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Tennessee basketball: Ranking first five years of Vols coaches who lasted that long

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

Pick Analysis. 2005-2010. 126-46 (57-23). Bruce Pearl. player. 534. Scouting Report. 1

Yearly record

2005-2006: 22-8 (12-4)

  • SEC East Title; NCAA Round of 32

2006-2007: 24-11 (10-6)

  • NCAA Sweet 16

2007-2008: 31-5 (14-2)

  • SEC Championship; NCAA Sweet 16

2008-2009: 21-13 (10-6)

  • NCAA Tournament

2009-2010: 28-9 (11-5)

  • NCAA Elite Eight

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This goes without saying. Take any three years, four years, five years or all six years of Bruce Pearl’s time with Tennessee basketball, and they would be the best run of those years in school history. It’s not even close.

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Pearl took over the Vols in 2005, a program that had missed the NCAA Tournament for four straight years and was coming off a losing season, and he immediately turned it around. The Vols reached the top 10 at one point that year, swept eventual national champion Florida Gators and achieved its highest NCAA Tournament seed ever, a No. 2 seed.

The next year, he continued to improve the program and got it to the Sweet 16. But in just his third year on the job, he orchestrated the most successful season in program history. Pearl won the SEC regular season title and took the Vols to their first ever No. 1 ranking and their first ever 30-plus win season while reaching the Sweet 16 once again.

In a down 2008-2009 year, the Vols still made the NCAA Tournament. Then, in 2009-2010, Pearl got the Vols to their first ever Elite Eight. So in five years, he won an SEC Title, made five NCAA Tournaments, three Sweet 16s and and Elite Eight while achieving over 30 wins and a No. 1 ranking. He also had four top 25 finishes and over 20 wins every time.

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No other coach has even come close to that success. Of course, Pearl’s sixth year was a disaster, as his NCAA issues hit that year, forcing Tennessee basketball to fire him in 2011. But up until that point, his run was insane, and it will likely be unmatched in the future.

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