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Steven Pearl says one of his Auburn assistant coaches was courtside for the Atlantic Sun tournament, but insists the outing wasn't a rules violation.
According to a report by The Athletic, Tigers assistant coach Ian Borders was in attendance for the ASUN tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., but it was allowed as "permissible activity.”
These details surface as Queens University coach Grant Leonard took to social media to call out Borders and claimed it was a planned recruiting trip. “We had an SEC assistant buy a courtside seat for one of our conference tournament games to ‘get ahead’ of recruiting (one) of my kids,” Leonard wrote on X.
Queens won the ASUN title to clinch its first NCAA Tournament bid.
Pearl tried to defend his position with a text to The Athletic. He pointed out details from an email sent to all Power Four schools on Feb. 27:
“A basketball staff member attending another conference’s basketball tournament would not be prohibited by 11.6 (Scouting of Opponents) since it is unlikely/impossible to be a future opponent at this time of the season.
“Staff (who are not permissible off-campus recruiters) may observe/evaluate only student-athletes NOT in the transfer portal. Which means, if any participating student-athlete has entered the transfer portal (and becomes a PSA), all recruiting legislation applies — including recruiting periods, counting evaluations, contact restrictions on the day of competition, and permissible recruiters.”
However, Leonard insists he personally witnessed contact between the assistant and players happen. “That blatant, I haven’t seen it. Live scouting, in the stands, is one thing,” he told The Athletic. “On the floor, in a courtside seat, trying to interact with players? That’s very different to me.”
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Clearly, Leonard isn't happy with the interaction or Auburn crossing a line. While this doesn't seem to be illegal, it's still questionable conduct. “Is this the route we’re really trying to go down? Maybe the NCAA was wrong,” Leonard added.
We'll find out quickly how this will play out. The transfer portal for men’s college basketball opens one day after the national championship game on April 7.
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