Auburn's Men's Basketball team starts practice Friday in preparation for the 42nd and final season in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers have a lot to look forward to with the return of senior guard and leading scorer DeWayne Reed, leading three-point shooter senior guard Tay Waller and senior forward Lucas Hargrove off a team that recorded the second most wins in Auburn history, going 24-12.
"We're very excited about the start of the new season," said head coach Jeff Lebo. "We start Friday at 5 o'clock with the first official practice and are excited to finish in the arena and going into the new one."
Lebo said they will have some new faces on the team this year, but is excited about having experience in the back court with Reed and Waller.
Reed ranked third in the Southeastern Conference with 1.9 steals, sixth in assists with 3.7 and 17th in scoring with 13.2 points per game.
He averaged 16 points and 3.7 rebounds in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Waller averaged 12.1 points last year and ranked second in the SEC making 100 three-point field goals, which also ranked second on Auburn's single season chart.
He ranked third in the SEC, shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range and finished the season strong. He averaged 13.8 points and shot 42.5 percent from three-point range in the final 12 games.
Auburn lost three four- year starters in Quantez Robertson, Rasheem Barrett and Korvotney Barber, but has highly rated newcomers to provide an extra boost.
Such players include 6-foot-8 junior college transfer Kenny Gabriel, three-time Class AAA All-State selection Andre Malone, two-time first-team Class 4A All-State pick Earnest Ross, 6-foot-10 freshman Rob Chubb and 6-foot-9 freshman Ty Armstrong.
"It's probably the most solid class we have seen," Lebo said. "I think we have guys that want to work. I think we have some guys, too, that are body wise, for high school kids, a little bit more ready like Malone, Ross and Ty Armstrong.
Auburn fell short of reaching the NIT final four with a 74-72 loss to Baylor in the quarterfinals.
Lebo believes it will help the team realize what they need to do in order to become even better.
"We got a taste of what it was like to win," Lebo said. "We had so many meaningful games coming down the stretch that we handled very well. It seemed every game grew with importance and for our guys to be able to play in those types of games is very valuable to the group."
Auburn will begin with an exhibition game against Miles Nov. 6 at Beard-Eaves followed by the season opener against Niagara Nov. 13.
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