistant Josh Oppenheimer.

"We've been wanting to work together for a long time,'' Pearl said. "He sees what we're trying to do at Tennessee, and he believes in the system.

"I've known Steve for over 20 years. He's a real professional. His strength is in recruiting and coaching.''

Forbes has had other coaching stops at Illinois State, Louisiana Tech and Idaho, where he also served as the Vandals associate head coach.

Forbes was also a head coach at Barton County Community College in Kansas and at Southwestern Community College in Iowa, where he first met Pearl.

Forbes has a 16-year-old daughter and two sons, aged 10 and 2.