Tennessee Basketball is ranked 8th in the nation, has won championships and enjoys national relevance because of the work of Bruce Pearl and his staff, and they deserve all the credit. But a decade before Pearl came to Knoxville to resurrect the program, the Vols hired Kevin O'Neill from Marquette and asked him to achieve the same feat. And while O'Neill never got to personally enjoy the fruit of his labor, and the process appeared to die again a few years after O'Neill left, there is still a faint connection between O'Neill and Pearl on the continuum of growth of Tennessee Basketball. And despite his departure under less than ideal circumstances, O'Neill should be appreciated for his contribution to the program.