Auburn's Bruce Pearl working through recruiting show-cause penalty thanks to power of radio

Bruce Pearl Media

Auburn's new basketball coach Bruce Pearl talks to fans upon his arrival Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at the Auburn University Regional Airport in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

AUBURN, Alabama -- Every morning for Bruce Pearl this week has started on the radio.

The newly-hired Auburn coach is taking every opportunity he gets to talk about his program, which he was hired to lead Tuesday. Two days later, in between radio interviews, he traveled to ESPN's studios to serve as the network's NCAA Tournament analyst during the first two rounds of the tourney.

He donned an Auburn baseball jersey -- and even squished his head into an Auburn football helmet -- during a segment on ESPN's Mike & Mike.

"It's great exposure for Auburn to have our brand out there," Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said. "... It's great for the Auburn family and it may be a little help for recruiting, but more than anything now Auburn men's basketball is relevant."

Pearl has always been open with his program. He even opened practices for the reporters to cover during his six-year tenure at Tennessee, a rare move in the ultra-protective world of college coaches.

His stint at Auburn, at least until August, might be the most transparent college basketball program in the country because of his three-year show-cause from the NCAA for one simple reason: Pearl is unable to recruit off campus until Aug. 24.

"I can not recruit, I can't go in homes, I can't even take phone calls from high school coaches right now," Pearl said Friday morning on WJOX-FM in Birmingham. "And so one of the great challenges for me is, when somebody texts me or calls me and says, 'Hey, congratulations on the job.' If I know they're a coach, I'm not even sure I can call them back right now."

So Pearl is finding every avenue possible to sell his program. He participated in nine radio interviews, including eight national shows, on Wednesday. He is scheduled to conduct at least 25 interviews in a period of six days -- and that does not count his around-the-clock appearances on ESPN that started Friday and will last through Sunday.

His voice will be heard on 10 national radio shows, and on local shows in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New York and Washington. The busy schedule does not leave much free time. He even participated in at least one radio interview this week while running on a treadmill.

He scheduled an additional radio interview while on the air Friday morning in Birmingham.

"I'm under a show-cause that limits my contact with coaches and prospects, so if I can get on the radio and just talk about our plan, talk about Auburn basketball, I'm allowed to do that," Pearl said on WJOX-FM. "If anyone is listening, they understand why. I have over 1,200 text messages and I wish I could talk to every high school coach and every prospect that deserves my talking to them, but I can't right now. So, I'll just get on radio with you guys and next time we'll talk a little Auburn hoops."

Pearl is scheduled to return to Auburn on Monday and will stay there until Friday as he continues to build his coaching staff and communicate with players on the roster. His assistants are already in town working, and reportedly made their first scholarship offer to three-star power forward Jackson Davis of Lexington, Ky.

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