Steven Pearl calls out Auburn players for showing up late, holds them accountable

Auburn basketball coach Steven Pearl called out some of his players for showing up late and held them accountable. This was after a 95-73 win over Arkansas by the way.

It’s an area of responsibility that needs improvement, according to Pearl. Still, it’s led to some positives, especially during the win over the Razorbacks, for Blake Muschalek who got an opportunity.

“We have an issue with guys being on time,” Pearl said postgame. “And, you know, I’ve told the guys after … Purdue … if you’re late to something, you’re not going to start, or if you’re coming off the bench, and you’re late something, you’re gonna miss a rotation. So it’s as simple as that, and that’s, you know, kind of where, you know, we as a program have got to continue to get better. We got to be a little more responsible. And you know, that was the result of that tonight.”

That’s when Pearl described the effort of someone like Muschalek in the win. In 10 minutes, he had five points, one rebound and was +8 for the evening as Auburn improved to 10-6.

”On the flip side, like, really, really happy for Blake,” Pearl said. “You know, Blake is a guy that, in practice, is one of our best players. And you know, people … on Twitter can go crazy when he gets in the games. But like, if you come to practice, and some of you do, you watch how he is in practice, he’s our best defender …

“He makes shots and it pisses me off, because, like, you know, we’ll, like, play great defense for an entire possession, and then Blake will hit, like, a step back three. I’m like, ‘Dude, why don’t you do this in the game?’ He can drive by his man, and you saw tonight what he’s capable of. So, you know, in 10 minutes, he’s +8. But you know, he had that bad stretch, the answer he was +12 going into the last minute of the game. So, you know, he did a great job of getting us into our offense. He didn’t turn the ball over. He got a steal. You know, he fouls more than I did when I was in college, which is hard to do, but I love his aggressiveness. He does all the right things, and I’m happy for him.”

Lateness or not, Auburn still handled the Razorbacks, building a 15-point lead at halftime. Keyshawn Hall led Pearl’s squad with 30 points, two rebounds and five assists.

Pearl and Auburn get a few days before their next contest. They’ll hit the road to take on Missouri Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.