In his latest press conference, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl further elaborated on his team’s play in Friday’s exhibition win versus Eckerd.
“We played a little better than I gave us credit for," Pearl said. "Part of it I think is my eyes were to what's coming up and what we are playing against."
Even with the Tigers high-paced offense, they were "active" defensively and held the Tritons to a sub-30 field goal percentage and forced 22 turnovers which did help contribute to 19 fast break points in the game.
“I thought we got really good point guard play, J'von McCormick and Samir Doughty in particular,” Pearl said.
McCormick, who tallied 20 points in only 23 minutes, emerged as the team’s leading playmaker. Doughty in his new role also added 14 points on eight shot attempts.
Pearl also added he thinks it's “really important" that freshman point guard Tyrell Jones develops to become the true backup to McCormick.
"We are certainly gonna need him in there," Pearl said. "Whether it's for depth or if we sustain injury or foul trouble.”
Austin Wiley, who on Monday was named to the All-SEC second team, will be a focal point of the offense moving forward, according to Pearl. Wiley had a "quiet" double-double with 10 points and 10 boards in the exhibition.
“We can do an even better job of getting him deep touches and take advantage of his presence on the inside," Pearl said.
Redshirt sophomore Jamal Johnson also spoke on his team’s versatility and how it helps them — and that includes himself.
“Samir plays 1 and 2, Isaac Okoro plays 3 and 4, Danjel plays 4 and 3, Anfernee 4 and 5. We have a lot of versatile players," Johnson said.
The Memphis transfer Johnson and all the other Tigers newcomers will officially hit the court for their first game Tuesday night against Georgia Southern at 8 p.m. CST in Auburn Arena.
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