BIRMINGHAM — For the first time since 2014, Auburn basketbal l had a different head coach stepping to the lectern at the SEC's Basketball Tipoff.

Steven Pearl , the son of his predecessor, Bruce Pearl , is stepping into Year 1 as the program's leader, after his father's retirement Sept. 22. The younger Pearl was immediately elevated when the news was announced, after spending nine seasons in various roles with the program.

The first three weeks on the job have been like "drinking out of a fire hose," Steven Pearl said Wednesday, Oct. 15. "For me, I've had the fortune of watching BP (Bruce Pearl) do this for 30 years. The day-to-day stuff really didn't surprise me. I knew what I was getting into."

His first focus wasn't so much on him, he said. Instead, it was on his players, and ha

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