"We want an important college to come to Israel every year" | Israel today

Bruce Ferrell is one of the most fascinating figures in American college basketball.

The 62-year-old coach has been working in NCAA coaching positions for 40 years, initially as an assistant coach and in the last 30 years as a head coach at four different colleges.

Pearl is probably the most senior Jewish basketball coach today, and dozens of NBA players passed under him before starting a professional career.

In August, Pearl will arrive in Israel together with Auburn College, which he has coached since 2014, and leads almost every season to the national final tournament.

Auburn will stay in Israel for about two weeks and will play three exhibition games.

The visit is organized in collaboration with the basketball association, which assists in holding the games and the entire visit.

Pearl recently came on a private visit to Israel and was free to give an exclusive interview to Israel Hayom.

"My grandparents came from Europe, they were Orthodox Jews who kept kosher, my grandfather was a plumber," he says in a conversation we had early in the morning in the dining room of the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, just before he left with his wife for an organized tour of the Old City.

"When I was seven years old, I saw my grandfather watching TV, which is something he never did. He cried and I asked him why, so he sat me on his lap and told me about the State of Israel. He said he didn't want to sleep because he was afraid he would wake up and find that Israel was no longer It exists. This is my first memory of the State of Israel."

Pearl is a warm and proud Jew and a clear pro-Israeli, who supports the State of Israel at every opportunity.

He founded the organization of Jewish coaches in colleges, which has over a hundred coaches as members.

He is also a member of the American Jewish Education Organization, which cares about Israel among members of Congress in the US.

"I was in a Jewish school and grew up as a conservative Jew," he explains.

"I studied the Bible, we gave charity and we believed in planting trees and growing things in Israel and we donated for that.

We bought things from Israel and that was important to us.

My family grew up in Boston in a Zionist environment that is proud of its connection to Israel, and that's where I got my love for the country."

Moving on!!!!!

https://t.co/Br3ZF1bzG4

— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) July 24, 2022

"This is the right time"

The planned Auburn College trip is being organized by Pearl, among other things, as a project within the framework of an organization he is a member of which aims to bring Jews and African-Americans together.

Thanks to his connections, Pearl plans that the games in August will be the opening shot of a tradition in which one of the major colleges will come to Israel every summer and hold exhibition games against Israel's national teams and Israeli teams.

The connection between Auburn and Pearl to the basketball association was made by Liron Panan, the vice president of the development team of the Cleveland Cavaliers who also serves as a scout for the senior team.

"I was here in 2009 and trained the American team in Maccabiah. It was my first time in Israel and it was a one-time experience. I took 12 young Jews and showed them their Jewish home. While training I saw an opportunity to make them better Jewish fathers and better allies of Israel. In recent years I said to myself that if I can give American Jewish players an experience like they go through in a discovery, then why not do it in college basketball as well?", Pearl explains what is behind the project.

"95 percent of the players I coach are African American, and for me there is a connection between the black community and the Jewish community. We were both slaves and experienced anti-Semitism and racism. I don't think my players have learned about it. Coming to Israel and learning about the Jews will give me an opportunity to show the players how much we have in common. This is what Bob Kraft did in the NFL, this is what NBA players like Ray Allen experienced and what Omri Caspi tried to do over the years. According to the league's rules, every college can go on a game trip outside the US once every four years.

I happened to be in Japan, China, Italy and other places around the world, so why not Israel?

They love basketball here and understand basketball and support basketball and are also good at basketball here.

It's been a long time since a big college came here."

Bruce Pearl.

"My family grew up in Boston in a Zionist environment, from where I got the love for the country, photo: from Twitter

"This is not a one-year agreement," he clarifies.

"I'm planting seeds and I think it can grow into something special. We want an important college to come to Israel every year. It's not just Jews. There are many Christian coaches in the colleges who pass the Bible to the players.

Why don't they come and play where Jesus was born and raised?

Abraham is the father of our nations, Jesus is the beginning of Christianity, everything happened here in Israel."

Auburn College's journey in Israel is of great interest, and the ESPN television network will accompany it closely and even broadcast the games.

"Consider that this is the right time. The NFL and college basketball only start in September, the NBA and hockey are already over, so why not come to Israel and see a top college team play in excellent halls in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with many fans against the Israeli national team that is considered to be successful in the world?" .

Ever since it became known about the possibility of holding the games in Israel, there has been a great uproar in the US, especially among anti-Semites and pro-Palestinian organizations in Alabama. Pearl actually sees this as a good opportunity to improve the image of the State of Israel.

Do you believe that this trip can benefit Israel's image in the US?

