Bruce Pearl: Auburn will hang former coach's name in rafters

Fittingly, after Bruce Pearl and the No. 2 Auburn Tigers took down No. 12 Kentucky, all but solidifying the Tigers’ first-ever No. 1 ranking in program history, Pearl announced on his postgame radio show that Auburn will put former head coach Sonny Smith’s name in the rafters at Auburn Arena.

Bruce Pearl brought his entire coaching staff out to tell Sonny Smith that his name will go into the rafters inside Auburn Arena.

— Justin Hokanson (@_JHokanson) January 22, 2022

“It is my privilege to announce that a Sonny Smith banner will be hanging in Auburn Arena,” Pearl said after the victory on Saturday.

Smith was hired by Auburn in 1978, and he proceeded to coach the Tigers to a decade-plus of success until 1989. He guided Auburn to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1984, a year in which the Tigers were led by future Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley. Smith was named the SEC Coach of the Year that season, an award he won twice in his Auburn career.

Smith also led Auburn to an SEC Tournament Championship in 1985, a season that the Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He led Auburn to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a streak that remains the longest in Tigers’ history.

Smith, now 85 years old, finished his career at Auburn with a 173-154 overall record at the helm.

Bruce Pearl reacts to Auburn’s big win over Kentucky

Following an 80-71 win over Kentucky, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl hugged each one of his players as they came off the court. The win could not only push the Tigers to No. 1 in the polls but provides the college basketball world with a decisive warning shot that this team means business.

During the postgame celebration of fans and players, Bruce Pearl spoke with CBS sideline reporter Gary Parrish about how his team turned around a slow start and picked up one of the biggest wins in school history.

“We picked up the defense a little bit,” said Pearl. “Kentucky was killing us in transition, we were a little sloppy with our offensive execution. But give Kentucky credit, they extended all of our catches, they made it really difficult to get our stuff. But that stack ball screen – the ball screen with the pick on the roll – got our big men to the rim and I think that frustrated Kentucky.”

The Auburn Tigers won on the floor but it did not come without a boost from the crowd. A sold out arena with a get-in price of well over $300 and a line of tents previously occupied by students hoping for a front-row seat signal how big this win is for the school.

“Look at the kids, I mean look at our students, look at our players,” Bruce Pearl told Gary Parrish as he looked around Auburn Arena. “And Gary, that’s what it’s all about right there. What I’m so excited about is – I know this happens at North Carolina, I know it happens at Kansas and other places – this is happening in Auburn, Alabama. We’re a football school! But we’re also an everything school!”

On3’s James Fletcher III contributed to this report.