Four years after his tenure at Tennessee came to an end, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl returned to Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time.
While the Tigers fell short on the road yet again, Pearl's return to his old stomping grounds, combined with several standing ovations, left Auburn's first year coach emotional when it all ended.
"We lived here for nine years," Pearl said. "This was a really special time in Tennessee basketball history and we were able to add to it. The vast majority of what we did was good. It was a nice reception."
It wasn't just Pearl who was emotional, either. Auburn players said they noticed assistant coaches, such as Tony Jones, were emotional ahead of their return to Rocky Top.
"(Pearl) was emotional," KT Harrell said. "The coaching staff that was with him was emotional. We wanted to go out and win it for him."
Pearl said the noon tip-off helped ease some of the emotion upon arrival and helped him appreciate the 21,678 arena he called home before his 2011 firing over NCAA violations.
"When you're here and you see (Thompson-Boling Arena) everyday, you don't really appreciate it," Pearl said. "But then you see it and you say, 'Boy, this place is a palace.' It's so well done."
The emotions hit a peak once the final buzzer sounded, when Pearl said he shared an embrace with Jones and his son Steven Pearl, who once played for the Volunteers under his father.
"We put ourselves in that position, but the families went through a lot," Pearl said. "I could just feel all that we went through... Nobody felt that pain as much as Tony, Pam and the families."
Pearl and the Tigers may currently be in the midst of a four-game losing streak, which is the longest of Pearl's career, but he said his team got more than just emotion from their trip to Tennessee.
"I'm trying to build a foundation," Pearl said. "We're going to do the best we can with what we have. Our kids had a chance to win on the road in the SEC. That's the second time where we've had a chance to win on the road in the SEc, so we've made progress."
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.
