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ATLANTA — At first, Bruce Pearl laughed. Then, the more he reflected, he couldn't help but cry.
Just outside of Auburn's locker room at State Farm Arena, the Tigers' head coach got a question he wasn't expecting. It was about K.T. Harrell, and the role his shot more than 3,650 days ago played. Nobody knew it at the time, but it would change the course of Auburn basketball.
These days, Harrell is the director of basketball operations for the Michigan Wolverines. But back then, he was a guard on Pearl's first squad at Auburn, which was in the midst of its sixth straight losing season.
"Through no fault of their own, K.T. and maybe only one or two others were SEC level players," Pearl told the Free Press on Thursday. "But they knew the way we were recruiting, the expectations we had. ... I so terribly wanted them to be a part of our mission. We struggled throughout that year, until the SEC tournament."
MOVING PIECES: Michigan basketball's Dusty May doesn't like timing of transfer portal, either
Indeed, on March 13, 2015, down eight with less than three minutes to play, Harrell caught fire for the 13th-seeded Tigers in the SEC quarterfinals.
The SEC's leading scorer (at 18.5 points a night while hitting 43.5% on 3s) registered 15 consecutive points for the Tigers, including a game-tying 3 from the top of the key to force overtime. He finished with a season-high 29 points and led his team to a 73-70 win and an SEC tourney semifinal berth.
Pearl still jokes LSU should've fouled before the pin-down screen.
"That was a big moment for our program," Harrell told the Free Press on Thursday morning with a smile, just before U-M opened its first Sweet 16 practice ahead of Friday's NCAA tournament matchup against Auburn. "First time Auburn had seen some type of success in however long it was, winning three games in three days in the tournament, which Auburn hadn't done in years."
It was just a small taste of SEC success — the Tigers hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2003 and wouldn't make it until 2018— but "BP," as Harrell calls him, still credits that night in Nashville for a program-wide boost.
"(Pearl) always said that was what laid the foundation for all the success they had," Harrell said. "In my mind it doesn't come close to the successful seasons they've had thus far, but it's cool to be part of some history."
And now Harrell spends his time getting the Wolverines ready for some potential history of their own, as 5-seed U-M (27-9) gets ready to face 1-seed Auburn (30-5) in the NCAA tournament South region Sweet 16 on Friday (9:39 p.m., CBS).
It wasn't just one game for Harrell: His 1,196 points in two seasons are the most ever by an Auburn player of that span. Harrell, who is second at Auburn in free throw percentage (83.9%) and sixth in 3-point percentage (40%) went one to work on Pearl's staff as a graduate assistant (2020-22) before he joined now-Michigan coach Dusty May's staff at Florida Atlantic.
"He was a great, great communicator," Pearl said. "Had the ability to connect with players, but also a real loyalty to the coaching staff, understanding a place in the middle assistant coaches have to be at. ... He walked it beautifully."
Now, just a few years after being on staff at his alma mater, Harrell spent Thursday pondering the idea that he could help eliminate it from the NCAA tourney. Or that it might eliminate his current team.
"A little bit, kind of full circle for me," Harrell said when asked if the situation felt strange. "Played there, got my first coaching job as a GA there so to compete against them is a little weird, but super excited for the opportunity, looking forward to seeing some familiar faces."
Harrell has insight into how Pearl runs a program, seeing it from two sides — as a player and then a staffer — and now he will see it from a third — as an opposing staffer.
"He does a great job of making his guys want to run through a wall for him," Harrell said or Pearl. "They're going to be excited to play, going to play with extreme confidence...so we've got to be ready to play."
Pearl and Harrell aren't the only ones with mixed feelings over the reunion. Auburn wing Chris Moore is prepping to see a friend — and someone he looked up to — on the other sideline.
"K.T. was like my mentor, man, I spent like two years with him," Moore said. "He left and I was a little sad because me and K.T. had a real, real good relationship. But he's been winning every since he left, been at FAU and won, now he's at Michigan and is winning. I'm just real proud of him and the journey he chose to tackle."
There will be less pride Friday, as one or the other, Harrell or Pearl, Michigan or Auburn, will be headed home.
But from Pearl's vantage, the only reason he'll be experiencing it is because of a man on the other sideline.
"K.T. and those boys played," Pearl said, wiping tears from one eye and then the other. "They lost a lot, but they didn't quit. None of this here would be possible, I don't think, if it wasn't for that first-year team, where K.T was the guy."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: K.T Harrell starred at Auburn. Now he's building Michigan basketball
Continue reading...
