Bruce Pearl called himself an old-school guy, but this is no longer an old-school game. Trickling down from the professional level, college basketball has become more about fast-paced offense, shooting 3-pointers and getting to the basket.

So Auburn’s head coach has had to adjust. Much of that revolves around the type of offense Auburn has implemented far more this season.

Typically, as Pearl said, he relies on a four-out offense. That style means having four players begin the play outside the 3-point arc and one player, generally the center, lines up inside under the basket.

That style tends to lend itself to a more traditional big man who isn’t a threat to make any shot from range. An old-school big man, the kind Pearl has complained about not being viewed as highly by the NBA anymore.

Instead, Auburn has used more five-out sets. That would mean all five players on the court are outside the arc. That is largely what is being referred to when positionless basketball is being discussed. In many ways, positionless basketball is exactly what fits Auburn.

Positionless basketball, where any player could shoot a 3-pointer or get to the rim, has become a prevailing style in the NBA and professional leagues overseas — like in the Brooklyn Nets home of the Barclays Center where Auburn will play Notre Dame at 8 p.m. Thursday.

But why make that change?

“There were two factors involved in it: One was, as far as getting our guys ready for professional basketball,” Pearl said Monday. “I kinda felt like I needed to have our team run some of that stuff, because that’s what they’re running at the next level. I’ve always believed in being a pro-style coach. And I also thought that it would enhance both Johni (Broome) and Dylan (Cardwell’s) ability. They both have the ability to run that offense.”

Oh, and a third reason which Pearl added: it works.

Pearl and his staff learned it worked through watching a significant amount of NBA and professional European basketball.

“I’ve got some of my staff watching stuff that has nothing to do with us,” Pearl said. “What is the latest and greatest stuff out there? Let’s see if we can tweak it and find if we can put it into our system.”

It’s shown quickly at Auburn. Through two games, Auburn is averaging 87 points over its first two games. Its offense is rated by KenPom as among the top 25 in the nation with regard to adjusted offensive efficiency (i.e. how many points a team scores per 100 possessions adjusted for the quality of teams played).

And that includes Auburn playing against Baylor, a team rated in the top 25 by KenPom for adjusted defensive efficiency.

In doing so, Pearl may have also impacted his recruiting. Auburn was already recruiting at the highest sustained level in program history under Pearl. But with so many more routes to the NBA these days, it’s much more streamlined for the highest-rated recruits who would step on a college campus with their mind set on the NBA before playing a college game.

Auburn has chased some of these elite players and landed some in Jabari Smith and Aden Holloway. Others, like Kansas-commit Flory Bidunga or Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson, have been top-ranked players Auburn has made legitimate runs at where the program may not have had enough caché in decades prior.

Though Auburn’s program has always been a stronger recruiter under Pearl — he’s brought in 10 signing classes with a top 100 recruit — eight of the program’s top 15 signees ever, according to 247Sports, have come since 2020.

Within the last week, Auburn officially announced the signing of five-star point guard Tahaad Pettiford and four-star forward Jakhi Howard. Both are among those eight signees in the top 15.

Auburn’s two-man 2024 class is in the top 10 nationally in terms of average player ranking.

Pearl can entice recruits by playing the style of basketball they’ll have to know at the next level anyway — even though Pearl said he doesn’t like to run what everyone else runs.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]