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A spirit that is not afraid

Bruce Pearl speaks on exhibition versus Southern Indiana

Horace Spencer (0) jumps for the tip off during Auburn Men's Basketball vs. Tennessee on Saturday, March 9, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.
Horace Spencer (0) jumps for the tip off during Auburn Men's Basketball vs. Tennessee on Saturday, March 9, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn basketball has its first test of the season on Friday, an exhibition against Division II Southern Indiana. While USI may be a team casual fans have never heard of, it is a program very near to head coach Bruce Pearl. 

Pearl started his head coaching career with the Screaming Eagles, back in 1992. Pearl coached for Southern Indiana for nine seasons before taking over at Milwaukee in 2001. 

“I have always tried to represent USI everywhere I have been,” Pearl said. “It is a big part of my history and my family’s history.”

Now at Auburn, Pearl has a roster that may start five newcomers against the older and more experienced Screaming Eagles squad. Pearl said that his team will certainly have the size advantage, a credit to Auburn’s Division I standing, but his team’s youth will certainly cause its issues.

Pearl said “there will be some bumps” in how his team gels together. Southern Indiana will be the first test. 

“We’ve got some good young players, but that’s going to be a challenge for us, their experience and their physicality,” Pearl said.

In regards to who USI has on its roster, Pearl said that guard Jelani Simmons, forward Jacob Polakovich, guard Mateo Rivera and forward Clayton Hughes are the Screaming Eagles’ key pieces. 

“Simmons looks like he could play for anybody,” Pearl said. “For us for sure. He scores at all three levels. Polakovich - big, strong, physical. He has great hands, catches everything. I have some young front line guys that will really be challenged by him.”

Pearl admitted that he had not watched much of Southern Indiana yet, but what he had seen, made him have some reservations on how his squad would match up. 

“They'll be attacking our five men in ball screens, so our five-man ball screen defense is going to have to be spot-on and that's great because we're going to see that,” Pearl said. “When you've got a 7-footer and two 6-10s, you're going to take that big guy and you're going to make him guard the perimeter.That will be a great challenge for us because some of that stuff we will see all year long.” 

As for who will be the starting five on the court, Pearl mostly held back. 

He did say that Wendell Green Jr., the transfer guard from Eastern Kentucky, will start at point guard. Zep Jasper, the transfer from College of Charleston, will play behind Green. 

Pearl said that his bench will go to 11 deep against the Screaming Eagles, a reward to his scholarship and non-scholarship athletes that Pearl said have earned the court time. 

Looking past Southern Indiana and onto the regular season, Pearl said that he liked where his team was predicted to finish. 

Auburn was selected to finish fifth overall in the Southeastern Conference. The last time Auburn was selected to finish fifth in the SEC, the team went to the Final Four. 

“If you can finish in the top-five of this league, you can win a national championship. So certainly, we can be in a range to contend," Pearl said. 

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Henry Zimmer | Sports Reporter

Henry Zimmer is from Jacksonville, Florida, and is currently in his fifth year with The Plainsman. He is currently the Sports Reporter and can be followed on Twitter here: @henryzimmer


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