Message Replied To ==========
Hearing there is a Pete Thamel-esque hit piece on Pearl in USA Today
No mention of the UNC academic fraud -- that for some reason no one cares about.
So -- the message is clear: Falsesify classes and grades, offer fraudulent degree paths for athletes but do not have players to your house for a meal.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2019/03/29/bruce-pearl-auburn-march-madness-sweet-16/3301783002/
It also notes Kelvin Sampson's show cause and Calipari's vacated Final Fours.
She clearly thinks Bruce is full of shit, but her analysis is not particularly compelling, even for the elementary school level sophistication of USA Today. The day-old blueberry muffins at the Marriott Courtyard complimentary breakfast have more substance than USA Today.
Who knows? Maybe Bruce is full of shit. But he does seem to inspire his players and build their confidence. And he does seem to care about them beyond their abilities on the court. He is by several orders of magnitude the best basketball coach Auburn has ever had (not an exceedingly high bar). And he is doing more with less talent than any of the other schools left standing (with the possible exceptions of Texas Tech and Houston).
Bruce is never going to be universally admired. He probably should not be. But I like what he is doing at Auburn.