"Without a doubt. The US has always been Israel's great ally.

I say this as an American Jew who should support Israel.

Israel is now the USA's biggest ally in the Middle East. I am excited about the peace and normalization surrounding the Abraham Accords. These games have the potential to reach Morocco or the Emirates as well. Maybe we will even organize a joint tournament for colleges from the USA and teams from all the countries here in the region."

Bruce Pearl.

"Each college can go on a game trip outside the US once every four years.

So why not to Israel?", photo: from Twitter

"Jabari Smith can become an All-Star"

As mentioned, Pearl is one of the most prominent coaches in college basketball in recent decades.

To the rich list of players who went under his hands to the best league in the world, you can add Jabari Smith Jr., a 19-year-old forward who stands at a height of 2.08 m, with a great shooting that, according to the experts, resembles the style of play of NBA stars Kevin Durant and Michael Porter c 'Veneur.

Last season he averaged 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

In the NBA draft that took place last month, he was chosen third by the Houston Rockets.

"Jabari is the best player I've coached. For his size, he's the best shooter I've seen in college in the last ten years. He has everything to become an All-Star in the league," states Pearl. 

jabari smith is a 2 way monster pic.twitter.com/cNHSIiEJEG

— Drew Oldham (@orangeanddrew) July 15, 2022

The fact that a player of Smith's size hits 3-pointers has a lot to do with the philosophy of the Jewish coach, who seemed to be ahead of his time and has been advocating a fast game and a lot of shots from outside the arc for years.

"Three-pointers have been my thing for 20 years, the fact that in recent years the NBA has also been aligning according to it, that's their problem," he smiles.

"We've been washing the floor and playing this way for years. Now even in the NBA, the game is changing and there are other requirements for tall players as well."

In the past, players would stay 3-4 seasons in college before going on to the NBA, while in recent years most stars leave after a year.

Does it make your job as a coach difficult?

"You're right. In recent years, I've had four players who did one season and went to the draft. It puts a lot of pressure on us, but the job in colleges is to transfer young people from high school to whatever they choose and help them build their lives in a good way. It usually takes four years to get a degree before they arrive to raise families and move on. But in basketball, a season or two is sometimes enough to prepare them for life, and the NBA always wants to take advantage of the professional and business potential as quickly as possible. That's how the process of the game works and it's challenging for everyone, but I'm happy for the kids who get their chance." . 

Jabari Smith Jr.

"The best player I coached", photo: from Twitter

He preferred to stay in college and not go to the NBA

Last January, Pearl signed a contract for eight more years at Auburn, and according to reports, he should receive more than 50 million dollars for the entire period, or as it was said in the official announcement - "a contract for life".

In fact, he is one of the highest earners in American college basketball.

Auburn's replica offer followed several offers the esteemed coach received from other major colleges.

Didn't you want to try your skills in the NBA during your career?

"In 2011, Donnie Nelson, who was at the time the professional manager of Dallas, offered me to be the head coach of their reserve team. It was when I was between jobs after Tennessee and I almost took it but I felt that I might be a good coach, but I'd rather be a good father and a good teacher. I I feel that God put me where I am to make the best impact I can. I look at the role of the coach as the role of a teacher, maybe even a rabbi of basketball. Our successes are due to the culture and chemistry we create in the team. This happens due to the fact that we connect the players to our way and discipline. This The formula. That's why I decided that college is the right place for me and for what I'm trying to convey through basketball."

During the games you are very frantic and emotional.

"The way I am in training is the same way I am in a game. I am the same whether we are playing against a team from the first division or the second division or in training. I am intense and my players see me the same way all the time, and it affects them. In general, you should listen to what a person says and not how he says it." .

"I made a mistake - and I paid for it"

Along with the successes, Pearl's name was mixed over the years in some less pleasant affairs when it turned out that he hosted young high school stars for dinners in order to convince them to join his college, against the rules of the colleges.

The coach was fined significant sums of money and was even suspended from the league for several years, during which he worked in the marketing department of a local supermarket chain.

"There were two very good players, first round picks, that I wanted to come to Tennessee and I invited them to my house for a barbecue with a hundred other people but they were too young. I know I made a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. It's a mistake I made and I paid for it, but God has a plan, And that's how I got to where I am today. Auburn is a very special place and I'm grateful for every moment I'm there."

Would you like to come to work in Israel in the future and maybe train the young teams with the talented generation that grew up here?

"It would be an honor for me to talk to the Israeli coaches and share thoughts with them, but if I come - it will only be after retirement to live here," he concludes with a smile.

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