They lost their shooting guard, point guard, small forward and power forward. Gosh, the Auburn Tigers are going to really miss Marquis Daniels.

The versatile Daniels, who played four positions during his four-year college career, is gone, but the team that confounded college basketball with a Sweet 16 appearance last season is back with a wealth of upperclassmen.

Eight juniors and four seniors have Auburn coach Cliff Ellis thinking about sticking it to college basketball's pundits again. "With the players coming back, the one thing the Sweet 16 does is give you confidence," Ellis said.

The Tigers' NCAA Tournament appearance became a national story when TV's talking heads said Auburn didn't deserve a tourney berth because of its suspect non-conference schedule. But after winning two tournament games -- and losing to eventual national champion Syracuse by a single point -- apologies were in order.

Ellis is cooking up another I-Told-You-So season behind three returning starters and three junior college transfers. "We will have more quality depth than we've had," said Ellis, the dean of SEC coaches. "The key is going to be filling in the blanks and utilizing the experience of the Sweet 16."

FRONTCOURT

The Tigers will ask junior forwards Marco Killingsworth and Brandon Robinson to help fill the void left by Daniels. It won't be easy.

Daniels led Auburn in scoring, assists and steals, ranked second in rebounding and was the undisputed team leader. But Killingsworth and Robinson have two years of experience and can flash impressive stats of their own. So can center and shot-blocking king Kyle Davis. Killingsworth led the SEC in shooting percentage in conference games, Robinson was a spark off the bench, and Davis is Auburn's all-time leader in blocked shots. "Our strength is going to be our frontline," Ellis said. "There are numbers there, and there are quality players."

Killingsworth is Auburn's leading returning scorer and rebounder. He is a power forward who has shown a willingness to use his 6-foot-7 muscular frame to bang around with the big boys in the physical SEC. The athletic Robinson has shown a flair for the dramatic but needs to be more consistent. He will get a shot to replace Daniels at small forward, but don't rule out newcomer Quinnel Brown, a junior college transfer from Chicago.

"When you don't have experience, the one thing that is important is toughness," Ellis said. "I think Quinnel Brown has that."

Ellis might allow Robinson to play several positions, like Daniels, but would rather keep him at power forward. Davis doesn't score much, but he is a force on defense. He has 288 career blocks and has altered countless others.

BACKCOURT

Chances are, you won't see point guard Lewis Monroe on too many highlights this season. He isn't flashy and is sometimes reluctant to shoot. But he is one of the steadiest players around.

Monroe committed only six turnovers in 157 minutes of postseason play last year.

"He is one of those silent players who gets the job done," Ellis said. "He is going to win for you."

Monroe has a nice outside shot but needs to trust it more. He led Auburn in 3-point shooting percentage (38.2 percent) last year yet averaged just 6.2 points per game. Still, he directed Ellis' up-tempo offense to one of its best shooting efforts in years.

Nathan Watson will replace departed shooting guard and defensive specialist Derrick Bird. Watson's last audition for the job was brilliant. He scored 16 second-half points in bringing Auburn tantalizingly close to beating Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.

Ronnie LeMelle, who averaged 20 points per game in junior college last year, figures to get a shot at shooting guard, too, but Ellis says this newcomer also may play small forward and point guard.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Auburn may not be the sexy choice in the SEC West this year, but that's hardly a new development. A host of league teams have been the subject of public adulation over the past five years, but Auburn has the third-most wins in the conference over that time, trailing only Kentucky and Florida.

Last year's team was picked to finish last in the SEC West but finished second and earned the third-most wins in school history. Killingsworth, Robinson, Davis and Monroe have enough experience to allow Auburn to crash the party again.

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