Auburn is Keeping its Roster Intact After Pearl's Retirement

When Bruce Pearl abruptly announced his retirement, it opened a 30-day transfer portal window for Auburn players to seek greener pastures elsewhere. The only problem is that the window opened on Sept. 22.

On3’s Joe Tipton reports that the entire Auburn basketball roster is sticking with Bruce’s Boy and will suit up for Steven Pearl this season. That includes Tahaad Pettiford and Keyshawn Hall.

Pettiford was a vital part of Auburn’s run to the Final Four. The point guard averaged 17.3 points per game during the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament. He considered a leap to the NBA Draft, but the former Top-30 talent ultimately decided to stick around for another year of college basketball.

Hall was one of the most talented players in the transfer portal this offseason. A year ago at UCF, the 6-foot-7 swingman led the Big 12 in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Prior to his time in Orlando, he suited up for UNLV and George Mason.

“Throughout this process, we’ve allowed our guys to kind of, you know, go through the process, through some conversations with families and with the team, and just trying to allow them to process this within their own time, but also understanding that we’ve got a scrimmage in two weeks,” Steven Pearl said.

“We’ve got to get everybody, all hands on deck, that want to be here. And we want guys that want to be here, and guys that want to continue to keep this thing moving in the right direction.”

That’s the real problem with Pearl’s decision. It’s a symptom of a disgusting problem plaguing college basketball.

College basketball coaches are control freaks, more so than any of their peers in other sports. The transfer portal and NIL have taken away control. Folks like Bruce Pearl are taking it back, and it’s come at a cost to the players.

Pearl joined the company of Jay Wright and Tony Bennett, who started a trend by stepping down from their command posts just before the start of the season. Even though the transfer portal window opened for players to depart, it’s in no one’s best interest to leave. They have already locked in rev-share/NIL deals with their current school. There aren’t open roster spots in competitive places for them to easily walk into elsewhere. Most importantly, the school year has already started. How are they going to transfer?

Pearl is the most egregious actor of them all. He announced his retirement the day before Auburn was set to begin preseason practice and gave the job to his son. Did Pettiford spurn the NBA to play for Steven Pearl? Hell no. Could Pettiford do anything about it? Not at all.

Auburn is keeping its roster intact thanks to Bruce Pearl’s despicable actions, but will it save the Tigers from tanking? Let’s hope not.