This is shaping up to be one hell of a wild season for The Fighting Pearls. Not only is it by far, the toughest schedule Auburn’s ever played, but it may be the toughest in the entire country. I don’t know how anybody could have a harder slate of games. And a close look at the roster reveals that if some of the newcomers are as advertised, we have a club that can compete with anyone. First, the schedule.
After two exhibition games, Furman and FAU, we open with Vermont, a perennial March Madness participant. It gets real after that. On the pre-conference list are:
Opening the Maui Invitational with #7 Iowa State. The field includes #3 UConn, Memphis, Michigan State, Dayton and Colorado.
Houston #4
Duke #7
Purdue #14
Ohio State
Auburn comes in at #11 in the AP preseason poll. There are 7 other SEC teams in the top 25, including Bama at #2.
This is a fun roster, on paper anyway. As usual in this day and age, there’s a ton of turnover, but there’s a nice core of returning, very experienced players. Also, as per usual, Bruce will most likely be rotating fresh players non-stop.
You have to start with Johni Broome, who I’ve already heard one analyst call the best player in the country. Could be. 6’7” Chad Flagrant Baker Mazara returns as the second leading scorer. Then you have big Dylan Cardwell and Chris Moore to bang on the inside, along with 6’7” Chaney Johnson patrolling the baseline.
Guard play is where it really gets interesting. As stated, if the newcomers are the real deal, that position might be as solid as we’ve had since the Final 4 group. 6’4” Denver Jones returns. Then, we have 6’2” JP Pegues, a transfer from Furman who averaged 18.1 ppg and 5 assists. Throw in 6’6” Miles Kelly, who comes from Georgia Tech after being their leading scorer with 14 a game. Top that off with High School McDonald’s All-American, 6’1” Tahaad Pettiford, and this could be an incredible backcourt.
Now, throw 6'6" Freshman, Jahki Howard into the mix. He played his senior season at Atlanta Overtime Elite, averaging over 15 points a game. He was the #1 high school dunker, and I believe is the guy going around on the Tik Toks, jumping over three people to slam at the outdoor dealio Auburn just did at Toomer's Corner.
If this team can navigate this schedule well enough to have another 20+ win season, they’ll go into March Madness as battle tested as any team in the nation.
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