Men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he'll always appreciate the University of Tennessee for standing behind him as he coached Maccabi USA to a gold medal in the World Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer.
"I'll never take for granted the support I received from (athletic director) Mike (Hamilton), the UT administration, my players and our fans,'' said Pearl, who led the U.S. Team to a win over heavily favored Israel in the gold medal game in July. "I know the fans were proud I was selected to coach, and we represented our country well.''
Pearl, along with his two oldest children, Jacqui and Steven, will be honored on the field at Neyland Stadium when the Vols play UCLA on Saturday.
"I was able to work on my game plan for us (UT) this summer and make it productive in more than one way,'' Pearl said. "We'll have a new transition fastbreak at Tennessee that I was able to work on.''
Pearl said it had always been a dream of his to coach Maccabi USA, as he had applied for the post before while at Southern Indiana.
Steven Pearl was a key contributor throughout the games, scoring 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds in a win over Argentina that put the USA in the medal round.
Jacqui Pearl, known best to UT basketball games for her numerous appearances singing the national anthem at home games, handled managerial tasks for Maccabi USA in Israel.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
National Signing Day 2010
Signing day celebration at Neyland…
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 7
BxVol writes:
It`s great that Coach Pearl is a Tennessee Vol!
dma38256#264746 writes:
Well deserved....
BillVol writes:
somebody's got to say it...mazel tov!
BxVol writes:
I should add congrats to Jacqui and Steven as well!
utvolz#637682 writes:
Who cares about that dude? Let it go and enjoy the fact that UT has one of the best BB coaches in the nation!
"Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!"
General George S. Patton
john1998 writes:
"Do you think they will honor the Alimony's gal?"
"Who care's about that dude?"
The reason it is a pertinent question is because of the double standard of so many UT fans with respect to the Rick Pitino situation.
The_Greater_Pumpkin writes:
He is a great representative of UT and our community. We appreciate you Coach Pearl!
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