KNOXVILLE – Bruce Pearl said all the right things Tuesday night inside Thompson-Boling Arena. After all, six full seasons have come and gone since he last walked the sideline as the Tennessee basketball coach. Pain dims. Perspective grows. Auburn writes his paychecks now. Auburn also employs not only Pearl but his son Steven.
So at the close of the Tigers’ surprising 94-84 road victory over the No. 23 Volunteers, Pearl didn’t talk much about the six years he coached the Big Orange, all of those seasons ending in NCAA tournament appearances.
He didn’t talk about the NCAA violations that cost him his Vols job, or the current FBI investigation involving former Auburn star Chuck Person, who began this school year on Pearl’s staff and whose actions might yet cost Pearl his Auburn gig.
Instead, he focused only on the win, which not only happened to be Auburn’s 12th straight but also came against a ranked opponent away from home.
“I’m celebrating,” he said with a smile, “because we just won a conference road game against a nationally ranked team.”