There’s something unfortunately poetic about a guy who recently admitted to using nepotism to get his son a coaching job butchering the names of the two most famous women associated with Iowa basketball on International Women’s Day.
In the lead-up to Sunday’s Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and UCLA Bruins, the TNT Sports’ pregame studio was putting in some last-minute hype for audiences. When they got to college basketball analyst Bruce Pearl, he used the opportunity to note that this was not the Iowa women’s team that some might be familiar with. However, in doing so, he showcased his unfamiliarity with the people he was referring to.
“Iowa women’s basketball. No superstar Caitlin Smith. No Hall of Fame coaches. C. Vivian Stringer …. No Lisa Blunder.” – Bruce Pearl on Caitlin Clark and Lisa Bluder pic.twitter.com/UkfXQR43rf
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 8, 2026
“Iowa women’s basketball. No superstar Caitlin Smith,” started Pearl, presumably referring to Caitlin Clark, the most popular women’s basketball player on the planet. “No Hall of Fame coaches. C. Vivian Stringer …. No Lisa Blunder,” he finished, meaning to refer to longtime Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder, who retired two seasons ago.
Pearl did correct himself on the Caitlin miscue, though we would love to know how he landed on “Smith,” which is about as far from Clark as you can get.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.