of the eligibility case<\/a> of Alabama center\/recent G League center Charles Bediako.<\/p>\nAnd as Auburn coaches gathered to scrutinize Nate Oats\u2019 Alabama team and devise practice plans for their players, the shared activity these two schools are most known for came to mind. Auburn needed this to resemble a football game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe teams that have beaten them, historically,\u201d Auburn assistant coach Mike Burgomaster said to Pearl in the conference room, \u201care the teams that have punked them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two days later, Pearl stood in front of his team in the Auburn locker room after early punking success and a 10-point lead dissolved into a 96-92 loss to the Tide and told his players: \u201cWhat are we gonna do? Are we gonna be a bunch of front runners? It can\u2019t just be good when we\u2019re winning, guys. It can\u2019t just be good when we\u2019re scoring the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In between, The Athletic was granted full access to the Auburn program for a behind-the-scenes look at Alabama preparations and the early stages of the second Pearl era.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple efforts\u201d was the phrase of the day as Auburn coaches decided on drills needed to help prepare for the nation\u2019s third-most efficient offense, a team that as usual under Oats is driven by analytics, breakneck tempo, 3-pointers, downhill drives and the elite talent to make it work. The first effort against Alabama: Get back and make them play in the halfcourt.<\/p>\n
Then it\u2019s early flare screens for shooters. Ball screens. Ghost screens. Pindowns. Drives and kicks. The freedom to launch from deep before a switch can happen. An offense dictated by rules and concepts much more than set plays, driven by star guards Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway.<\/p>\n
There are no bounce passes to rollers, so the Tigers would need \u201chigh hands\u201d on all such actions. They\u2019d need to be in the gap early \u2014 lunge late and you\u2019re toast and an open 3 will result. No \u201cbulls\u2014 help,\u201d as Pearl put it, off corner shooters to give Alabama easy choices. Close out hard. But not too hard, as the film showed Texas A&M doing at critical times in Wednesday\u2019s 100-97 loss to Alabama, flying past to allow drives or quick relocations and open triples.<\/p>\n
Relentless effort and attention to detail would be required. But as Burgomaster, the team\u2019s offensive coordinator, talked through which sets would be most effective in this game, it was clear that side of the ball would be just as important. If Auburn didn\u2019t have an easy opportunity to run and get a clean look, it needed to grind out possessions, get the ball inside and \u201cplay off two feet\u201d all day \u2014 even with rim protector Bediako on the floor as Pearl and his staff were presuming. Low possessions, low tempo, low live-ball turnovers and high-quality shots would be required.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd at some point, we\u2019ve got to make some f\u2014ing shots,\u201d Pearl said of a team that entered the game 233rd in the nation in 3-point shooting (32.8 percent).<\/p>\n
Practice plans for the next two days determined, Pearl left the room and headed downstairs for a 2 p.m. news conference. He revealed to reporters that leading scorer Keyshawn Hall played in the 77-69 loss at Tennessee with three stitches on the index finger of his left (shooting) hand. He said his team was preparing as if Bediako would be eligible to play. He expressed the need for max effort and low tempo.<\/p>\n
Then it was on to the film room, just off the main court. Some Auburn players were getting shots up beforehand. Each swish was accompanied by a loud call: \u201cBediako!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearl stood in front of his players, assistant coaches and staffers in the small theater and told them: \u201cWe could f\u2014 around and go on a run right now. We control our destiny. Or we could revert back to some of the things we did at Tennessee, things that got us beat. Why not lock into the details?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n Steven Pearl addresses his team before the Alabama game. (Joe Rexrode)<\/p>\n
Pearl said Alabama is 2-2 this season in games with 72 possessions or less, and went into the teaching points he and his coaches had just discussed. Then he changed course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was the last time you guys were like broke?\u201d Pearl asked. \u201cA couple years ago? Last year for some of you, for D-IIs, jucos? You guys were broke as f\u2014 last year, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford, the lone returnee from last season\u2019s playing rotation, responded: \u201cThis year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearl smirked at Pettiford as some players laughed.<\/p>\n
