Auburn's Bruce Pearl a vocal leader of a trio of Jewish coaches with teams at the Final Four

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, Florida's Todd Golden and Duke's Jon Scheyer are basketball rivals at the Final Four with a unique connection: All are Jewish, with careers that have cut various paths through Israel.

To have three Jewish head coaches at one of the biggest events in college sports comes as university campuses grapple with protests over the Israel-Hamas war, Jews are regularly pressed for opinions on the conflict and the Trump administration cracks down on schools it contends are not doing enough to fight antisemitism.

“As a young Jewish boy growing up in Boston, I would have been proud” of three Jewish head coaches leading the sport, Pearl said Friday, the day before his Tigers square off against Golden's Gators.

And it is a point of pride today for some in the Jewish community in the U.S. and abroad.

“It's huge, especially this year with antisemitism on the rise,” said Erez Sherman, senior rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles who hosts the “Rabbi on the Sidelines” podcast on faith in sports and has had Pearl as a guest several times. “They (each) have been part of the Jewish-Israel story and coach Pearl takes it to another level."

Pearl, 65, is by far the the most outspoken of the three about his Judaism and pro-Israel activism. Earlier at this year's NCAA Tournament, he publicly called for the release the of Edan Alexander, the last living American being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas. The comments prompted a thank-you call from Israel President Isaac Herzog for raising awareness on the hostage issue.

Pearl made a point of mentioning Alexander again during a news conference Friday. He pulled a dog tag from under his shirt that he wears as a reminder of the hostages still being held.

“I don't always wear it outside because I want it close to my heart," Pearl said. “It's just a reminder that, while we're all celebrating this incredible championship in San Antonio, there's tremendous suffering in the Middle East, and we pray for peace. And the hostages to come home. If the hostages are released, the death and dying will stop.”

The Jewish connection to this year's Final Four is not all serious.

Golden noted this week that being a Jew helped him recruit Florida's star guard Walter Clayton Jr. back to his home state as a transfer from Iona in 2023.

Golden said he thought he already had Clayton locked in when the player's mother called the him on Easter Sunday to warn him her son might be leaning toward joining Rick Pitino at St. John's.

“I guess one of the benefits of being Jewish is that we don't celebrate Easter. Got on a plane that afternoon, flew up, met with Walt on Easter Sunday evening,” Golden said. “Before we left that night, he let us know he was going to come home.”

All three coaches have direct basketball connections to the Jewish state.

In 2009, Pearl coached the U.S. team at the Maccabiah Games in Israel, an international sports events for Jewish and Israeli athletes. The U.S. beat the host team in the final for the gold medal. A key player and co-captain of that squad was Golden, who had finished his college career at St. Mary’s.

Scheyer, 37, and Golden, 39, also hold dual American-Israel citizenship and briefly played professionally ...