Auburn basketball may have a new leader in charge of its struggling program, but that doesn't mean its forgotten about the greats of its past.
Charles Barkley, Chris Porter and Marquis Daniels were among the former Auburn basketball players in attendance at Friday's Auburn Basketball Lettermen Reunion held in the Auburn Arena and the Moore's Mill Club.
"I need their help," head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I need them to be involved with the program. I need them to be witness to what we're trying to do and what is appropriate to support. It's like any family, we're going to be close."
In addition to former players, former coach Sonny Smith and Cliff Ellis were in attendance Friday night.
"I thought it was really cool for him to invite all the old coaches here," Barkley said. "Everyone always invites the old players back, but to invite the old coaches, I just thought that was spectacular."
The energy surrounding the men's basketball program since Pearl's hiring was particularly impressive to Smith.
"I've coached at a lot of places, but I've never been a place where I've seen the excitement created in as short a period of time the way Bruce Pearl has created excitement in Auburn," Smith said. "I've never seen anything like it."
Inviting former players was an early step in the right direction, according to Smith.
"Anytime you've got a program that is down, you've got to start inside-out," Smith said. "You've got to get everybody rooting for you on the inside and you have to start with former players. They made that move right off."
For some of the former players, just having the chance to reunite with former teammates and friends made the experience even more memorable.
"It's actually great to come back and have my teammates here and the players who played before us," Porter said. "It's good for everybody to come back and build the camaraderie and support the program."
While this is not the first Lettermen Reunion in Auburn basketball history, this year's edition seemed to carry more excitement than usual according to former player Rob Chubb, who was attending his first reunion since graduating in 2012.
"Usually I've been one of the players and this was one of the things we'd have to drone to when we're tired after practice and wanting to sleep, but now this is kind of my main event," Chubb said. "I'm just excited to be hear and see some of my buddies."
Auburn's current roster of players were in attendance after a brief practice in the Auburn Arena in front of former players and coaches.
Leading returning scorer K.T. Harrell said having former players and coaches around was exciting and provided a good learning experience for the players.
"It's a blessing to be here and see a lot of the great players that have played here before us," Harrell said. "It's a great opportunity to learn from them and talk about their experiences here at Auburn."
Athletic Director Jay Jacobs said the energy and attendance of the event speaks volumes on the job Pearl has done in his short time as Auburn head coach.
"He's a great ambassador for Auburn and he's created so much excitement around the men's basketball program that he's created excitement in other areas," Jacobs said. "People are excited about the women's basketball program. Everything he does he's a great ambassador for Auburn."
Barkley shared similar sentiments about Pearl, saying that he was a fan of Pearl's coaching style while defending the coach on NCAA infractions that cost him his job at Tennessee.
"I think he's a terrific coach," Barkley said. "I thought he got screwed by the NCAA. He did not get a fair deal with the NCAA. I'm not a big fan of the NCAA as you can tell, but I did not think what happened with him was fair."
While most in attendance felt it would take a little while to turn around a program that hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2003, they approved of Pearl's openness to having former players and coaches around.
"I'm an Auburn diehard fan and I bleed orange and blue so I'm always going to be around the program," Porter said. "It doesn't matter who is coaching the program or not. That's how much I love Auburn."
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