For decades, Bruce Pearl has been one of the villains for Illinois basketball fans.
On Monday, the long-time Auburn head coach announced his retirement.
So, it seems like a good time to revisit his checkered history with Illini basketball.
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From the TCR archives (courtesy of Raul Rodriguez in 2018):
Lou Henson’s right-hand man, Jimmy Collins, triggered an NCAA investigation in 1989 when he tried to recruit high school phenom basketball player Deon Thomas.
Collins was a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. He was particularly effective in Chicago having successfully recruited Nick Anderson, among others. When Thomas, a product from Simeon in Chicago, emerged as an elite player, Collins was naturally going to be the one who recruited him.
Like any good basketball scandal, Bruce Pearl was involved.
Pearl was an up-and-coming assistant for Tom Davis at Iowa, who was also trying to make a name for himself. Pearl ruthlessly zeroed in on Deon Thomas.
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When Pearl failed to land the Chicago phenom, Pearl ratted out Collins and the Illini for alleged recruiting violations related to Thomas, including payments of $80,000 and a car given to Thomas. This created an animosity between Pearl and Collins that would exist for nearly two decades, and Pearl would go on to become Public Enemy No. 1 in Illini circles.
This made the Illini’s 2005 Sweet Sixteen win over Pearl’s Wisconsin-Milwaukee team all the more gratifying.
Pearl’s self-serving snitching brought a spotlight on the Illini’s basketball recruiting. The NCAA was unable to prove Pearl’s allegation but did find a few recruiting improprieties: application free car loans to players from a bank in Decatur; promises of payments to St. Louis phenom LaPhonso Ellis (who would go on to sign with Digger Phelps and Notre Dame); and misuse of tickets.
Fallout for Illini Basketball
On Nov. 7, 1990, the NCAA handed down its punishment: The Illini were banned from the 1991 postseason. They also had significant scholarship reductions along with reductions in recruiting visits. The Illini did not bother with an appeal likely because the public sentiment at this point in time completely sided with the NCAA.
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The repercussions of the NCAA’s punishment were felt into the late ‘90s as Lou Henson would never again reach the heights of the 1980s. With the sanctions, the Illini went from a ‘power’ to a ‘pretty good’ program that had trouble getting out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. They would rise to power status again in the late ‘90s when Lon Kruger brought in the consecutive elite recruiting classes that included Corey Bradford, Sergio McClain, Frank Williams, and Marcus Griffin.
