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Auburn Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl Challenges Students and The Jungle

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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So far, the Tigers have struggled on the court. But we know this: Bruce Pearl is working harder than anyone to build the Auburn basketball program into a consistent winner.

He even took the time to sit down and coach the student section.

Pearl discussed a few things in the latest edition of “This is Auburn Basketball,” and he had a direct message to students and The Jungle.

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“Finals are here. Christmas break is almost upon us. We find our basketball team sitting at 3-4,” Pearl said. “It’s not where I want to be, but we’ve accomplished a lot of great things. So far in our three home games virtually every ticket has been sold out and the student section has been full. I am grateful. I am appreciative. And the students, you’ve made a huge difference. In our home opener, we don’t come back from 12 down against Wisconsin-Milwaukee without you on ESPN.”

The Tigers have won two of their three home games this season, beating Milwaukee 83-73 and UL-Lafayette 105-80 in November, but failed to close out Coastal Carolina in the second half of Friday night’s contest and lost 58-54 after leading for roughly 36 minutes.

“But like our basketball team,” Pearl continued, “we’ve still got work to do. I know we can be louder. I know we can be more passionate. I know The Jungle can be more ferocious. Pay attention to your student leaders and their white boards as they try to lead you in cheers. Don’t wait for the team to pick you up. When the team starts to go through one of our classic lulls in scoring, I need you to get engaged. I need you to get involved and see if you can will us a basket and make it even more intimidating for the opponent.”

Pearl goes on to encourage students to make it back to campus for a few of the five home games the team has while on break, and for other ticket holders to give their tickets away if they can’t make it to Auburn Arena, or allow the program to step in to help donate them to groups that can make it to games, such as underprivileged or special needs organizations.

Giving your unwanted tickets to someone that will enjoy them, either as a Christmas present or as a donation, would certainly bring some extra holiday cheer. And it gets butts in the seats, which will help the team.

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    • “Again,” Pearl reiterates towards the end of the message, “I appreciate all the support we’ve received so far. It’s been fantastic. The environment in Auburn Arena is different than it was. We’ve been shorthanded. Only eight scholarship guys. We’re getting healthier and we’re getting better, and we’re getting ourselves ready for the SEC play. But we’ve still got lots of work to do in December, and you can continue to make a big difference for us.”

    Hopefully Antoine Mason is getting healthier. The nation’s leading returning scorer from the 2013-14 season hasn’t played since he scored 19 points in the season opener. There is optimism he will be back on the court Sunday in Clemson, and hopefully again against Winthrop at home on December 17. Other reinforcements – including massive center Trayvon Reed – are also on the way.

    Pearl’s also doing his part as the hardest working man on campus. So do yours, and make The Jungle the best it can be.

    Auburn Tigers Athletics posted the following video, which includes a pitch to sell tickets, but also includes Pearl’s suggestions to make The Jungle even better.

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