Philip Pearson Joins UAB Staff

Former Alabama basketball player and assistant coach Philip Pearson joins Andy Kennedy as an assistant coach for the UAB Blazers. Pearson played at Alabama from 1989 from 1994 for Wimp Sanderson and David Hobbs. He earned the Paul Bryant Student-Athlete of the Year during his time at the Capstone and helped the Tide win back-to-back SEC Tournament Championships.

Pearson began his coaching career under Sanderson as a graduate assistant at Arkansas Little Rock and then was hired at Murray State as an assistant coach. Former Alabama player Mark Gottfried brought him back to Tuscaloosa as his assistant coach in 1998.

Pearson took over for Gottfried on an interim basis mid-way through the 2009 season when Gottfried resigned. He led the Tide to a 6-7 record as head coach and was eliminated in the second round of the SEC Tournament by Tennessee. He was replaced by Anthony Grant so he accepted a job at the University of Georgia under Mark Fox.

Pearson was elevated to associate head coach of the Bulldogs in 2015 before being let go in 2018 when Georgia decided to hire Tom Crean. He joins Ryan Cross and Sidney Ball as Kennedy's assistants at UAB.