Auburn Tigers have Budding Star in Assistant Coach Mike Burgomaster

Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl recognized the talent of Mike Burgomaster and his team is better for it.

Auburn Tigers assistant coach Mike Burgomaster is making a name for himself as an up and coming coach in the NCAA ranks. / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

The men who help build championship-caliber teams as assistants never truly receive the acclaim or plaudits from the public, unless they aspire to become head coaches themselves. Phil Jackson enjoyed championship years with Tex Winter and Jim Clemons.

 In 1975 former Baltimore Colts head coach Ted Marchibroda gave a 23-year-old Bill Belichick his first coaching gig. Coaches with foresight understand that times, especially in sport, change rapidly. Understanding this The Athletic's Brendan Marks, profiles Auburn assistant Mike Burgomaster. 

The article goes into depth, but it leaves out the overarching meaning. In a world of dictators, Bruce Pearl understands how delegation helps teams succeed.

"Burgomaster isn’t the sole reason Auburn is in that lofty position, but he has been integral to maximizing and updating Pearl’s longtime offense," wrote Marks on The Athletic. "Since Burgomaster was promoted to his current position in summer 2023, he’s helped turn center Johni Broome first into an All-American, and now into the Wooden Award front-runner."

His accomplishments speak volumes, however, people will quickly say that Burgomaster never played a second of college basketball, so how can he actually coach? Dusty May, current head coach at Michigan, never played a second of college basketball. May led Florida Atlantic to an improbable Final Four run. Now, his Michigan team sits at 11-3. 

Having intricate knowledge of basketball and man management isn't tied to athletic prowess.

Endorsement

Bruce Pearl coaches by gut feeling and rationality. When he met Burgomaster, a light turned on for him. 

"But when I met Mike, I liked him, and I thought his basketball IQ was higher for somebody his age. I don’t know. I saw something in him that made me say, this guy’s going to make us better” Pearl told Marks.

Like any and every coach, Pearl wants to not just win, but win the national title. He doesn't seem to care about taking all of the credit. That signifies winning the right way. No man is an island, and coaching dictators are slowly leaving college. 

Players, armed with NIL cash and the threat of the transfer portal do not respond to the authoritarian pursuits. If teamwork makes the dream work, then Pearl understands the cooperative concept better than most. 

Bottom Line

Now that Mike Burgomaster. received love from a national publication, you cannot help but see the Auburn's men's basketball coach differently. Bruce Pearl, master recruiter, evolved into a tactician that realizes that you win in a group.

This Auburn team possesses a different aura around it where they don't hope to play well and upset teams. They expect to not only win but dominate in the process.

An assistant, residing in the shadows until recently, plays a monumental role.