It's no secret that Atlanta has long been a place where many Auburn students come from, and graduates move to. Outside of the University of Georgia, Auburn has the largest alumni base in the greater Atlanta area.

So it makes sense that with all the basketball talent that comes out of the Peach State's capital combined with its proximity to the Plains, Bruce Pearl would be able to attract some of the top players to come and put on an Auburn jersey.

And how.

As the Auburn coach points out, six Tigers have been drafted since 2019, and all of them have ties to the ATL.

"Chuma and Isaac and J.T. and Sharife and Jabari and Walker," Pearl said. "Almost all of those guys won championships at Auburn. That's significant."

The 2022-23 roster is no different, with K.D. Johnson, who hails from Atlanta, and Dylan Cardwell playing at McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Ga., just outside the city limits. Needless to say, Atlanta has been great to the building of Auburn's program to what it is currently, and it has been a concentrated effort to get as much exposure as possible in the city.

On Friday, Pearl landed a commitment from 4-star center Peyton Marshall from Marietta, Ga., a northern suburb of Atlanta.

That continues on Saturday when the No. 11 Tigers take on Memphis in State Farm Arena in front of a crowd likely to be very pro-Auburn in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.

"Part of my desire to support this tournament was to be able to continue to take our team to Atlanta," Pearl said. "The crowds that have been at State Farm have been impressive for Auburn, and recruits and their families definitely take notice. Our players — our Atlanta players, particularly, going home — will obviously appreciate that."

In the same tournament last season, Auburn fans made it fill like a game in Neville Arena as the Tigers routed Nebraska, 99-68. As long as this tournament is held, Pearl says he wants to be a big part of it, especially if top teams continue to be Auburn's matchup.

"It regionally made sense for us," Pearl said. "Recruiting made sense for us. But the only way it was going to go over is if the best teams in the region participated in it.

"Atlanta has been great to us."