AUBURN — Auburn basketball is one of the deepest teams in the country, consistently going 11 players deep into its rotation. It's something coach Bruce Pearl has previously said he values, as it allows his five players on the floor to always be fresh as opponents get worn out.

It's also a tool other teams used in an attempt to take a piece or two from the Tigers this past offseason, according to Pearl: "Many of the returning guys could’ve gone other places," he said Tuesday. "Half of our team was recruited. Even the guys that didn’t enter the transfer portal were recruited off my team. We won’t do it, but that happens. Saying, ‘Why would you go back to Auburn for 15 minutes when you could come here and start?’

"I don't promise guys starts. I promise them opportunities."

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Auburn made five scholarship additions last offseason: Five-star freshman Aden Holloway, former junior college standouts Chad Baker-Mazara (Northwest Florida State) and Addarin Scott (Navarro College) and transfers Chaney Johnson (Alabama-Huntsville) and Denver Jones (Florida International).

The Tigers have 10 players averaging 15 or more minutes this season, and their leader in the category − Johni Broome — sits at 23.4. Broome is also the leading scorer at 15.3 points per game. He's trailed by Jaylin Williams (12.5), Aden Holloway (10) and Chad Baker-Mazara (9.2)

“All of our kids that transferred in came from mid-major, junior college and Division II," Pearl said. "All of them. They’re all stepping up a level. They wanted an opportunity at that level. ... I just love the idea of, again, Denver and Chad and Chaney and AD as our four transfers coming in and having the ability to grow as a student-athlete with the academic support that they get and the athletic support that they get and the training and the coaching and the facilities and the travel.

"They’re happy to be here, and so therefore willing to accept less."

The Tigers (16-2, 5-0 SEC) are the last remaining team in the SEC without a conference loss. They'll look to stay that way by beating Alabama (12-6, 4-1) on the road Wednesday (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Bruce Pearl says teams tried to recruit players away from Auburn