With the announcement of Bruce Pearl’s hiring as Auburn’s new basketball coach, a memory of a mid-major battle hit me. In December of 2005, coming on the heels of my Manhattan Jaspers’ upset of the Florida Gators and subsequent 2 point loss to Chris Paul and Wake Forest the previous spring, which cost us a trip to the Sweet 16, we met Bruce Pearl’s UW-Milwaukee Panthers in their house. UW-Milwaukee’s trip to the Sweet 16 the season before and a current Top
College coaches are crisscrossing the country visiting with the top stars in the high school Class of 2013 in hopes of persuading them to choose their schools. In Texas, after Kentucky coach John Calipari showed 6-foot-9 forward Julius Randle his 2012 NCAA championship ring, North Carolina coach Roy Williams one-upped Cal. Or should we say, 29-upped him. Williams brought a case of 30 rings to his home visit with Randle, including Michael Jordan’s 1992 Chicago Bulls championship ring. “He said Jordan gave it to