Bruce Pearl makes strong claim on Dylan Cardwell when evaluating his play

Auburn basketball re-tooled its front-court this past offseason and Bruce Pearl is looking at brand new faces to contribute down low right away. Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler left for the NBA. Now, it’s time for guys like Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell to step up. In the team’s 2022-23 debut, Cardwell in particular stuck out as a force in the paint.

The junior big man spent the last couple seasons parked behind future NBA draft picks, but is ready to shine as an upperclassman. In the Tigers’ opener vs. George Mason, which they won by 18, Cardwell only scored one bucket, but filled up the stat sheet elsewhere. He grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots while dishing out two assists.

His versatility was on full display in the victory and Pearl was thrilled to see it. He thinks the junior forward is in for a career year if he can stay in shape.

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“It’s good. It was good. You know, Dylan the first couple, that’s the best he’s looked as far as his freshest,” Bruce Pearl said of Cardwell after the game. He then added that he’s discussed Cardwell’s conditioning with him and believes that can be an advantage for him.

“He and I talked a little bit about his conditioning, his rest. Just because, like look, for a man his size, he moves about as well as anybody his size, period, in college basketball. He really does. And so that’s the key to his effectiveness. And he’s been really good to coach. He’s very accountable. Got on him a couple times pretty hard, but he knows how to take. But it’s very important that Dylan brings that physicality.”

Auburn had that physical enforcer type in Walker Kessler last year, who took pride in protecting the basket. With Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome in the fold, the Tigers have a pair of paint protectors to uphold the excellent defense they had a year ago.