"Some will be booing and some will be Bru-ing."
That's what Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl said he expects to hear when he makes his return to Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Pearl coached at Tennessee from 2005-11 and was the engineer of the program's turnaround that included a trip to the elite eight.
Pearl added that leading up to the game, his emotions will be running high, but when the ball tips, it will be time to get to work.
"I asked them to try and understand what my emotions are going to be prior to the game," Pearl said. "For those of you who do not know me, I am not Dick Vermeil, but I can get watery. I cannot control it. It just happens when I talk about my players or when I talk about my family or I talk about things that I am passionate about. It happens sometimes. But from the minute we get in that huddle to start playing, there will not be any different emotion as it relates to coaching, as it relates to the game. My preparation prior to has been the same, it has been consistent. But I am sure, in the moments leading up to tip, it will be difficult."
Pearl said he's tried to prepare the team for that distraction.
"The minute I walk in that building and get off that bus there will be a camera in my face," Pearl said. "It will walk me to the bathroom. I lived on the other side of media. They are going to know every time I scratch my nose and every little emotion that is going through me.:
As far as the game itself goes, guard K.C. Ross-Miller said the emotion surrounding his coach will definitely be a motivating factor for the team.
"I don't think it should take away from the game," Ross-Miller said. "We are all pretty focused. Coach has already spoken with us and let us know how things are going to be so we are already aware of the attention he is going to get from coming back to Tennessee. We just want to make him happy."
The game will tipoff at 11 a.m. and will air on ESPN2.
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