Teddy Greenstein: In defense of Bruce Pearl: No one in college basketball plays the game better
The first time I met Bruce Pearl, I approached with an empty notebook and an open mind. The year was 1995, and we broke bread at a breakfast nook in Evansville, Ind.
In the minds of Illinois fans, he already was tainted. ESPN's Dick Vitale called him a pariah who had committed "coaching suicide" by surreptitiously recording Simeon star and Illini recruit Deon Thomas.
But Pearl's explanation of the events made sense to me. Maybe because I was dying for them to make sense to me. You spend time with Bruce
