The Auburn men’s basketball staff will have a different look under second-year head coach Bruce Pearl in 2015-16 as assistant coach Tony Jones has resigned to pursue other coaching opportunities, while current assistant coach Chuck Person, and staff members Todd Golden and Steven Pearl have each been promoted.
One of the greatest players in Auburn history, Person has been elevated to associate head coach and has been signed to a three-year contract. Golden, who was the director of basketball operations last season, has been promoted to assistant coach, while Pearl will assume Golden’s operations position after serving as an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“Tony and I have been together for many years and accomplished a lot of great things together,” Pearl said. “I am appreciative of Tony’s contributions and thank him and his family.”
A 20-year college coaching veteran, Jones spent 11 seasons as an assistant to Pearl at Auburn, Tennessee and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
“After much thought, careful consideration and conversations with my family, I have decided to pursue another coaching opportunity,” Jones said. “My family and I have enjoyed our time at Auburn and the way we were welcomed and embraced by the entire Auburn family. I want to thank Coach Pearl for his friendship, loyalty and our long-time relationship coaching together.”
The all-time leading scorer at Auburn with 2,311 points, Person was a two-time All-American at Auburn (1985-86) a three-time first-team All-SEC pick. A 13-year NBA veteran, Person joined Auburn’s staff last year after coaching 14 years professionally, including 13 in the NBA.
“There’s not a more qualified and capable assistant coach in the country than Chuck Person,” Pearl said. “He has tremendous ability to teach the game and communicate to players and there’s not a person better than Chuck that knows what it takes to help me lead the Auburn program back to where it belongs.”
A former standout at Saint Mary’s, Golden helped lead the Gaels to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and was second in the nation in assists to turnover ratio as a senior in 2007-08. Golden came to Auburn in 2014 from Columbia where he was an assistant coach and director of basketball operations in two years.
“When our season ended, Todd was pursued and offered coaching positions, yet he chose to stay at Auburn and help me build this program,” Pearl said. “One of my goals when I hired him was to have him on my coaching staff within two years. As a former standout point guard at Saint Mary’s, he will now be able to be more involved in recruiting and be able to be on the floor with our new point guards, so the timing couldn’t be better.”
Steven Pearl played four years at Tennessee from 2007-11, helping the Vols to four NCAA Tournament appearances, two SEC East championships and an Elite 8 appearance in 2010. Pearl was a medical sales representative for Stryker Corporation for three years before joining the Auburn staff.
“It’s been a blessing to be Steven’s father and watch him grow up, play basketball at the SEC level and be his coach,” Pearl said. “For him to give up a promising career outside of the game and join me when I came to Auburn is rewarding and significant. He has a great mind and this is another valuable step necessary to be successful head coach.”
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Photo Courtesy Auburn Athletics