Pearl: \u201cThis year? No. Couple years ago, before NIL was a thing, when you check that bank account and you feel it\u2019s getting a little tight, what does that make you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pettiford: \u201cHungry as f\u2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearl: \u201cA little pain too, right? Right? You\u2019ve got to find a way. I feel like this team is best when we feel a little bit of pain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Pearl gave his main point before the 36-minute session turned to individual Alabama scouting reports.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to feel a little pain to make yourself do the things that are required and necessary to play with way more f\u2014ing effort, way more energy and way more desperation in this game than they\u2019re gonna have,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did that when we played at Florida. We did that when we played at Ole Miss. We\u2019ve got to be desperate. We\u2019ve got to be hungry, like Tahaad said. And it\u2019s f\u2014ing Alabama, you guys. You talk about wanting to do something for our fans? This f\u2014ing game means more to them than anything. So it\u2019s 40 minutes of whatever the f\u2014 you\u2019ve got to do to get that win. Let us tell you how to do it, OK?\u201d<\/p>\n
Shortly before the 36-minute session ended and practice began, Burgomaster told the Tigers of the Crimson Tide: \u201cThis team does not want to be touched. And what do we do best? We punk people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we aren\u2019t taking bad shots, if we\u2019re not settling, if we attack \u2026 they cannot f\u2014ing guard us,\u201d Pearl said. \u201cThey\u2019re the worst defensive team in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly two hours of practice went as hoped, with a lot of 3-on-3 defensive work on Alabama\u2019s perimeter actions. Starting center KeShawn Murphy closed out too hard and overran his man on one play, and Pearl yelled to all: \u201cNever, never, never! That\u2019s how you lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moments later, Pettiford got over a flare screen to the corner, got back through a ball screen going the other way and got his hand up for a backhanded deflection of a pass back to the top of the circle.<\/p>\n
Pearl: Now that is f\u2014ing awesome!\u201d<\/p>\n
Associate head coach Ira Bowman: \u201cThis is what we\u2019re talking about when we talk about multiple efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Practice ended with a quick huddle, and then it was time for Pearl to do things he never had to worry about when he was his father\u2019s associate head coach, defensive coordinator, assistant coach, director of basketball operations or assistant strength coach at Auburn. He\u2019s the face of the program now.<\/p>\n
Bruce Pearl was at the Auburn basketball facility on Thursday, too, but he wasn\u2019t there for film, meetings or interactions with any coaches or players. He was there to use the printers for notes and stats to help him with his new job as a college basketball analyst for TNT.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am out,\u201d Bruce Pearl said. \u201cSteven has owned this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bruce Pearl, called \u201cBP\u201d by everyone in the program, including his son, is an outspoken conservative who said a possible run for a Senate seat got him thinking seriously about retiring in the offseason. That aspiration faded, but retirement and timing it up right for a handoff to Steven has been a consideration for years.<\/p>\n
Steven \u2014 who goes by \u201cSP\u201d in the program \u2014 said he didn\u2019t know if Cohen was going to give him the job full-time until Cohen told him. Bowman was elevated to the associate head coach spot vacated by Steven. Burgomaster, Corey Williams and Ian Borders stayed on, with Matt Gatens replacing Chad Prewett, who got out of coaching to pursue ministry.<\/p>\n
Auburn planned a Sept. 22 announcement after the players had been told they had a new head coach. But a source told ESPN the news, and it broke early that day before the meeting with the players, setting off scramble mode for the coaches. The members of a mostly rebuilt roster had an open transfer portal window because of the change, but they stayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about our future here and what he was looking forward to this year,\u201d Pettiford said of his conversation with Steven Pearl after the revelation. \u201cMy teammates agreed, so we decided to make something work. We had our talks outside of here, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Already, it had taken a big spend to get this roster competitive after the loss of All-American Johni Broome and several other standouts. Pearl said Auburn was in the 10-12 range in the SEC in roster payroll under his father during the NIL era but got into the top five for this group. Hall came from UCF; Murphy from Mississippi State; Kevin Overton from Texas Tech.