University of Tennessee Athletics
Oh Boy. There he goes again.
October 12, 2007 | Men's Basketball
By Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated
It's Labor Day, 85?? and sunny, and America's favorite bare-chested basketball coach is the picture of topless satisfaction in orange board shorts, black sunglasses and a white Gilligan hat as he pilots his 29-foot Sea Ray on Fort Loudoun Lake outside Knoxville. The small army onboard, a dozen strong -- including Bruce's four children: Jacqui, 21; Steven, 20; Leah, 12; and Michael, 11 -- is enough to turn the Tennessee coach's rare day off into a five-hour-long Pearl jam.
"Work hard, play hard," Pearl announced while stockpiling provisions earlier, and he hardly disappoints. One minute he's dragging Leah and a friend on a tube, pulling them shriekingly close to a bloated dead catfish. ("What'd you think of that fish, honey?" "That was disgusting!") The next he's tending his grill, cooking hot dogs for the hungry masses. ("Hebrew National, baby. They're kosher!") And now, after tying up alongside some friends' boats in Party Cove, it's time to relax. As Soulja Boy's Crank That thumps on his monstrous eight-speaker stereo, the 47-year-old Pearl cannonballs off the customized deck, engulfing his guests in a low-grade tsunami.
Within seconds he's floating on a pink Styrofoam noodle, a cold Bud Select in one hand and a melting Krispy Kreme doughnut in the other. Bliss. "Man," Pearl says, taking a pull from his longneck, "does it get any better than this?"
If you're a long-suffering Tennessee men's basketball fan, the answer may just be yes. Two years after taking over one of the nation's most underachieving programs, Pearl has fashioned his Volunteers into this season's SEC favorite (sorry, Florida and Kentucky) and a threat to win the national title. That he has done so without a single McDonald's high school All-American is a testament to the power of his personality and his throwback full-court press. "Our style of play suits me because I'm a pain in the ass," Pearl says. "I'm annoying. But our fans love it, and the opposing fans don't. I always said I wanted to be the least popular coach in the SEC. I just had no idea I could do it in two years."
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