Former Auburn Tigers head coach turned college basketball television analyst Bruce Pearl has been a controversial figure this college basketball season. Although he eventually changed his tune, Pearl was one of the most public advocates against the Miami RedHawks during their undefeated run in the regular season.
Pearl has been under such hot water in the court of public opinion this season that Charles Barkley joked during an NCAA Tournament television broadcast that he didn’t want to be anywhere near Pearl for his own safety.
“Because, man, there’s some people looking for you, Bruce,” Barkley told Pearl. “And I didn’t want to get beat up because I was sitting beside you.”
But not everyone’s sour feelings towards Pearl are fresh. Longtime Chicago Bulls TV studio analyst Kendall Gill, who is currently with CHSN, has a long history with Pearl, stretching back to his playing days for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Gill was a star at Illinois, and Pearl was an assistant at Iowa when Pearl secretly recorded a phone call with Illinois commit Deon Thomas, where Thomas appeared to admit that he received illegal benefits tied to his commitment from Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins.
And Gill, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, hasn’t forgotten any of what went down.
“Extreme dislike, because it affected not only my senior year, but it affected Jimmy Collins, who was, you know, a key figure in my life,” Gill said of Pearl after being asked for his personal feelings on the CBS and TNT analyst during a radio appearance on 104.3 The Score in Chicago.
“Some guys are just slimeballs in life, that’s what they are,” Gill added. “That’s the way I feel about that guy… I just prefer that he just go away, honestly.”
.@KendallG13 still holds “extreme dislike” for Bruce Pearl to this day.
“Some guys are just slimeballs in life, that’s what they are,” Gill says of Pearl. “That’s the way I feel about that guy.” pic.twitter.com/X2AEoGlFVI
— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) March 19, 2026
Gill certainly isn’t the first person to publicly criticize Pearl recently, joining Bomani Jones and Michael Wilbon, both of whom questioned the former coach’s personal integrity.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.