Wiedmer: Both Pearl and Vols survived his return

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl waves goodbye to supportive fans while leaving the court following Auburn's 71-63 loss to Tennessee in an their game at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.
Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl waves goodbye to supportive fans while leaving the court following Auburn's 71-63 loss to Tennessee in an their game at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015.

KNOXVILLE -- With Thompson-Boling Arena filled as it had not been filled all season, the anticipation at a fever pitch for the return of Tennessee basketball's prodigal son, one Big Orange fan not in the stands spied Bruce Pearl briskly walking toward the court he once presided over and couldn't resist an early Valentine.

"We still love you!" screamed Ryan Brodd. "But we want to beat you."

Pearl smiled, gave one of those presidential waves as he stepped onto the floor, then headed off to a seat he had never previously occupied in the Boling Alley -- the one reserved for the visiting head coach.

For most folks, that's how the Volunteers' eventual 71-63 win over Auburn began Saturday. Come to see the man the NCAA essentially banned from coaching the Big Orange after he inexplicably lied to college athletics' governing arm about secondary violations -- the man whose UT career stirred 36,069 Volniacs last season to sign an online petition to "Bring Back Bruce" -- they saw Bruce Almighty return as Bruce Au-mighty.

He was suddenly, at least on the outside, Auburn through and through, his wardrobe now a snappy navy blue pinstripe suit, white dress shirt and orange, white and blue print tie rather than the lighter orange and white ties he wore on the UT bench.

"It's tough," said Brodd, who was a UT senior during Pearl's first Big Orange season in the winter of 2006. "We're thrilled for Bruce to be back in coaching. We want him to do well. Just not today. I'm all Vol."

Of the 18,439 who made their way to the Boling Alley, that seemed to be the theme.

They cheered Pearl, though not as loudly as current coach Donnie Tyndall, who replaced the coach who replaced Pearl: Cuonzo Martin.

Or as UT forward Armani Moore, who led the winners with 19 points and 13 rebounds, noted: "There were some mixed vibes out there, but at the end of the day our fans were great."

They were great. Both to Pearl on his return after three seasons away from the game because of those violations, and to Tyndall, as well as his current Vols, who stand 13-7 overall and 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference heading into Tuesday's visit from Mississippi State.

And Tyndall -- who may be about to experience his own NCAA troubles for possible violations at his former employer, Southern Mississippi -- wisely issued his own kind words regarding Pearl.

"They should have welcomed Coach Pearl like they did with a great ovation," he said. "They should be excited to see him, because what he did here was great. It was a great run."

It was a great run. Six NCAA bids in six years. The program's first and only No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll. One trip to the Elite Eight, which UT never previously reached.

Said Pearl in his postgame presser: "A very special time in UT basketball history."

If it's true that you never know what you've got until it's gone, this weekend hammered that home for the Auburn coach, whose Tigers fell to 10-11 overall and 2-6 in SEC play.

Arriving at the Boling Alley at 10:28 Saturday morning, Pearl exited the team bus with his wife Brandy on his arm, his Tigers trailing their coach into the arena. Walking past the home locker room with the giant chrome "T" on the door, he slowed for a moment, stared at the door for a long second, briefly studied the greatly enlarged Sports Illustrated cover of Chris Lofton from Pearl's early days on the job, then continued to the visitors' locker room down the hall.

"When you see this place every day, you don't really appreciate it," Pearl said later. "This place is a palace."

By game's end, the palace had penetrated Pearl's tough skin. His Tigers beaten, he exited the court with a wan smile but soon broke down as he hugged his son Steven, the former Vols walk-on and current Auburn strength coach whose eyes grew as watery as his father's. Their tears soon spread to former UT assistant Tony Jones, his eyes briefly turning as pink as his sport coat.

"Because of everything our families went through (during the NCAA trouble)," Pearl explained of those who witnessed the raw emotion of that group hug. "The pain of when it was taken from us. Our families went through a lot. We put ourselves in that position. But it hurt. We couldn't finish the job."

So much happened on that job. Both good and bad. All those wins and packed houses. A divorce. A second marriage. Kids graduating from high school and college. Steven playing for Bruce. Daughter Jacqui singing the national anthem more than once. Millions raised for charities. Getting fired. Briefly starting a new career in marketing. And as a television analyst.

Even Friday night, though Pearl is no longer a UT employee or a Knoxville resident, he helped raise more than $50,000 for his charities.

Said Dr. Susan Newman of that philanthropy: "That just shows what kind of person Coach Pearl is. Giving back is still important to him. The people of this community still matter to him."

So, too, does the UT basketball program he was forced to leave behind.

"(Other than Tennessee) I don't want any other team in the SEC to do well but Auburn," Pearl said. "But I want Donnie to do well."

If Saturday is any indication, Big Orange fans may want no SEC team but Auburn to do well other than their Vols. At least as long as the Tigers don't do quite as well as UT. On that point, there are no mixed vibes.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.

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