Bruce Pearl isn’t doing this the way that draws too many headlines in the flashy new age of the transfer portal. Aside from, say, a Walker Kessler coming from North Carolina, his approach to the transfer portal hasn’t centered around highly ranked recruits looking for a new home or those leaving big programs.

That’s what brought him players like Johni Broome from Morehead State, Wendell Green from Eastern Kentucky or Zep Jasper from Charleston.

And this offseason, looking to replace Green, Jasper and Allen Flanigan among other spots on the roster, Pearl looked further to the Division II and junior college levels.

“Our transfers were not nearly as heralded, I think, from a recruiting standpoint as I think a lot of transfers were based on coming from Power 5 schools,” Pearl said in a press conference Friday. “We made evaluations not based on the name on the front of the jerseys. We made evaluations based on how good we thought they were going to be.”

Auburn’s class of transfers includes players who could contribute right away like Denver Jones from FIU, Chaney Johnson from Alabama-Huntsville, Addarin Scott from Navarro College and Chad Baker-Mazara from Northwest Florida State College.

Some, like Jones and Baker-Mazara, have the potential to be immediate starters. But none have experience on a Power 5 level. Pearl’s approach instead focuses on players who had a wide breadth of experience and execution at whatever school they were at, regardless of the level of competition.

Pearl has Jones penciled in to take Jasper’s spot as the starting shooting guard. In a video tweeted this week, Jones made 21 consecutive 3-pointers in practice.

Jones isn’t going to be as good a defender as Jasper was, Pearl said, but he may bring better offense because of his shooting. Jones averaged more than 20 points per game last season at FIU. Those stats matter more to Pearl than the conference he played in.

“It’s just that Denver Jones could be a candidate for one of our top two or three scorers,” Pearl said. “Without question. A great shooter with great range. An ability to get downhill and score through contact. He’ll get to the foul line. A good passer.”

Baker-Mazara seems in line to take Flanigan’s place as the small forward. But finding the replacement for Flanigan was the toughest search for Pearl.

What he found in Baker-Mazara is a 6-foot-7 forward who, when playing at a junior college, stood out as one of the best players at that level. Baker-Mazara has previously played in Division I with San Diego State and Duquesne. Certainly, this level is still a jump, and one he’ll need to make quickly.

“The bad news is he’s about a buck-85, so he’s a little light in the ass,” Pearl said. “When you run certain things that require some basketball IQ offensively and defensively, I kind of can put my head down on my pillow at night knowing Chad’s going to make good decisions.”

Johnson is going to compete with Jaylin Williams for the starting spot at power forward after being, “one of the very best players in Division II basketball” according to Pearl. Pearl initially looked at Johnson and Scott’s addition as finding the backup to Williams after the departure of Yohan Traore. But Johnson has made an impact quickly to push for more playing time.

Pearl didn’t rule out playing both at the same time.

And yet mixed into it all is the newcomer who doesn’t fit into the scope of the smaller school standouts getting their chance on a bigger stage: freshman Aden Holloway.

Where Holloway does immediately fit into this experiment of new pieces is his work ethic. Pearl said Holloway is a “gym rat” and that as a whole, this may be the hardest working team he’s ever had.

The 5-star freshman brings the pedigree a player like Jones of Baker-Mazara didn’t. He may fit the profile of the star, one-and-done type point guard that lights up a highlight reel and NBA draft boards.

Where bringing in the Division II and junior college transfers who could start right away may serve as a new challenge for Pearl, he’s certainly had players like Holloway in the past. Whether it’s guards like Green, or Sharife Cooper or Jared Harper, Pearl said Holloway’s skillset is a combination of all of them.

“He probably shoots it as well or better than any of them,” Pearl said. “He’s got another gear. He’s probably physically a little farther ahead than some of the freshman point guards that we’ve had that have come in and done well.”

Holloway has the track to replace Green as Auburn’s point guard, but Tre Donaldson has pushed him in a competition, Pearl said. Like the battle between Johnson and Williams, Pearl imagines scenarios where the two could play together.

And where Pearl’s experiment may then lead to a question of chemistry, Auburn’s coach believes the fact that he brought in pieces that didn’t have the limelight helps this bunch fit together. He’s said his goal is to “get old and stay old.”

And through zigging where everyone else zagged in the transfer total, he’s done just that.