Losing a senior athlete's leadership is always hard, but the men's basketball team is about to say goodbye to its MVP.
Senior Tay Waller was named the Most Valuable Player at the 21st annual Auburn Basketball Awards Banquet Tuesday at the Hotel at Auburn University.
Waller was also awarded Outstanding Offensive Player and won an award for most three-pointers made in the SEC.
Waller made 3.4 three pointers a game and was ranked fourth nationally.
Waller said playing basketball runs in the family and looked up to his father as a great basketball player.
"My older brother always had a lot of friends over, and they were always playing basketball," Waller said. "I always wanted to play with them."
This season, Waller was second in the SEC in scoring.
He shot 41.0 percent from 3-point range, was ranked eighth shooting 47.4 percent from the field and was ranked eighth in the league, averaging 15.3 points.
Waller, who was a junior college transfer, said he came to Auburn because of the proximity to his family in Manchester, Ga.
"I wanted to stay an hour and a half from home so all my family and friends can come to my games over here," Waller said. "I was recruited out of JUCO I guess because it was closer, and I wanted my family to see me play."
Waller has been a strong force offensively for Auburn.
He is the first Auburn player since All-American Wesley Person in 1994 to score 20 points or more in five straight SEC games.
As a junior, Waller started 35 of 36 games and averaged 12.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals.
He was also a team-leader in three-point shots, hitting 37 percent of shots taken.
He made 100 three point shots that season, making him second in Auburn's history for threes made in a single season.
Waller said the MVP award was a surprise to him, but not to his family.
"I wasn't expecting to win," Waller said. "Honestly. I mean once I heard my name called there was a smile on my face and everyone in my family had a smile on their faces."
Looking ahead, Waller said he hopes to play basketball professionally for the Lakers.
He said Kobe Bryant is his favorite player and he would be honored to play with him.
"Right now, I'm having try outs and work outs so I just keep praying and hoping that everything goes well at workouts, and hopefully I can play pro ball somewhere," Waller said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
