Bruce Pearl expounds on shaping culture within the new-look roster, KeShawn Murphy's impact and MUCH more

ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — Auburn head basketball coach Bruce Pearl spoke to the media about a variety of things at the Children’s Harbor Golf Tournament in Alexander City on Monday afternoon.

High points from chatting with Pearl…

— Pearl acknowledged they are targeting an “international” player for another big man spot. It is the player I mentioned last week. We await the final results, as the NCAA works to approve this player’s amateurism status.

— Pearl said Auburn was “eighth” in NIL among SEC teams last season. (That’s in line with what I’ve said, based on internal data the staff has been working with.)

— He credits John Cohen and boosters for stepping up this offseason. (I’d say good steps forward. From talking to sources, not quite where the would love to be, but positive steps forward at least.)

— He says if Tahaad Pettiford returns, the final scholarship spot may go to another wing player. If Pettiford goes, then obviously another guard will have to be targeted, too.

— There were also some interesting comments from Pearl about being excited about creating a new culture with this new team. (I think that’s an aspect Pearl and his staff will look forward to. New guys, new energy, new challenge, etc.)

— Pearl talked about how this new group might play, possibly faster, given the size won’t be quite as daunting as what last year’s team put on the floor.

— He also talked about KeShawn Murphy and his skill set. Important addition, no doubt.

Outside of possibly Tahaad Pettiford, the Auburn roster will basically be a brand new entity next season.

“I mean, there’s no question that we will be the most difficult team in the country to predict where we’re going to finish. There are 16 teams in the SEC. I don’t. I mean, they’re not going to put us in the top five or six for sure, but it’ll be interesting to see where they do pick us because everybody’s new. Haad’s got a chance to come back and we’ll probably know in about a week’s time…maybe, maybe eight or nine days about what’s going to happen there.

“Then again, he’s still in the same position that he’s been in the whole time, and that is if he can get in the first round, he’s going to go. And if he can get in the first round, he should go. And if he doesn’t feel…if his folks don’t feel like he is going to be in there, you know, in the 20s somewhere, then he’ll come back.

“In addition to that, everybody else is new. If he does come back, he’s going to have to play an expanded role, which is something that is exciting to him, probably exciting to our fan base too, because you get to see, we’ll get to see more of him because he’ll be a starter and there’ll be more on it, you know?

“But I like the group. I think it’s going to be a group that works hard. I think we got really good character guys and we got to reinvent ourselves. We got to reinvent our culture. This summer is going to be more important to me having breakfast and Bible studies than ever before. You know, just kind of trying to get these guys to understand who we are and what we do and why we do it the way we do it. And I don’t have Dylan Cardwell to just go, ‘just be like him,’ you know, or Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson, Miles Kelly…so many guys on the team. But I like the group we got and I’m excited. They’ll all come in Memorial Day.”

Pearl is looking forward to shaping this new-look roster.

“I’ve actually started to recruit a little bit, the last few pieces along those lines going, you know, if you’re coming in late and you’re worried about coming in late, guess what? You’re not late. You may have been one of the last ones to sign up, but everybody’s coming and they don’t know, they don’t know a single drill. They don’t know how I run practices or what we do. And so it’ll be, it’ll all be experiencing at the same time.

“They’re going to almost all be like freshmen. And if you think back to your freshman years, if you think back to people who went to college, the guys that you are still friends with 20 years later in life were the guy that you were hanging out in your freshman year. You experienced that together. So, as a result, I think our work will be to get this team to get close in a hurry.”

How might this new-look team play?

“I just don’t know because there’s so many pieces about what I don’t know who’s going to be great in ball screen. I think I got some guys that can shoot the basketball, but I don’t know who else is going to be able to make plays in that ball screen. You know, we don’t have Johni Broome down there, just throw it to him, we’ll get a bucket, you know, or get him a short roll and make a play in and out of it. I will have to evaluate this team and decide how we’re going to play. We might play, we might have played faster than we did. We’re going to, we’re not going to be as big, so we’re going to play faster and quicker maybe, but we’ll see. We’ve got some things that we’re working.”

