AUBURN, Ala. – Minutes after becoming Auburn’s all-time winningest coach, Bruce Pearl teared up watching a video tribute featuring his former players and college basketball coaching icons offering congratulations.
“That just blew me away,” said Pearl, crediting director of creative content Steven Leonard. “It was great, but I promise you that I was on to South Carolina. We’ll celebrate that accomplishment this summer.”
Pearl shared credit for Auburn’s 214 wins over the past 10 and a half seasons, mentioning each assistant coach and men’s basketball staff member by name.
“I’ve got a great staff,” Pearl said. “I don’t know that anybody in the country has a better staff than I do. Our staff’s been together a long time. It’s a sum of our parts.”
Pearl also thanked the players who earned the victories that pushed him past Joel Eaves for the top spot on the program’s all-time victories list, a goal he shared in his introductory press conference in March 2014.
“I knew that at that point in my life, if we could get it going, this could be my last stop,” Pearl said. “I didn’t mind sharing what was on my heart.”
By the time Pearl boarded the plane for the return flight from Austin after No. 2 Auburn defeated Texas 87-82 Tuesday, he had begun preparing for Saturday’s game at South Carolina.
The Gamecocks went 10-3 in non-conference play before dropping their first two SEC games to No. 14 Mississippi State on the road and No. 5 Alabama at home.
“South Carolina beat Clemson, Clemson beat Kentucky, Kentucky beat Duke, and Duke beat us,” said Pearl, applying the transitive property to illustrate the Gamecocks’ potential. “We’ve got to be ready to go.
“It’s really hard to judge where South Carolina is. South Carolina’s got a great frontline in (Nick) Pringle and (Collin) Murray-Boyles. I really like their guards. Every game is an important game. This is a home game they they’re going to feel like they’ve got to get.”
Seeking their eighth straight win, the Tigers (14-1, 2-0) tip off against the Gamecocks (10-5, 0-2) Saturday at noon CT on SEC Network from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will call the action for listeners on the Auburn Sports Network.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer