What Auburn basketball needs from Stretch Akingbola and Dylan Cardwell at center
What Auburn basketball needs from Stretch Akingbola and Dylan Cardwell at center
Bruce Pearl's two young centers might be the only Tigers who aren't ready to shoot it from deep — yet. But they can still provide a lot of value.
For the last four seasons — a rise from SEC cellar-dweller to a program with two league trophies and a Final Four appearance to its name — Auburn basketball has had virtually all of its center minutes go to Anfernee McLemore, Austin Wiley and Horace Spencer.
And for the first season since Bruce Pearl’s inaugural one on the Plains, the Tigers will have none of the three on their roster.
Auburn will be one of the most inexperienced teams in major college basketball this season. The Tigers are set to start five-star true freshman point guard Sharife Cooper at point guard, and sophomore Turbo Jones played 38 minutes last season.
The shooting guard and small forward positions will be primarily occupied by some combination of sophomore Devan Cambridge, sophomore Allen Flanigan and junior Jamal Johnson — all of whom averaged double-digit minutes per game a season ago.
Power forward will be manned mostly by sophomore Jaylin Williams, who played an e…