How positional versatility, fearless 3-point range should be strengths for Auburn hoops

AUBURN — Auburn basketball is finally getting the positive national attention coach Bruce Pearl has sought over the last handful of years.

Don’t believe it? Getting assigned a trip to Duke as part of the second edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge should serve as proof: “I can no longer play the, ‘we don’t get any respect card,’ which I think we’ve earned by winning four conference championships over the last seven years,” Pearl said in a statement.

But with respect comes responsibility, and expectations for Auburn are as lofty as they’ve ever been under Pearl. Competing for conference championships is the new norm, and anything less than that will leave fans miffed. That’s what happens when you win 20 or more games in six of the last seven seasons and return an All-American at center in Johni Broome.

Reaching those heights won’t be easy, though. Not in the SEC, where eight teams reached March Madness last season and nearly a dozen have a realistic path to the Big Dance in 2024-25.

With the roster set and summer practices underway, here are a few areas of strength the Tigers should be able to lean to reach their goals:

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Positional versatility

Auburn’s rotation was pretty clear last season. Aden Holloway and Tre Donaldson split time at point guard, Denver Jones and KD Johnson held things down at shooting guard, the trio of Chad Baker-Mazara, Chris Moore and Lior Berman were the small forwards, Jaylin Williams and Chaney Williams manned the power forward position and Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell anchored things at center.

There wasn’t much room for mixing and matching, though Pearl did experiment at times. This year’s team should be much more positionless, as transfer point guard JP Pegues (Furman) and Cardwell are really the only players on the roster locked into one position due to either their height or overall capabilities.

Auburn could opt for a small-ball lineup that features Baker-Mazara at PF. The Tigers could also go big and slide Jones to PG while pairing him with a front court of Broome and Cardwell. The opportunities for flexibility feel available, and having multiple options is always a plus.

Fearless 3-point shooting

The Tigers lost four players in the back court this offseason in Holloway, Donaldson, Johnson and Berman. That quartet was solid — Auburn doesn’t win the conference tournament without it — but the players added this offseason should give the Tigers some increased range.

Holloway, Donaldson, Johnson and Berman combined last season to shoot 42-for-148 (28.4%) on 3-pointers that were taken from at least 25 feet away from the rim, according to College Basketball Analytics. Pegues and Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly, a wing that can play SG and SF, combined to shoot 55-for-156 (35.3%) on those shots.

The newcomers attempted it from way behind the 3-point arc more often, and they were more efficient in doing so. Forcing defenses to respect shots from that far out should open on the floor more on the offensive end, giving more space for Broome to operate.

Experienced across the board

Based on games played, games started and years removed from high school, this is set to be the most experienced team Pearl has ever had at Auburn. There are six players on the roster who have four or more collegiate seasons played, and the youngest pieces — freshmen Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard — shouldn’t have too much on their respective plates early on.

If Auburn fails to meet expectations, it won’t be because the players didn’t know what they were doing.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Two areas that should be big strengths for Tigers