The five seniors who will step onto the floor at Auburn Arena for the final time on Tuesday night took distinctly different paths to the University.
Cinmeon Bowers and Cole Stockton came to The Plains from junior college, while Tyler Harris transferred to Auburn for his final season after graduating from Providence.
Jonathan Walker walked onto the team for his senior season after spending two years on the track team.
Jordon Granger was the lone player to be at Auburn for all four years.
Though they arrived in different ways and have played different roles on the team since, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl will lament their departures all the same.
“(Senior Night is) always an emotional night for me,” Pearl said.
Bowers came to Auburn as the top-ranked junior college player in the country and has not disappointed on the court.
He has ranked second in the SEC in rebounding in both seasons at Auburn and has totaled 27 career double-doubles.
“For him to pick Auburn at a time when we really needed him is something I hope our fans and Auburn Family will always remember,” Pearl said. “He took advantage of the opportunity by developing his game inside and out, and certainly he had some terrific, terrific moments.”
Bowers has not been without off-the-court issues.
He’s been suspended twice, but Pearl has stated on multiple occasions that the good Bowers brought to the program outweighed the bad.
The forward believes his experiences at Auburn, including the disciplinary issues, have taught him valuable lessons and made him a better person.
“I feel like I've grown more into a man these past couple of years,” Bowers said. “I learned from my mistakes. No more stupid stuff.”
Granger has steadily improved his game during his four years on The Plains.
After playing limited minutes in his first two seasons under former coach Tony Barbee, Granger has seen an increased role under Pearl.
He had the best game of his career at home against Georgia this season, when he posted career highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds on his way to his first career double-double.
But Granger’s biggest improvement has come off the court, according to Pearl.
Whereas Granger came to school as a socially awkward child from a rough part of St. Louis, Pearl said he is leaving as a man equipped to handle the world around him.
“Jordon Granger is probably as good an example — although Cim’s a pretty good example, as well — of what Auburn can do, what the University is capable of doing,” Pearl said. “Auburn changed him. He … really has got a good foundation now with his degree, and I think he’s going to have a really good impact on his world and on our world.”
Harris switched positions from small forward to center in his lone season at Auburn, filling an immediate need down low for the Tigers.
After having not posted a double-double in his career prior to his arrival, he is ranked fourth in the SEC this season with eight. He also scored his 1,000th career point Jan. 12 at Vanderbilt.
“He brought great leadership and toughness and, again, put us in position to do a few things,” Pearl said. “We don’t win at Bud Walton Arena without him. We don’t beat Kentucky without him. We don’t beat Alabama without him. … There’s some things that he did that obviously made an enormous difference.”
Walker and Stockton, both walk-ons, served on the scout team for Auburn this year.
Though they rarely saw the court in games, their impact did not go unnoticed by Pearl.
“They came to practice every day and gave us everything they had,” he said. “Our scout team oftentimes beat our team [in practice].”
Though the five players brought different experiences with them to Auburn and have had different ones since, Pearl believes there’s one constant — they’re all better for having been here.
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