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteven\u2019s job has been way harder than BP\u2019s job at any point, besides when BP first got here,\u201d said Bowman, who joined the staff in 2018. \u201cBut even then, NIL wasn\u2019t a thing, there was still carryover, there was still retention. BP\u2019s never had 10 new players, and the hardest schedule in college basketball with that. That\u2019s no slight to BP, but all those new personalities? This set of circumstances? It shouldn\u2019t be understated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nor should the difference between the personalities of BP and SP. BP naturally fills and takes over every room he enters. SP is reserved, intense and serious by nature. The former works with recruits, parents, donors and fans. The latter is an obvious question in this succession.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I don\u2019t say no to anyone,\u201d Steven said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re following in the footsteps of someone like BP, who, that was like this thing, you can\u2019t divert from that. Then they\u2019re like, \u2018BP was great at this, why is Steven not?\u2019 Every chance I can get to have an impression or impact on somebody, I take advantage. Because it spreads like wildfire, good and bad.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m good in those settings. But he\u2019s always like that. When I go home, it\u2019s like hang with my wife and daughter and be to myself. Whereas he\u2019ll go to Twitter and fire off a million things on Israel or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pearl also didn\u2019t want to change things up in the program just to try to make his own mark. But there are subtle changes. He allows players to listen to loud music during the shooting portions of practice. He seeks their input on more things. And during the season, he decided to make corrective film sessions individualized rather than in front of the whole team, because some weren\u2019t reacting well to being called out.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome will call that soft, but whatever,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re 5-2 since then.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one questions Pearl\u2019s basketball acumen. It\u2019s a question of having the feel for people to be an effective CEO. Bowman said Pearl is \u201cultra-competitive and has learned to meter and channel that into what he needs to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because he knows what people will say. They\u2019ve been saying it since he walked on for his dad at Tennessee and carved out a role as a bruising forward off the bench.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018You\u2019re just here because of your dad,\u2019\u201d Bruce Pearl said of the naysayers\u2019 sentiment, then and now. \u201cHe\u2019s always had to prove it. That\u2019s why he\u2019s a tough son of a bitch and this is going to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s practice ended, leaving several players to get up shots and a few to join Pearl upstairs and outside to the wildest party in town. Pearl was supposed to hand out Chick-fil-A sandwiches to the camping students. When he got to the arena entrance, Emily Adams, Auburn\u2019s director of fan experience, told him: \u201cThey mobbed them already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adams handed Pearl a box of Dude Wipes instead. Good for cleaning up after dinner. And perhaps acting at some point as a cheap substitute for a shower. Pearl, Pettiford, Hall and others hung out for about half an hour, chatting with students and taking every selfie requested. Then Pearl had to bolt, a 15-minute drive to his weekly radio show at Baumhower\u2019s Victory Grille.<\/p>\n
Brittany and their 1-year-old daughter, Lainey, were waiting for him along with his sister Jacqui Pearl and her family. Jacqui got the first segment to rally support for the Pearl Family Foundation\u2019s fund raising efforts for cancer organizations. Lainey was bouncing around the booth \u2014 she just started walking, and Pearl texted a video to the team a few days earlier showing her first steps to let them know she was fired up for Bama week.<\/p>\n
To that point, once Pearl took his spot on stage with Brad Law and the voice of the Tigers, Andy Burcham, the microphone started moving around the room for fan questions. \u201cHerb\u201d wondered if Auburn\u2019s players understood that the \u201cIron Bowl of Basketball\u201d was different.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been communicated, Pearl assured Herb. That is, of course, one of many challenges for coaches in today\u2019s transient, transactional world of college athletics. Junior guard and former walk-on Blake Muschalek is the eighth man in Auburn\u2019s rotation this season, but Pettiford is the only member of this team who can speak to the intensity of this game on the floor or what it means to the fans. Auburn\u2019s coaches would lean on him to do so.<\/p>\n
But first, Pearl delivered smoothies in the morning to the students, shortly after his regular 6 a.m. arrival. Worked out in the team gym. Got a protein smoothie of his own. Calls. Film. Then it was noon and time for another public appearance. The boosters of the Auburn Tip-Off Club were waiting for him in the arena\u2019s banquet area.<\/p>\n
