Vacationing in Florida, Bruce Pearl fielded the phone call that almost changed his life. Utah State needed a basketball coach, and the school’s athletic director wanted to know if Pearl would be interested in moving from Division II Southern Indiana to Logan.
“Man, I was excited about that possibility,” Pearl said this week, with his Auburn team playing in the NCAA Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena. “I did not get very far in the process, because they hired a guy named Stew Morrill, and it was one of the best hires in college basketball.”
Pearl’s recollections are partly accurate.