AU, Pearl impress Ado
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AUBURN | If Abdulhakim Ado didn't know Bruce Pearl before the weekend, he does now.
Ado, a four-star center from Chattanooga, Tenn., was in Auburn on an official visit Thursday through Saturday. The 6-foot-10, 200-pound senior spent much of the time with the Tigers' second-year coach.
"It was a great visit," Ado said. "That was my first visit to Auburn and I liked everything. I was with Coach Pearl pretty much the whole time. We had dinner the first night and breakfast in the morning, and then I was at practice with him watching him as he coached."
Ado is a big fan of Pearl. He saw the success the coach had at Tennessee, and expects Pearl to have the same type of success at Auburn.
"He's a great coach, and you can just look at his record to see it," Ado said. "Tennessee wasn't that good until he got there. He's also a players' coach. He picks you up energy wise as a player and tries to make you better. He's also a great person. Everything about him is great."
Ado later saw Pearl and Auburn in action. He attended the Tigers' exhibition game Friday night against Brevard College, a game Auburn won 99-59.
"It was a great atmosphere for an exhibition game," Ado said. "The team was missing a few players, but they still looked good."
Ado on Saturday made a quick stop at Jordan-Hare Stadium where Auburn's football team was hosting Ole Miss. He ran into Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs and orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, and the two men made quite an impression on Ado.
"That was one of my favorite moments of the visit," Ado said. "I really enjoyed speaking with them. Dr. Andrews is the best athletic surgeon and has lots of wisdom. And (Jacobs) was an awesome person to talk to. He seems like a great man and told me a lot of knowledgeable stuff."
Ado left the visit with the Tigers in his top four, along with Mississippi State, LSU and Penn State. Up next for Ado is an official visit to Mississippi State on Nov. 6-8. He'll take an official visit to Penn State the following week (Nov. 13-15).
Basketball's early signing period is Nov. 11-18, but Ado doesn't plan to make his decision until the spring. That's fine with Auburn. The Tigers will wait.
"They would like me to commit and sign with them in November, but they said it's up to me and if I needed to take my time to make the best decision then that's what they wanted me to do," Ado said. "Right now I'll probably wait (until the spring). I want to take my visits and not feel rushed."
Rivals ranks Ado the No. 75 overall player in the 2016 class.
Ado's Summer Highlights
