Philip James Pearson (born February 16, 1971) is an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
Pearson was born in Montgomery, Alabama and attended high school at Jeff Davis High School, where he lettered in basketball and
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
, and was also named an all-city basketball player.
He attended the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
between 1989 and 1994 where he played varsity basketball for five seasons, before graduating in December 1993 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree. While playing basketball, he was named as the Paul Bryant Student-Athlete of the Year and President's list academic honor roll.
Coaching career
Assistant coach
During the 1994–95 men's college basketball season, Pearson worked an assistant under
Wimp Sanderson
Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (born August 8, 1937) is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1981 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999.
Sanderson was born in Flore ...
for the Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team, in which time the Trojans went 17–12. In the next season, he moved to
Murray State University
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...
under head coach
Mark Gottfried
Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors
Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts and three se ...
where he worked as an administrative assistant, before being promoted to director of basketball operations in the following season. In 1997, while working for the athletics department, he graduated from Murray State with a Master of Arts in Health, Physical Education & Recreation. The next season, he was promoted to assistant coach. During his three seasons with the Racers, the basketball team won three OVC championships and advanced to two NCAA tournament appearances.
Alabama
On January 27, 2009, Pearson earned his first head coaching position when he was named interim head coach for the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
Mark Gottfried
Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors
Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts and three se ...
.
Pearson lost his first game in charge of the Tide, an 89–80 decision in favor of
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
on January 29, before earning his first victory in a 75–70 win over Georgia two days later. Alabama's NCAA tournament hopes fell short when the team was eliminated by
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
70–67 in the second round of the
SEC tournament
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions.
Members
The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...
.
Alabama finished the season with an 18–14 record, with a 6–7 record under Pearson. He continued to lead Alabama as acting interim head coach until March 27, when it was announced that the school had hired Anthony Grant.
Georgia
On April 8, 2009, Pearson was named as an assistant coach at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
, under new
Bulldogs
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Mark Fox.