\u201cWar Eagle!\u201d Pearl boomed into the microphone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWar Eagle!\u201d about 200 people answered back.<\/p>\n
He asked when the last time they had gotten together. Someone called out it was before the Jan. 17 South Carolina game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were 1-3 (in the SEC). You guys were probably like, \u2018I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s ready for this,\u2019\u201d Pearl said. \u201cWell, we\u2019ve won five of six, so shut up!\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowd laughed loudly. It was a BP-like moment, and Pearl had more jokes. He was 8 years old when Auburn last won at Florida, in 1996, but said he would not speculate as to how old some of them were.<\/p>\n
Things turned serious for a moment when someone asked him about Bediako. They might get mad at him, Pearl said, but he hoped Bediako would be cleared to play and wondered what might happen if he weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got into this profession to help young people, not put them in compromising situations,\u201d Pearl said, \u201cand I think that\u2019s what\u2019s happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s practice was more specific, working on sets the Tigers would run and on defending Alabama\u2019s favorite ATOs (plays after timeouts). Players took turns finishing with two coaches banging them with pads.<\/p>\n
Pearl got word that nothing had been decided on Bediako, so he would play as expected. Pettiford said a few words to his teammates about the intensity they were about to encounter. Finally, it was one sleep away.<\/p>\n
As Pettiford headed out to check on the camping students, he said: \u201cAlabama hate will be in the air out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the next day, too, as students finally filed into the arena to pack \u201cThe Jungle\u201d student section area \u2014 with \u201cWelcome to the Jungle\u201d by Guns N\u2019 Roses blaring out of massive speakers. Auburn junior Lynley Headcraft, who helps run the student section, said the final tally was 726 camping out. It sounded like 10 times that many screaming at Bediako as he took the court for warmups.<\/p>\n
\u201cG League dropout! G League dropout!\u201d<\/p>\n
Intensity filled the air. None more than when Pearl addressed his team in the locker room at 2:32 p.m., a half hour before tip. He had just visited with ESPN announcer Dick Vitale, he told his players, and he passed the Alabama players on his way to the locker room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is zero f\u2014ing respect for this program in that locker room,\u201d he said, anger etched on his face. \u201cZero. \u2026 We have two hours to change that.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was heading that way in the first half, a 10-point lead in a slow-moving game featuring two Auburn turnovers and zero Alabama fast-break points. The Tigers were delivering those multiple efforts and pounding the ball inside. But handling Alabama\u2019s actions is much easier against a scout team than against Philon and his fleet of helpers.<\/p>\n
The Tigers made some crucial mistakes late in the first half to let Alabama hit three straight triples. Then it got ugly and stayed ugly in the second \u2014 59 Alabama points, 56.7 percent shooting, 1.55 points per possession.<\/p>\n
On possessions they got the details right, Alabama usually made tough shots anyway. On a late Holloway 3-pointer plus the foul on Pettiford, Pettiford and Murphy argued over who made the mistake. Then Overton yelled at both of them to stop arguing. That was the point of Pearl\u2019s mention of \u201cfront runners\u201d in a silent, tense locker room filled with people who have known each other for a few months.<\/p>\n
High-scoring Vanderbilt, with a more elaborate offense and more attention to detail required to corral it, will be coming in on Tuesday and will happily embarrass the Tigers if they aren\u2019t connected and ready. The first year of the Steven Pearl era was never going to be easy; it just got tougher.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we let this compound and affect the next one,\u201d he told his players, \u201cwe\u2019re missing the point.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUBURN, Ala. \u2014 Nearly an hour into a film session Thursday in the men\u2019s basketball offices at Auburn\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737033,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[930,7210,7,5480,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-737032","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-alabama-crimson-tide","9":"tag-auburn-tigers","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-mens-college-basketball","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-football"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116032604614553441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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