Enough Already!

Bruce Pearl isn't leaving.
Mike Hamilton won't let it happen.
Anyway, Bruce isn't that kind of guy.

I've been amused all week with the recent story about a proposed contract extension for the Vols new head basketball coach.

I knew it was coming. Can UT keep this guy? After two or three successful seasons, will he bolt for another school? Indiana. Arizona. Kentucky. You can make arguments for each of these.

But here's why Pearl is in Knoxville for the long haul.

First, Mike Hamilton really won't let it happen. The UT athletics director once lamented that his biggest source of uptapped revenue is Thompson-Boling Arena. But with crowds in excess of 20,000 recently, that revenue stream is now flowing nicely.

Hamilton also recognizes Pearl as a good coach, a master motivator, and a sincere salesman for the university.

Finances might be tight on campus, but Hamilton will throw a nice raise at Pearl to make sure he stays.

Second, Pearl isn't a fast-track, leave quick, kind of guy. Eight years at Southern Indiana, and four more at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He craves stability. And now, with his children in Knoxville schools, and his son playing solid basketball here, Pearl isn't pulling-up stakes.

The landscape of college basketball changes annually. March is basketball's equivilant of NASCAR's silly-season. Coaches get fired, rumors move swiftly and other coaches become candidates.

Hamilton's doing the right thing-- it's part practical, part symbolic. Basically, he's telling everyone-- Pearl is ours. Back off!