Just outside of Auburn's locker room at State Farm Arena, the Tigers' head coach got a question he wasn't expecting. It was about K.T. Harrell, and the role his shot more than 3,650 days ago played. Nobody knew it at the time, but it would change the course of Auburn basketball.
These days, Harrell is the director of basketball operations for the Michigan Wolverines. But back then, he was a guard on Pearl's first squad at Auburn, which was in the midst of its sixth straight losing season.
"Through no fault of their own, K.T. and maybe only one or two others were SEC level players," Pearl told the Free Press on Thursday. "But they knew the way we were recruiting, the expectations we had. ... I so terribly wanted them to be a part of our mission. We struggled throughout that year, until the SEC tournament."
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MOVING PIECES: Michigan basketball's Dusty May doesn't like timing of transfer portal, either
Indeed, on March 13, 2015, down eight with less than three minutes to play, Harrell caught fire for the 13th-seeded Tigers in the SEC quarterfinals.
The SEC's leading scorer (at 18.5 points a night while hitting 43.5% on 3s) registered 15 consecutive points for the Tigers, including a game-tying 3 from the top of the key to force overtime. He finished with a season-high 29 points and led his team to a 73-70 win and an SEC tourney semifinal berth.
Pearl still jokes LSU should've fouled before the pin-down screen.
"That was a big moment for our program," Harrell told the Free Press on Thursday morning with a smile, just before U-M opened its first Sweet 16 practice ahead of Friday's NCAA tournament matchup against Auburn. "First time Auburn had seen some type of success in however long it was, winning three games in three days in the tournament, which Auburn hadn't done in years."
It was just a small taste of SEC success — the Tigers hadn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2003 and wouldn't make it until 2018— but "BP," as Harrell calls him, still credits that night in Nashville for a program-wide boost.
"(Pearl) always said that was what laid the foundation for all the success they had," Harrell said. "In my mind it doesn't come close to the successful seasons they've had thus far, but it's cool to be part of some history."
And now Harrell spends his time getting the Wolverines ready for some potential history of their own, as 5-seed U-M (27-9) gets ready to face 1-seed Auburn (30-5) in the NCAA tournament South region Sweet 16 on Friday (9:39 p.m., CBS).
It wasn't just one game for Harrell: His 1,196 points in two seasons are the most ever by an Auburn player of that span. Harrell, who is second at Auburn in free throw percentage (83.9%) and sixth in 3-point percentage (40%) went one to work on Pearl's staff as a graduate assistant (2020-22) before he joined now-Michigan coach Dusty May's staff at Florida Atlantic.
"He was a great, great communicator," Pearl said. "Had the ability to connect with players, but also a real loyalty to the coaching staff, understanding a place in the middle assistant coaches have to be at. ... He walked it beautifully."
Now, just a few years after being on staff at his alma mater, Harrell spent Thursday pondering the idea that he could help eliminate it from the NCAA tourney. Or that it might eliminate his current team.
"A little bit, kind of full circle for me," Harrell said when asked if the situation felt strange. "Played there, got my first coaching job as a GA there so to compete against them is a little weird, but super excited for the opportunity, looking forward to seeing some familiar faces."
Harrell has insight into how Pearl runs a program, seeing it from two sides — as a player and then a staffer — and now he will see it from a third — as an opposing staffer.
"He does a great job of making his guys want to run through a wall for him," Harrell said or Pearl. "They're going to be excited to play, going to play with extreme confidence...so we've got to be ready to play."
Pearl and Harrell aren't the only ones with mixed feelings over the reunion. Auburn wing Chris Moore is prepping to see a friend — and someone he looked up to — on the other sideline.
"K.T. was like my mentor, man, I spent like two years with him," Moore said. "He left and I was a little sad because me and K.T. had a real, real good relationship. But he's been winning every since he left, been at FAU and won, now he's at Michigan and is winning. I'm just real proud of him and the journey he chose to tackle."
You must be registered for see images attach
There will be less pride Friday, as one or the other, Harrell or Pearl, Michigan or Auburn, will be headed home.
But from Pearl's vantage, the only reason he'll be experiencing it is because of a man on the other sideline.
"K.T. and those boys played," Pearl said, wiping tears from one eye and then the other. "They lost a lot, but they didn't quit. None of this here would be possible, I don't think, if it wasn't for that first-year team, where K.T was the guy."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: K.T Harrell starred at Auburn. Now he's building Michigan basketball
Continue reading...
