Bruce Pearl is a coach of the people.
In his short time at Auburn, Pearl has shown how important he believes it is to be not only a part of the University, but a part of the community.
"I'm on staff at Auburn," Pearl said. "Being on a college campus, there's a lot of different ways I can serve. I love to contribute in the classroom when I can. I love to support our faculty and our students and things that they're interested in."
Pearl and the team are doing several things currently to get students more involved, including looking for those who may be talented enough to join the team.
The team will host an open walk-on tryout Sept. 16 in the Auburn Arena.
"I walked on at Boston College, and my son walked on at Tennessee," Pearl said. "It's special to me."
Pearl said he believes there could be students on campus who are worthy of suiting up on the basketball team.
"There are guys on campus that could've been Division II scholarship players some place and still love the game," Pearl said. "Sometimes that means just practice, but sometimes that means actually playing in the games. Sometimes it even means getting a scholarship."
Pearl referenced a game during his time at Tennessee in 2010 when the 15th ranked Volunteers knocked off the then No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, thanks to some crucial play from walk-ons.
"Three walk-ons were in our top players," Pearl said. "My son Stephen, Skylar McBee, who hit a game winner, and Josh Bone from Nashville."
Tryouts will start at 7 a.m. Sept. 16 in the Auburn Arena, but prospective players won't just be able to walk in off the street.
"There's a lot of eligibility things they need to do in advance," Pearl said.
Before Sept. 16, hopefuls will have to file a full physical, and be deemed eligible to compete. In order to do that, they'll need to contact Todd Golden, Auburn's director of basketball operations, at trg0012@auburn.edu.
"I'm making a lot of arrangements and changes to be here," Pearl said. "I'm going to be out recruiting, and I'm coming back for the tryout. That's how important it is."
Pearl is trying to get involved with the student body not just on the court, but in the stands of the Auburn Arena as well.
A video was released recently with Pearl asking for students' feedback on what to call the student section inside the Auburn Arena.
"I'm OK with the Jungle," Pearl said. "We are the Auburn Tigers. I'm personally more comfortable with a name that revolves around our school or our mascot than me."
Whatever it's called, Pearl said it needs to be exciting.
"I don't want it to be tame," Pearl said. "I want it to be wild. We've got to give our students something to cheer about. We have an opportunity, both on and off the court, to show the nation that Auburn can represent. The culture we're trying to change is the fact that basketball has been good here before, it's just been a while. I'd like to see if we can make some noise that first night."
Auburn will tip off the 2014 basketball season against West Alabama on Nov. 7 at 8:30 p.m. in the Auburn Arena.
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