At halftime of the Elite Eight game between Arizona and Purdue, a fun game was played by the TBS broadcast. Host Nate Burleson asked questions to a panel of Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Bruce Pearl. The last of which revolved around the North Carolina coaching search. Each guy provided an answer for who they think should take over in Chapel Hill.

Barkley took a few moments to think, only to light up with an idea. He called for UNC to give a call to Pearl.

“You know what? I personally got great faith in this man,” Barkley said with a smile. “I’m not opposed to Bruce Pearl taking that job.”

There was a quick denial from Pearl, despite the crew creating some hype. Pearl said TNT is his new team and there would be no leaving them. Maybe a sigh of relief for Auburn fans, who just saw the legendary head coach retire before the 2025-2026 season. And for North Carolina, Barkley’s endorsement turned out to be short-lived.

Pearl filled multiple roles for Turner throughout the season. His main job was a studio analyst, usually working alongside the likes of Adam Lefkoe, Jamal Mashburn, and Jalen Rose. He served as the coach of the panel, talking about the game from that perspective. A nice call-up did come for the Elite Eight, getting into the studio with the four previously mentioned names.

Bruce Pearl reacts to North Carolina’s firing of Hubert Davis

Former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is the latest prominent college basketball figure to weigh in on the Hubert Davis situation at North Carolina.

For the first time in program history, the Tar Heels have lost back-to-back NCAA Tournament First Round games. Both losses came under Davis, who just completed his fifth season with the program.

The Tar Heels led No. 11 seed VCU Thursday night by as many as 19 points in the second half, but ended up falling in overtime to the Rams 82-78. This has led to immense backlash from North Carolina fans, upset with how the past four seasons have played out.

“Huge RESPECT for Hubert Davis!” Pearl wrote on X/Twitter. “UNC is one of the top 5 jobs in the country and back-to-back first-round exits won’t cut it. Coach Davis would be the first to admit it. Hope the UNC family finds a way to support Hubert and his staff! Stay tuned!”

On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report