At the SEC Men’s Basketball Media Days on Wednesday, Oct. 19, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl could not find fault in the preseason media prediction that has his team finishing 11th in the Conference. Pearl actually believes that the Tigers were placed appropriately.
“I think we’re picked properly,” Pearl told reporters inside of Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. “[We’re] picked 11th. Obviously in our locker room, we want to try to see if we can prove them wrong.”
The Tiger roster houses no front court players over 6-foot-8, but Pearl hopes that Auburn’s “young” and “light” team will be able to use its quickness and athleticism to make up for Auburn’s lack of height.
While Pearl must rely on a quickness this season, he hopes that the rules permit the Tigers to play in a style that will benefit them.
“Will the rules permit us to play fast? Will the rules permit us to extend? Where has trapping gone in the game of basketball?” Pearl asked. “When you look at the rules of verticality and the cylinders and the cones and the freedom of movement and so on and so forth. Big, strong, physical teams, they’ll pack in a man-to-man or play a 2-3 zone, and the way they’ll allow verticality and size to be an advantage on the inside, that’ll help big, strong teams. I don’t know that the rules are going to help smaller, quicker, faster teams like ours. But we’re going to find out if we can extend (and) disrupt without fouling.”
Pearl will be entering his third season on The Plains, and looks to find the success at Auburn that he has found in the past.
“The losing is tough,” Pearl said. “It’s been difficult. But it would not be fair to just stop there... I haven’t been able to win early like I was able to at Southern Indiana, at (Wisconsin-) Milwaukee or at Tennessee, so my motivation is I want to provide Auburn with a return on their investment.”
Pearl also added that he has “the second-best home-court advantage in the SEC behind Kentucky.”
Auburn will tip off the regular season on Nov. 11 against North Florida in Auburn Arena.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