Pearl says versatility was a factor in evaluating many of the transfer portal additions.

“You know, you don’t like to duplicate. And, and so, as we sit right now, we’re still sort of waiting on a big, and we hope to have something that we can work our way through. An international player that it just takes time to process. We don’t want to, we’re not saying anything right now just because we don’t have the T’s crossed and the I’s dotted. We’re working on that. And then we’ll wait to see what Tahaad does. And if he comes back, that last scholarship may go to a wing or somebody, but if he doesn’t come back, it’s probably after going to have to go to point guard and a real playmaker. We have several guys that are waiting to see what (Tahaad) decides.”

The ability to rebuild the roster to compete for another SEC title is in large part due to NIL contributions and buy-in from boosters, as well as AD John Cohen. Pearl is appreciative of all their efforts.

“I give John Cohen and his staff a lot of credit because they knew that this was going to be a year where I’m going to, I was going to need require more NIL. You know, last year, I don’t mind telling you, last year our basketball team was about eighth in our league in NIL. And, but we had some guys that were veterans that want to stay… You know, when you’re recruiting, it’s really not about there’s no loyalty there. There’s no I want to be an Auburn man there.

“You know, it’s like, hey, if you’re going to be fair, it’s like anything, if anything you do, you work in some place, and we always promoted them and grew. They grew. But if you go out there in the market and there’s six people wanting you to go be, do the same job you’re doing, that’s going to raise the ante.

“I always told those guys, if you guys got on the transfer portal, you guys are going to get more. And so that’s part of it. Having replaced 11 guys, we’ve had to have a greater investment. And John Cohen and On To Victory, and our donors were prepared and put us in a position, so we could put a roster together this freshman class.”

What excites Pearl about the freshman class of Sebastian Williams-Adams, Kaden Magwood and Simon Walker?

“I think Kaden Magwood has got a chance to be special. He’s got a lot of Tahaad in him. He can really score. He’s not afraid. He’s got edge. And so it’ll be fun watching those guys play against each other and with each other.

“I think Simon Walker is going to be a guy that gets better every single year. He’ll really compete. And as a freshman he’ll be challenged to be a starter, but he’s going to put himself on the floor and he’s a tough kid. He was best player in the state of Alabama. It’s been a while since we’ve got Mr. Basketball in Alabama and we’re excited about him and just the way he’s going to work and his career.

“And then Sebastian is, he was a very athletic frontline player. I would say will remind you of a younger Chaney Johnson, doesn’t shoot it like Chaney because I always thought Chaney, when he shot he could make it. Even though he didn’t shoot a lot. Sebastian’s got to work on his range a little bit there, but really good off the bounce, takes the ball to the basket, can finish. And he wants to be coached. He’s a pretty good athlete.

“So, those three freshmen there are good. How many of them are going to play, how long they’ll play? You know, it’s hard. It is obviously hard for freshmen, but I think all three have a chance, including Tahaad.”

How important was the addition of Mississippi State transfer KeShawn Murphy?

“Well, KeShawn is going to be versatile. I mean, he can play four or five, but my fours and fives are very interchangeable and he can play both. He played mostly center at Mississippi State, but he’ll be a guy that can stretch it.

“I remember KeShawn when he was in high school and I remember his early years at Mississippi State. He was a stretch. And the last couple years he’s gotten better around the basket. He’s become a better defender around the basket, he’s finished better. He’s good in the short roll game, he’s a good passer. He’ll be a really good player.

“He’s going to be interested to see how we defend because, you know, Dylan Cardwell is the best defender on the floor. Johni was able to guard multiple positions. You know, Chad Baker (Mazara) was long and could really guard. Denver was the best arm ball defender. Miles Kelly was long. I mean, we had a really good defensive team and that was where our bread was buttered. So, that’s going to be probably our biggest challenge.”