Fansided

30 biggest college basketball scandals of all time

By Mike Phillips

Coll. Basketball: W. Regionals. Michigan's Jimmy King #24 hugging Chris Webber #4 after game vs Temple. (Photo by Harley Soltes/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Coll. Basketball: W. Regionals. Michigan's Jimmy King #24 hugging Chris Webber #4 after game vs Temple. (Photo by Harley Soltes/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 05: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 05: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers looks on during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

18. Bruce Pearl tampers with a recruit for Illinois

Another coach who has seen his fair share of controversy over the years is Bruce Pearl. Pearl infamously was fired by Tennessee in the face of rules violations, but that run in Knoxville didn’t cement his place on the list.

That came in 1989 when Pearl was an assistant coach at Iowa. The Hawkeyes and Illinois were competing for Deon Thomas, a top recruit from Chicago who committed to the Illini.

In order to try and get Thomas to reconsider, Pearl called Thomas and got him to admit that he had been offered an SUV and cash by Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins. Pearl recorded the conversation and turned the tapes over to the NCAA, and that investigation eventually discovered a ton of rules violations, eventually leading to recruiting restrictions and a one-year postseason ban for the Illini.

Thomas ended up staying at Illinois, finishing his career as the all-time leading scorer in Illini history, and it ignited a long-standing feud between Pearl and Collins. The two men ended up as head coaches in the Horizon League, and during their four years coaching against each other they never participated in postgame handshakes.

Pearl was blackballed for a while after this incident, spending 11 years out of D-I before getting his shot at Milwaukee, but he has gone on to have a solid coaching career. This incident, as unethical as it was, will continue to be a black mark on Pearl’s reputation.