Bruce Pearl talks good news, bad news from the team's first intrasquad scrimmage

AUBURN — Auburn basketball held their first official intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday prior to Auburn’s football game against Georgia. Head coach Bruce Pearl said it was a good and bad day, all built around the same reasons.

“Good news and bad news. The good news is we had our first intrasquad scrimmage and we scored 88 points, we shot 50 percent from three, we shot 55 percent from the field, and we had 19 assists and only 11 turnovers. That’s the good news.

“The bad news is we did it against ourselves, which we means we couldn’t guard anybody. I don’t know whether to be happy because the offense scored, or angry because we didn’t make enough defensive plays and show enough speed and athleticism to bother us. Other than that, I like where we’re at, the position we’re in. It’s been a good start to camp.”

Seven players finished in double figures. “Our strength looks like right now we’ll have 10 or 11 guys that will play,” Pearl said.

That’s not a surprising development if you’ve listened to Pearl speak lately about this team’s capabilities on the perimeter.

“I think that we have at least four players on the floor at all times that are confident to shoot it,” Pearl said. “The bad news is they all want to shoot it and we’re not getting it inside enough and getting to the rim enough, not getting to the foul line enough. Inside shots give you inside rebounds. These are long shots giving us long rebounds, so it effects your transition defense. At the same time, it does open the lane a little bit and we need that. I’d like to see us have more of our guys being able to break their guys down and get to the rim.”

Defensively, Pearl says shooting guard Denver Jones and forward Chaney Johnson are trending in the right direction, but the team needs more defensive “playmakers” as the season nears.

“Denver has recognized he was known as an offensive player at Florida International. He’s worked hard on defense. Chaney Johnson has some real strong natural defensive abilities, real feel. He’s got the athleticism and explosiveness to be a factor on the defensive end. Chris Moore is always going to give physicality and effort defensively, but I’d definitely say we need more defensive playmakers.”

Arguably the best position battle on the team is at the point guard spot (along with power forward between Jaylin Williams and Johnson) where sophomore Tre Donaldson returns to compete with freshman All-American Aden Holloway.

“I think having the scrimmage and having it be an open practice a little bit, there were a few people in the stands and you could see that Aden stepped up a little bit, his energy level was good, but he could make shots,” Pearl said. “He’s got to continue to be a better playmaker and what happens is, players should go to their strengths. I want Aden to score. I want him to improve as a passer. When he doesn’t pass it, it will have nothing to do with him being selfish or not giving the ball up, it’s just that he’s better shooting it than passing it right now. Like every freshman, it’s all on the defensive end and the physicality of the game.

“Somebody is going to start and somebody is going to finish. They both want to start and they both want to finish,” Pearl said of Donaldson and Holloway. “The competition is really good. Interestingly, I would assume that Aden would have an advantage offensively because he’s such a great shooter and scorer, but both Aden and Tre have done a nice job offensively. It’s on the defensive side that they have to make progress and show me who can get stops, who can keep their man in front, who can make plays defensively, who makes the other four guys better… It’s a great competition and we won’t know for another four weeks.”

Returning center Johni Broome only scored nine points in the scrimmage, but as Pearl said, much of that is due to the outside shooting and not enough effort to score inside. Pearl likes what Broome brings to the table after his flirtation with the NBA, but still wants more. Pearl also credits backup Dylan Cardwell for his progress.

“Johni needs to continue to effect the game at both ends. Play faster, play quicker. He’s lost some weight, I think he’s moving better, but he has to apply that movement in the game. He’s played at a certain pace his whole life, but I want him to play faster and quicker,” Pearl said.

“Johni this summer really dominated, had an edge on the competition with Dylan. Dylan has had a great fall, to the point of really effecting the ball in the air. Both Dylan and Johni spend time shooting the ball, but every time they are out there shooting it, they aren’t getting post touches, rebounds, and for both of them, that’s a factor. They both have to shoot better percentages from the free-throw line. They’re both going to play.”