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Auburn Tigers (2001: 18-14)

The following team preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the nation's most comprehensive look at this and all Division I teams, be sure to order the 2001-02 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.

Program overview

Like so many of his fellow Southeastern Conference coaches, Auburn's Cliff Ellis can only wonder what kind of team he would have put on the floor this season had the NBA not intervened.

Other league coaches knew just how Ellis felt last spring when former Auburn point guard Jamison Brewer announced he was giving up his final two years of eligibility to enter the NBA draft. Brewer wasn't a great shooter, but he was a true lead guard and perhaps the most versatile player in the league.

Auburn might have been the favored team in the SEC's Western Division with Brewer, who was taken in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Ellis doesn't want to ponder that for long.

No, Ellis hasn't forgotten how good Auburn was two years ago, when Doc Robinson and Chris Porter transformed the Tigers from SEC also-rans to SEC champions.

"That team a couple of years ago was a great team, solid to the core," Ellis said. "[But] I don't think there was as much talent as there is on this team, and it wasn't as deep. With Jamison, we could have really made a run. [Brewer's departure] really threw us a curve. We've got to get through it the best we can. It's our only question mark."

Backcourt

The point-guard spot really became a question mark in early September, when it was announced that 5-10 senior Lincoln Glass was suspended indefinitely because of academics.

Glass made some significant contributions after transferring from junior college last season. He's a point guard by trade. But Ellis got spoiled with the 6-5 Brewer running the show, and now tends to favor taller point guards. Thus his willingness to try 6-6 junior Marquis Daniels at the point.

Daniels (15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.2 spg) had enjoyed a breakout season a year ago, earning All-SEC third-team honors. Daniels led Auburn in scoring and steals and was second in rebounding. He paced the SEC in steals and was fourth in field-goal percentage (.522). But even though Daniels did most of his damage from a wing position, Ellis isn't the least bit hesitant to move him the point.

If Glass (7.2 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 2.2 apg) returns, he could take over the point if the Daniels experiment doesn't work. Glass has the requisite skills for a point guard. He's quick, can handle the ball and knows how to make plays. He shoots well enough (.319 from three-point range) to keep defenses honest and can put games away in the late going with his free-throw shooting (team-high .891 a year ago).

Newcomer Dwayne Mitchell, a 6-4 freshman, can also play the point in a pinch, but Ellis would rather have him looking for shots rather than setting up teammates. As a senior at John F. Kennedy High School in New Orleans, Mitchell averaged 28 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals while shooting 60 percent from the field. He was a consensus Top 100 player.

If the point-guard spot is uncertain, the shooting guard position is the exact opposite. Adam Harrington (15.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), a 6-5 junior, was chosen to the All-SEC third team last season, his first at Auburn after transferring from North Carolina State. Harrington, a willing shooter who hoisted a team-high 211 three-pointers, was eighth in the SEC in scoring and fifth in three-pointers per game (2.3).

Harrington, a solid shooter who can also get to the basket with his excellent leaping ability, reached double figures 26 times, with a career high of 32 coming against Detroit.

Auburn is loaded at the wing positions. Besides Daniels, Mitchell and Harrington, newcomer Derrick Bird can also play either small forward or big guard. Bird, a 6-4 junior from Schoolcraft (Mich.) College, averaged 20.3 points and 5.0 rebounds a year ago. He shot .450 from three-point range. As an added bonus, Daniels can defend.

Frontcourt

Auburn's frontcourt will benefit greatly from the return of 6-7, 250-pound senior Mack McGadney, if he returns. In late September, McGadney was the second Auburn player in less than a month to be suspended. McGadney's suspension was for disciplinary reasons

McGadney (15.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg in eight games) was averaging nearly a double-double (16.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg) before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the season's eighth game, against Louisiana-Lafayette. McGadney was lost for the season, and worse, had played in too many games to earn a medical redshirt.

The loss of McGadney could have been crippling, considering he was one of the Tigers' few veteran players. That the Tigers earned a postseason tournament (NIT) berth without him was impressive. McGadney is a typical Ellis player in that he's a blue-collar type who doesn't mind doing the dirty work. At the time of his injury, he was eighth in the SEC in rebounding.

If McGadney, who played pickup games in the summer, is anywhere near full strength, he will claim the starting power forward job. That leaves center to 6-10, 220-pound sophomore Kyle Davis, (4.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.8 bpg), who had an excellent freshman season.

Davis isn't a stiff offensively -- he shot .518 from the field a year ago -- but his primary value is on defense. Last season he blocked 84 shots, tops in the SEC. Davis turned back an amazing 13 shots against Miami in the first round of the NIT. That was the second-highest single-game total in NCAA history (Navy's David Robinson, BYU's Shawn Bradley, Arizona's Loren Woods and Alabama's Roy Rogers share the record of 14). The 13 blocks were the second highest in SEC history. Davis had five game-saving blocks on the year, against Oregon, Detroit, South Carolina, Alabama and Vanderbilt.

Auburn has another slender sophomore frontcourt player in 6-9, 210-pound Abdou Diame (7.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg). The native of Sengal showed real promise as a rookie, playing in all 32 games, starting seven and averaging 21 minutes. He led Auburn in field-goal percentage (.542) and was second in blocked shots (30).

Auburn shored up its depth with a recruiting class that one analyst rated the third-best in the nation. Besides Mitchell and Bird, Ellis and his staff brought in two frontcourt players who should have an immediate impact.

The first is first-team Parade All-American Marco Killingsworth, a 6-8, 240-pound freshman power forward from Central Park Christian Academy in Birmingham, Ala. That's the same school that produced Alabama star Rod Grizzard.

In his final season at Central Park, Killingsworth averaged 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots while shooting 67 percent from the field. He's the prototypical power forward who can post, rebound, block shots and confound defenders with his left-handed shot. He can also run.

Another versatile big man is 6-8 freshman Brandon Robinson, a native of New Market, Ala. who has strong Auburn ties. He's a cousin of former All-SEC forward Bryant Smith, and he patterns his game after Porter.

Robinson, who played last year for Notre Dame (Mass.) Prep, averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, earning first-team Prep School All-America honors. He has an inside-outside game in that he's an excellent rebounder but can shoot from the perimeter. He's also quick, athletic and plays hard, just like his idol Porter. Like Killingsworth, he's left-handed.

Bottom line

After a brief side trip to the NIT last year, Auburn seems capable of returning to the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers played in 1998-99 and 1999-00. Those teams, led by Robinson and Porter, were deep, talented and athletic. Even without Brewer, coach Ellis thinks he has a team that could rival the best he's produced at Auburn.

Though Brewer's leadership, versatility and playmaking will be missed, Auburn has at least three players who have, at one time in their careers, played point guard. Ellis would rather have an abundance of candidates than none at all. One of the point guard hopefuls could well be Daniels, who elevated his game as a sophomore and was chosen All-SEC while playing a wing position.

Up front, the Tigers will get a boost by the return of McGadney, who injured his knee in the seasons' eighth game. McGadney was headed for an All-SEC season before his injury, and if he's anywhere near that form this year, Auburn will be strong up front.

That's because the Tigers also have two sophomores with star potential in Davis and Diame, plus two freshmen who will also make their presence known quickly.

Auburn is clearly a postseason tournament team. Whether it's the NIT or the NCAAs depends on if someone can approximate Brewer's contributions at the point.