Bruce Pearl’s final act belongs to Alijah Martin now

Bruce Pearl announced on Monday that he is stepping down as the head coach at Auburn, a little over 40 days before the start of the 2025-26 season. The move had been rumored for some time, as there is some talk Pearl might pursue a spot in the U.S. Senate, though for now, he will be an "ambassador" for Auburn.

Given his retirement from the sport of college basketball, though, his final game as a head coach will now forever be linked with Alijah Martin and the Florida Gators.

Alijah Martin put Auburn on a poster

Since Florida is a basketball school these days anyway, let's rewind to happier times and back to April when Florida and Auburn met up in the Final Four. The Tigers took a halftime lead before Florida battled back.

That's when Martin took over with two moments that will forever live in Gator lore.

His first came when he took a fast break and could have settled for a simple and easy lay-up. Instead, he took off and did his best Michael Jordan Space Jam impression.

His encore may have been the moment that made Pearl realize it was time to step away. Martin once again went full court, but this time, he was greeted by two Auburn defenders at the rim. It didn't matter as Martin created a poster for the ages.

Florida roared back from an eight-point halftime deficit to eventually win 79-73. While Walter Clayton Jr. had 34 points to lead all scorers, it was Martin's two jams that were the two iconic moments from the game.

Aubrun is now going to be led by Steven Pearal, Burce's son.

If you are keeping score at home, Steven had 126 career points during his time as a player at Tennessee under Bruce.

Clayton Jr. had 134 points in the 2025 NCAA Tournament alone.