'The standard is not going to change': Bruce Pearl, Auburn basketball preparing to defend SEC crown
AUBURN — Bruce Pearl would prefer to be the underdog. It’s how he’s built.
In 2018, following the media’s prediction that Auburn would finish 4-14 in the league, Pearl had shirts made with “4-14” printed on them. The team wore them during shoot around of their first conference game at Top-25 Tennessee. Auburn won the game, and subsequently won the regular season conference championship.
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Since then, Auburn basketball’s ability to play the underdog role is virtually gone. The Tigers have won two regular season crowns and one tournament championship in the last five seasons. They’ve made a Final Four for the first time in school history, and the very next season, Auburn entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 2 seed before COVID ended the college basketball season early.
The defending conference champions are now slotted No. 15 in the 2022-23 preseason AP poll, and are expected to be picked to finish fourth in the league by the media following Wednesday’s SEC Media Days in Birmingham, Ala. behind Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas.
But Pearl will always find a way his ways to motivate.
“My reaction is always the same as it’s going to be. I have a ton of Lou Holtz in me. I’m way better as the underdog, way better when you’re going to pick us 4-14 which was back in 2018. I can’t change who I am,” Pearl said before Auburn practice in preparation for an upcoming closed scrimmage against UAB.
“We’re not the 15th beat team in the country right now, I can tell you that. I don’t mind sharing that with you.”
ESPN basketball analyst Seth Greenberg attended Auburn’s practice on Tuesday, wanting to scout what’s expected to be one of the better teams in the league, yet again.
“Auburn is a program that’s expected to compete at the very highest level each and every year,” Greenberg said. “Bruce is a great coach. His ability to evaluate and recruit guys that can help compete and win, I think he’s as good as any. That’s what makes him so good.”
From a personnel standpoint, Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson appear set as starters at the one and two-guard positions.
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Past that, it’s up for grabs.
If the season started today, Chris Moore would start over Allen Flanigan, Pearl said on Tuesday. Flanigan just recently returned to practice after a short absence, while Moore has been available and practicing.
Chance Westry is currently rehabbing a minor knee surgery and will return in about three weeks.
The ”three” position is still very much influx.
Meanwhile, Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome are battling it out at center, with Jaylin Williams and Yohan Traore battling it out at power forward. (But they’ll all play, you know that.)
“I still think I have to keep teaching. I have to understand the system, keep evaluating,” Pearl said as the Tigers prepare for the season opener against George Mason on November 7. “Who starts? Who comes off the bench? What combinations play better together?”
Greenberg knows what Pearl wants to accomplish, ultimately building strength in numbers to create the best team possible. And Greenberg knows that despite last year’s success, an all-new team presents all new challenges in defending that conference crown.
“Totally new team. Last year’s team was conference champions, this is a totally new team. You get a chance to hang a banner, that sets the standard — creates greater ownership which is tremendous. This team has to learn to be an every day, every play team. This team has to learn their identity and be that team every single day. They have to learn how to deal with adversity,” Greenberg said.
“That’s the standard, the standard is not going to change as long as Bruce is here. Now, they have to get it done. It’s great that there’s a standard, but this team stands on its own two feet.”
