BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Last March, as Auburn was making its run through the NCAA Tournament, Adam Harrington watched and cheered on the Tigers every step of the way.
Harrington, now in his fourth year as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets, played two seasons for Auburn in the early 2000s, and no matter where he went as a player after that – the NBA, the D-League, overseas in China, Spain, Israel and other countries – he stayed a loyal fan of his alma mater.
It's no different now that he's back in the NBA as a coach.
"Getting to know Bruce (Pearl) over the last few years, it didn't surprise me that he was able to maximize a group of talented individuals like he did," Harrington said. "He's one of the most encouraging people I've ever met. He obviously can get you pumped up to run through a wall or jump off a bridge if he wanted to. It's such a unique gift, and I think he's really shifted the whole culture of Auburn basketball at Auburn University.
"It's just an exciting time. It's exciting to see them in the recruiting game. Really high-level players are considering Auburn. Bruce is obviously the leader of it, but he's created an incredible staff and he recruits the right players. That's all part of it."
Harrington came to Auburn after one season at North Carolina State. But before that, he grew up in Massachusetts where he scored 2,347 points in high school.
You can imagine what it was like when Harrington attended his first Auburn football game. It was the Iron Bowl against in-state rival Alabama.
"I was just shell-shocked at the fan base," he said. "I grew up in the Northeast where football was not a big thing, so my first experience was an Auburn-Alabama football game. I was just blown away by how serious Auburn fans are about their college.
"When I got there, Auburn was coming off being ranked No. 1 with Chris Porter and that whole run, so the excitement of basketball was incredible. Cliff (Ellis) was running a really high-paced offense. That's the way I like to play, coming off my year at North Carolina State. It was just an exciting team to be a part of that."
In his first season on the Plains (2000-01), Harrington played in 31 games with 22 starts and averaged 15.5 points and 2.4 assists per game. He was named All-SEC Third Team. He averaged 10.1 points per game the next season and then left a year early for the NBA.
He later went back and graduated from Auburn in 2006.
Nowadays, Harrington tries to go back to Auburn every fall for a football game. It's a little more difficult for the Nets assistant coach to make a basketball game in Auburn Arena, but this year, the Tigers are coming to his hometown with back-to-back games at the Barclays Center – the Nets home arena – as part of the Legends Classic.
"I look at all the experiences that these young guys will get – to play in an NBA arena, to practice in an NBA facility, to see it – you'll remember those kind of 'goosebumps' moments as a player that you get in these settings," Harrington said.
"I think it's very fortunate that Auburn is able to be involved in these types of tournaments and these types of situations. They're able to fly up to New York, enjoy an NBA game. Those are experiences that some of these guys will never ever forget. You just hope that it motivates them, encourages them to put in that little extra work to try to get to this point."
Auburn will take the court Monday against New Mexico in the semifinal game of the Legends Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT.