Everything Auburn HC Steven Pearl Said at SEC Media Days

The Auburn Tigers took the stage on Wednesday at the 2025 SEC Basketball Media Days, with new head coach Steven Pearl headlining the morning.

Pearl was joined by three players – Tahaad Pettiford, Keyshawn Hall, and KeShawn Murphy – in Birmingham, Ala., where all four of them previewed the season, discussed the recent coaching change, and overviewed Auburn’s 10 new additions to the roster.

Here’s an overview of everything Pearl said during his time at the podium earlier this week.

On Auburn’s Coaching Staff…

“The staff is the reason why we're still here. We have one of the -- if not the greatest staff in college basketball. It's a staff that has been together for close to eight years almost, a majority of it. A staff that's won five SEC championships, been to two Final Fours, and since 2014 we've graduated 48 student-athletes, which is unheard of in this time of the transfer portal. We're incredibly proud of that. That's one of our goals moving forward, is to continue to grow that number.”

On Auburn’s Retention of Its Roster…

“These first three weeks have been drinking out of a fire hose. For me, I've had the fortune of watching B.P. do this for 30 years. The day-to-day stuff really didn't surprise me. I knew what I was getting into.”

“Obviously with a change like this, the first thing that goes through your mind is your players. What's best for them? For all 12 of our young men on scholarship to ultimately decide to stay at Auburn, it's a testament to Auburn and how special the place is. It's a testament to their teammates and the relationship that they've really garnered together this summer. It's a testament to our staff and the relationships they have with those players and the recruiting process.”

“I don't know if any of you have seen our non-conference schedule. It's an interesting one, to say the least. Our guys came to Auburn knowing that this was what they were stepping into. They're incredibly excited about the opportunity. They're looking forward to the opportunity to show that Auburn is still a team to be reckoned with.”

On UCF Transfer Keyshawn Hall’s Skillset…

“Yeah, I mean, you look at historically what we've had at that position, you look at Chuma Okeke, JT Thor, Jabari Smith, and even Johni Broome to an extent when he slid over to play some four last year, Keyshawn has a mold of all those guys as far as his ability to shoot the ball.”

“I would say the one area that Keyshawn is probably ahead of all those guys is his ability to put the ball on the floor, get to the rim, get contact, score through contact. He's really quick and versatile.”

“He's an interesting combination of all four of those guys in his ability to score the ball, right? I give him grief, I call him Conference Key because in conference play last year -- what'd you shoot? Like 40% from three? We need Conference Key to show up. He has been showing that as of late.”

“He'll get to the foul line. He does a good job of drawing contact and fouls, similar to what Johni would do. Shoots a really good percentage from the free-throw line.”

“He's very versatile. If you put a smaller guy on him, he's going to be able to post him up. If you put a bigger guy on him, he's just going to drive right around you. His ability to play both three and four is something we're going to work with this year. Obviously just excited for the different options that he gives us on the offensive end to be able to put him in situations to be successful.”

On the chemistry of the team…

“Yes, since June 1st, obviously we had three freshmen and a ju-co coming in. From the Sweet 16 weekend all the way up till June 1st, we were recruiting this roster. We get done recruiting the roster around May 28 when Filip Jovic commits to us. They were together from June 1 till August.”

“I've been impressed to watch their bond and unity as a unit. They knew coming in there was going to be somebody at every position they had to compete with. That's what they signed up for, to play against really good competition and players not only to help the team win but to help them grow as an individual.”

“To watch them compete at a high level, knowing how much they hate to lose, but grow with their friendships, has been really positive. I think it's a big reason why they all ultimately decided to stay. Proud of the kids and their chemistry together.”

“One of the unique things about what happened in September, we had to go through some adversity way sooner than 99% of college basketball teams had to this year. A lot of teams won't experience any adversity until November or December based on their schedule, say when they play Houston, get punched in the mouth in the first five possessions.”

“We had to go through adversity together in September. That's going to help this group play tight-knit and together, which is a blessing in disguise with B.P. stepping down.”

“To see them stay together through a difficult situation gives me a lot of hope and encouragement for the future.”

On Mississippi State transfer KeShawn Murphy…

“I don't know if you saw him in high school, but he was a shooter in high school. He was a guard. He had guard skill sets. You've been to some practices, seen some of the things he's been able to do when he puts the ball on the floor.”

“He showed in scrimmage Saturday, made three 3s in our scrimmage. He's shown the ability to stretch the floor and make the defense respect him out there. I'm really excited for him because while he was really effective at Mississippi State, considering what our fives do in our system -- we allowed Walker Kessler to shoot threes. He shot 20%. Big reason for that is he was the National Defensive Player of the Year.”

“Johni Broome shot a lot of threes. Shot I think 29% while he was at Auburn. He's one of the best players in college basketball. We allow our guys the confidence and the freedom to be able to step out and spread it. If they give the effort and energy on the defensive end, we'll allow those guys to have a lot more freedom on the offensive end.”

“When he got into the portal, he decided to come to Auburn because of what we let our fours and fives do from an offensive standpoint. He always had the skill set, and he's really excited to show moving forward.”

On When He Knew He Would Take Over When Bruce Pearl Retired, Emotions of Becoming Head Coach…

“So B.P. and I have been having hypothetical conversations about his departure for years now. You text me asking me about it all the time. Is he going to be a senator, going to TV?”

“It's something we've been talking about for years, right? Really didn't get to a point where he felt like this was time until two weeks leading up to the decision that he made on the 21st.”

“He made John Cohen and a couple of our administrators aware he was going to let them know on the 21st, the day before practice, he was either going to stay or he was going to go. It allowed them to have the opportunity to plan for both scenarios: B.P. coming back as the head coach but also him stepping aside, what we're going to do with that.”

“In addition to that, BP and John three years ago, B.P. told him, Listen, I don't know how much longer I'm going to do this. John has been actively in his mind getting prepared for this for three years now, going through all the different options of do I bring in an outside coaching staff, do I bring in a big-name guy.”

“He watched this grow, the staff grow, as a unit and stay together and not go chasing other assistant jobs, head coaching jobs. He ultimately felt like the staff had earned the right and the opportunity to continue to move this thing forward.”

“As far as when it hit me, it didn't hit me until I showed up at the gym at Neville Arena when B.P. was filming his good-bye video. John pulled me aside and was like, ‘Hey, you're the guy.’”

“I'm like, All right, here we go (smiling).”

“It all happened really fast. But I'm ready because I've spent 38 years watching him do this at a very, very high level.”