Friday, April 17, 2009

The Promise of Pearl? and the Big Finish

Jeff: As you alluded to earlier in the week, you think Skinner will see one more recruiting class through to graduation max and then he's done. I agree with you, not because I want to see Skinner's time end, but I think he is getting to the age that he will retire after this contract or maybe a one or two year contract extension if we have the right players in place. Meanwhile the most notable Boston College alum in college coaching has fallen from the graces of being the hottest coaching commodity in all of college basketball. Any chance Bruce Pearl leaves or is forced out of Tennessee and comes to coach at Boston College in the future?

Brian: Of course the reason we are speculating about Pearl coming to BC is because of this:



I have to give Pearl credit for this. This is much cooler than anything I think Skinner would ever do to become a bigger part of the school's community.

But do I think Pearl would ever leave Tennessee and come back to BC to coach?

No. Definitely not. The days of BC ever landing Bruce Pearl are now long gone. Why would he possibly want to coach at Boston College? At Tennessee, he is a) at a school with a much better basketball history than BC, b) in a more winnable men's basketball conference and c) the school generally seems to like him and embrace him. I don't see why you would want to come back to BC, a northern ACC school with a much smaller local recruiting pipeline to compete against coaching legends Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski? It doesn't make any sense. Besides, Pearl wouldn't look nearly as good in a maroon blazer as he looks in this. 0 percent chance.

Jeff: 0%? There's never a 0% chance of anything. I am not in Bruce Pearl's head right now but I think he does very much enjoy being at Tennessee and being the men's basketball coach there. Right now though I think Tennessee has already fallen from their peak and he failed to ride the wave of success he had early on there to national promenance and I do not think he will ever reach the Final Four at Tennessee. Given that, I think there will be grumblings there just like any other major conference program after a few more years. Maybe the stars will align and the time Al Skinner will be leaving BC will be the perfect time for Bruce Pearl to leave the SEC and take the step up to being an ACC basketball coach. I might not bet money for this to happen but I do give it a legitimate chance.

Brian: I gotta say I'm shocked you think this has an actual legitimate chance of happening. You are crazy if you think Pearl would get fired from Tennessee and take the BC job.


Big Finish

Brian: On Wednesday, Greg Barber, one of the largest donors to the school and the endower of the head football coaching job, resigned from the Board of Trustees. And all the Globe got out of him was a "No comment." What do you read into this Jeff?

Jeff: That is obviously not good since he is reportedly undecided about whether or not he will continue donating at his current levels. Reading anything beyond that though would be unfair.


Jeff: My wife forwarded you the picture of my stepson running down the hill at Clemson's spring game last week and you know the first time we went to Clemson we were really surprised that fans were allowed onto the field after the game. Any chance BC ever lightens up on its rules a little to make football games a more exciting event for young fans and encourages them to stay until the end?

Brian: This works at Clemson because the end zone with Howard's Rock is actually the most common way out of the stadium. This just doesn't work at BC. Where would fans exit? Into the parking lot next to Shea Field?

Jeff: Or maybe just exit out the corner of the stadium opposite the superfans towards Edmunds.


Brian: The price of a Notre Dame football ticket is going up $3 next season. Jeff, can you tell me what Irish football fans are paying for here? It must be those home games against UConn, Navy, Nevada, Washington and Michigan State, right?

Jeff: Wow. Wow. Wow. Maybe the South Bend economy is booming despite being not too far from Detroit.


Jeff: Last week at the Masters, team BC, or team Norman did not fair so well. Greg Norman failed to make the cut and Sergio Garcia did not do well on the weekend. Will either of these golfers or another golfer with some BC connection win a major before the end of next year?

Brian: Umm ... no.


Brian: Bleacher Report's spring ACC football power rankings. BC is ranked #10 of #12 behind only Virginia and Duke. What gives?

Jeff: This is crap and BC will finish towards the top again. Maybe Bleacher Report is still pissed we stopped writing for them.


Jeff: Last one, the Eagles play their toughest opponent in a while when a ranked Virginia baseball team comes to the Heights this weekend. Any chance the Eagles win another series?

Brian: I think the Eagles will definitely win 1 game, and give them a 37% chance of taking 2 or more.

4 comments:

Raj said...

I think Bruce Pearl is fun, but am not sold on his coaching ability. We would get a lot more media attention, that's for sure.

Oh well for now Skinner era continues.

BeantownBC85 said...

You left out the ND home games against us and USC.

Nevada and UConn are the only jokes, but I don't see it as any worse than Kent State and Northeastern.

Jeff said...

Beantown- Brian was using a little sarcasm and left those two out on purpuse.

You can say BC's schedule is just as bad or worse if you want but BC didn't raise their ticket prices despite two straight division titles. Notre Dame raised theirs despite the economy and this horrible stretch of Notre Dame football. Perhaps you recall the being shut out by the Eagles last year.

Brian said...

While I was being somewhat sarcastic, I disagree. Notre Dame's schedule is worse than BC's this year. BC can only control who they schedule for 4 games; Notre Dame controls all 12.

For a team that prides itself on playing "anyone, anytime, anywhere," it is more than curious that they play 4 Pac 10 teams next year, including Washington, Washington State (in San Antonio, wtf?) and Stanford who have been three of the worst Pac 10 teams since 2004.

Swarbrick has also been quoted as saying they are trying to water down the Notre Dame sched over the next couple of years.