Bruce Pearl has 'catching up to do' when show-cause ends

AUBURN -- Bruce Pearl's three-year sentence is nearly over.

Auburn's basketball coach has one week left on the NCAA show-cause penalty he received for violations he committed while at Tennessee.

Pearl says "there's no countdown" to Aug. 24, but there will be a lot of phone calls made in the wee hours of next Sunday morning.

"It'll be a fun night. My coaching staff will all be with me when Midnight strikes and I got a lot of calls to make," Pearl said. "I got a lot of catching up to do. But I'll be grateful when it's behind me."

Pearl's penalty has cost Auburn recruits, but he's been very pleased with how well his staff was able to work on the recruiting trail without him being able to interact with prospects, their families and coaches.

Next Sunday, Pearl will be able to return a lot of calls he was forced to pass on to his assistants over the last five months.

"My focus is going to be — I've got catching up to do," he said. "There's a lot of people I need thank, a lot of people have been supportive. ... The biggest thing is for me to get on the horn. There are going to be some people we meet with in person that we'll focus on."

Auburn is hosting an "Elite Camp" from 1-4 p.m. next Sunday in an effort to bring players from the eighth grade through high school seniors on campus immediately for Pearl's evaluation.

It's the aspect of recruiting Pearl enjoys most and is eager to return to.

"The way I've always done it: I'm always out there. From the time the gym opens up to the time the gym closes. I love to find them. I love to look at them and I love to look at them a lot," Pearl said. "I can't look at a player once or twice. I want to watch them five or six times. I like to do the evaluating. I want to make the decisions. ...

"A lot of times you establish those relationships in the recruiting process. I've missed out on that — particularly the younger guys. This penalty, while it's not over, I'm going to be penalized. I haven't seen the (20)17s. I haven't seen the '16s. Everybody else has. We're still going to be behind from that standpoint."