AUBURN | Bruce Pearl may not be able to recruit right now, but his reputation is working wonders for the Tigers.

Three-star guard T.J. Lang on Tuesday committed to play for Auburn beginning later this year. He signed with Virginia Tech last year, was released from that scholarship in late March after a coaching change at Tech and now plans to spend his career with Pearl.

That decision wasn't easy. Pearl is barred from meeting with recruits until August, but Lang's frequent chats with assistant coaches Chuck Person and Tony Jones instilled trust.

"It was tough to not be able to talk with your head coach, but these coaches recruited me really hard and showed me that they really care about me," Lang said. "Coach Jones has been with Coach Pearl so long and he knows exactly what they want. They reassured me that I'm exactly what they want."

Lang, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard, averaged 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game for McGill-Toolen High in Mobile last season. He averaged 17.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a junior.

He's a good shooter, but will need to add weight to provide more than token rebounding ability in the Southeastern Conference. Lang currently weighs 180 pounds.

"I'll be playing shooting guard at Auburn and I think that's a perfect fit for me," Lang said. "I'm a volume scorer. I can really shoot. Auburn is going to be a run-and-gun offense and that really fits me well. I feel really good about this decision."

Lang is the son of Antonio Lang, who played at Duke from 1990-94 and later spent six seasons in the NBA. He coached professional ball in Japan last season, but is in the process of returning to the United States for good.

"Him being able to see my games at Auburn is big," Lang said. "I can't wait to get started."

Lang said he'll arrive later this summer.

AUBURN's 2014 NEWCOMERS:

SG/SF T.J. Lang, 6-foot-7, 180 lbs., Mobile

SF Jack Purchase, 6-foot-7, 200 lbs., Australia

SG/SF Sam Logwood, 6-foot-6, 190 lbs., Indiana

PG K.C. Ross-Miller, 6-foot, 170 lbs., New Mexico State

PF Cinmeon Bowers, 6-foot-7, 235 lbs., Chipola, Fla.