This is an opinion column.

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It would be a stunning blow to college basketball if Bruce Pearl, at the height of his power, suddenly walked away from the sport he loves to be a full-time politician.

Please no.

Not now.

Not after everything we’ve witnessed at Auburn over the last 10 years, the transformation of Auburn hoops and the birth of the best home-court atmosphere in the SEC.

Auburn is a basketball town thanks to Pearl. Think about that. Even now, it takes a minute to process it all. Is there a better story of program building in college sports than the transformation of The Jungle?

Alabama football was already established when Nick Saban came along.

Florida basketball had Billy Donovan and multiple national championships long before current national champ coach Todd Golden.

Pearl is Auburn basketball. He created it from nothing. And yet these hints of a political agenda won’t go away.

Please, make them stop.

Don’t we have enough coaches playing politics for one state?

Pearl’s name came up this week when news dropped that coach-turned-statesman Tommy Tuberville would likely run for governor. Tuberville will be a better governor than a U.S. Senator — because how could he possibly be worse — but I hate the idea of Pearl leaving Lee County for Washington without a national championship ring on his finger.

Auburn was so close last season. If only Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell and Chad Baker-Mazara could have stayed healthy.

It was a special group and it played Bruce Pearl Basketball, with love and daring and maximum passion.

When it comes to politics, Pearl says what he thinks. When it comes to his heart, he has strong convictions about the safety of Israel. I have respect for all those things, but does that mean Pearl should suddenly change careers after reaching the Final Four with the best team in the history of Auburn basketball?

When put that way, it almost seems laughable.

Pearl avoided reporters on Wednesday at SEC spring meetings after his name was linked to Tuberville’s seat in the U.S. Senate. He didn’t need to say anything, though. His actions spoke volumes.

On the same day, Auburn landed two major pieces to its new roster. Returning starter Tahaad Pettiford will be one of the best players in the country next season and 6-9 Serbian forward Filip Jović has all the makings of a college star from the moment he steps on the court.

Pearl is positioning Auburn for another run at the Final Four. That’s a fact. Everything else is rumor and hearsay.

I messaged Pearl earlier this week, joking that Sen. Pearl had a nice ring to it. He responded, but it wasn’t about that. Let’s just say that he was focused on basketball.

Two years ago, I caught Pearl off guard at SEC basketball media day when I asked him about a future in politics. It was a fair question. The context was based on Pearl’s use of social media in questioning the previous administration in the White House.

Pearl is a public figure and Auburn, let’s face it, has this weird history of turning coaches into politicians.

Pearl said he just wanted to talk about basketball, and that he was only concerned about the existential threats to Israel’s statehood. Has anything changed?

Pearl used his platform at the NCAA Tournament to advocate for the return of U.S. hostage Edan Alexander, who was kidnapped by Hamas when it declared war on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. More recently, Pearl was named chairman of the U.S. Israel Education Program.

Personally, I believe it would be incorrect to connect a line between Pearl’s involvement with the USIEP and a future in politics. Pearl has been involved with Hillel International for decades. He regularly volunteers his time to support Jewish students. There’s nothing politically motivated about that.

He does it because Pearl loves young people and he knows he has the ability and talent to affect change in a positive way through education. Politics? That’s something completely different.

Pearl’s energy as a basketball coach is infectious and it’s the reason why Pettiford is returning to Auburn and the reason why players like UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall chose the Tigers.

Pearl’s son, Steven, is going to be a great head coach. He’s next in line at Auburn. But King Bruce can’t walk away yet. We’re entering the best era in the history of college basketball and Auburn’s coach is at the top of the game.

History is here and Auburn is making it.

For Pearl and for Auburn, the national basketball spotlight is all that should matter. Everything else can wait.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”