Steven Pearl Reveals Expectations for Auburn Tigers in New Era

He succeeds his father, Bruce Pearl, who stands as Auburn’s all-time winningest head coach after 11 monumental seasons at the helm with the Tigers. Bruce Pearl tallied a 232-125 record on the Plains and led Auburn to three regular-season SEC titles, two conference tournament championships, and two Final Four appearances, in addition to propelling a plethora of current NBA talents to the next level.

The legacy that he created at Auburn will live forever, but as he said in his retirement announcement video on social media earlier this week, it’s time.

It’s time to pass the torch to Steven Pearl, who has served as an assistant under his father for the entire 11 years since 2014. Steven Pearl has served in a variety of roles with the Tigers, including an assistant strength and conditioning coach, director of basketball operations, assistant coach, and associate head coach, all of which have prepared him for this moment.

The Steven Pearl Era has arrived, but although it’s a new head coach leading the program, the product on the hardwood will remain constant in terms of style of play and key values that have been staples of this program for the last decade.

Steven Pearl addressed his expectations for this year’s team at his press conference on Wednesday and began by outlining the top focal points for his team on the offensive end of the floor in his inaugural season as head coach.

“Offensively, we're going to be a team that is going to try to be elite in multiple areas,” Steven Pearl said. “We want to be elite in transition offense. We want to limit our turnovers. We want to make the simple pass so that we don't give easy opportunities down at the other end. We want to be a great offensive rebound team. We want to be unselfish. We want to make free throws. Those are five things that have really been important for this program offensively.”

“As you know, and as some of you probably don't love, we let our players have a tremendous amount of freedom on the offensive end,” Steven Pearl continued. “They take what some of you might call ‘bad shots,’ but we need our players to have that confidence that we trust them to shoot those shots. That gives them the ability to play their game. As long as they hold up their end of the bargain on the defensive end.”

Anyone who has watched Auburn over the last 11 years knows one, if not the, main trademark for a Bruce Pearl-led basketball team: defense.

The willingness to give 110% effort at all times, but especially on the defensive end, is what made Auburn so successful and entertaining to watch over the years. Bruce Pearl ingrained into his Tigers that it would be the hardest-playing team, and ESPN analysts like Jay Bilas recognized that trait, often saying how his squad “leads the nation in playing hard.”

And for his son, who was often recognized as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator in recent years, that expectation of relentless effort will not change.

“Defensively, we have got to be elite in transition defense. We have to be elite rebounding, and we have to be elite finishing possessions. Those are non-negotiables,” Steven Pearl said. “That is something that our guys all understand, and it's what's led us to have the success that we have had on the defensive end over the last four years.”

He added that Auburn has finished as a top-10 defensive team in three of the last four years and believes that both Pearls’ emphasis on stout defense is the foundation of the success the Tigers have had.

Another characteristic of most Bruce Pearl-coached teams at Auburn was speed up and down the court, where they like to get out and run when they’re able to. And with a physically smaller roster than last season, Steven Pearl expects a faster pace of play to be even more prominent than in previous years.

“This year's team is going to look a little different because our offense right now is ahead of our defense,” Stevel Pearl said. “We're going to be a team that is going to play really fast. That's going to get the ball up and down the floor, going to take some crazy shots. But we're not as big or as thick as we were a year ago, so we're going to play faster.”

He then elaborated more on the defensive plan and the key to a successful performance on that end of the court.

“We're going to try to force more turnovers, and it's going to require a tremendous amount of communication from our guys because we do a lot of switching. We change up our defense from time to time, and it's going to require our guys to be in sync with each other and be on the same page. A lot of the things that you have seen over the last 11 years are a lot of the same things that we are going to continue to do on the floor.”

With a brand new roster, excluding sophomore point guard Tahaad Pettiford, the Tigers will need to figure things out rather quickly. A daunting nonconference schedule awaits Auburn – one that may be even more challenging than last season’s – before another brutal SEC slate starting in January.

Steven Pearl believes his team has the weapons to be successful, but explains how the Tigers can consistently take steps in the right direction to fulfill their greatest potential.

“My expectation is that we have to get better every single week. That's been our messaging all summer,” Steven Pearl said. “With a group of 10 new guys, that's really all you can ask for at this point. This is a team that is going to continue to get better week by week. We're going to get kicked in the face a few times early in the season because of the schedule.” 

“It's going to do an unbelievable job at getting us ready for our conference play, but we're going to go through some adversity early. We are playing some really good teams. But as long as this team continues to learn from those experiences, continues to grow, this is a team that can beat anyone on our schedule. I’m just really excited to continue the work that we have put in so far and continue to get better.”

To put it simply, although Tiger fans won’t get to experience another time hearing an elongated version of “Bruce” echo throughout Neville Arena pregame, or witness the unmatched energy that he displayed in The Jungle, Auburn's desired performance and high expectations on the court will not change.

It’s a different head coach, a different era, but the program’s DNA remains steady. And considering Auburn’s crucial retention of its staff and the unwavering support from the Auburn Family that has shown up time after time, the Tigers aren’t going anywhere.