Everything Bruce Pearl said after No. 15 Auburn's win over George Mason
AUBURN — Auburn could have shot the ball better, made a few more threes, made a few more free throws, but all in all, Bruce Pearl was pleased with his team’s effort and energy on opening night.
“It was a good win tonight. George Mason is a good team,” Pearl said. “To hold them to 52 points…to turn them over 19 times with a veteran team, it’s good. Our defense was really good. Rim protection was good, our centers blocked nine shots. We wore them down. Good balance, and it was a good start.”
On Auburn’s shooting woes: “If we continue to shoot the ball poorly, we’ll have concerns. I’m not concerned now, but we have to shoot better. I’m not frustrated by it, that’s just a function of it. When we start making those shots, we’ll be pretty good. We haven’t yet.”
RELATED: FIRST THOUGHTS FROM AUBURN’S WIN OVER GEORGE MASON
On Allen Flanigan’s impact off the bench: “Al played really well. He did a lot of really good things out there. He was good defensively, good rebounding…we’ll see how he reacts and hopefully he reacts well to it. Our system is — I think it’s going to be balance and different guys on different nights. Al has played well in practice. His role is not defined yet.
On this team’s roles: “These roles aren’t defined yet. There’s so much parody, so much balance, I’m going to let them define their role. Wendell took control of the team, you saw K.D. take be a factor on both ends of the floor, Jaylin Williams was really solid, the big guys had their moments, this is going to be a team that evolves. We just have to be good enough to beat the team the night we’re playing them. We have to get a lot better. To hold George Mason to 52 points is good. The effort has been there. We can improve on the execution.”
On holding George Mason to 52 points: “Ira Bowman, Mike Burgomaster had the scout. George Mason had three games in Israel and they had a real advantage tonight. We hadn’t seen them play. I’ve been a big fan of (Kim English), followed him, very impressed with Kim English. The way he coaches right now, they run really good stuff. We drove them out of some really good stuff. We did a nice job.”
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On Johni Broome and Yohan Traore’s first games: “They did OK. They did well. I was excited for the new guys to play in The Jungle. It was nice for them to experience that. The Jungle is special. I’m happy for them that they got to have that support, that love. Johni is still a little banged up with the ankle, needs to play faster and quicker.
On Dylan Cardwell’s performance: “I thought Dylan, this is the best Dylan has played. He had pop, was powerful, was a factor at the rim. He got a lot of traffic rebounds. That’s the best Dylan has looked. We talked about his conditioning, his rest, for a man his size, he moves about as well as anyone his size in college basketball. That’s the key to his success. He’s good to coach. He’s very accountable. I got onto him a couple of times pretty hard, but he knows how to take it. It’s important that he brings that physicality.”
On 11 players earning minutes, 11 players scoring: “That’s the only way we’re going to be successful. We’re the sum of our parts. We have to shoot it better. Even round the basket, I’m not sure we shot it great. We have to finish.”
On K.D. Johnson’s impact: “He’s such a factor. He’s just different from anybody else out there. Nobody is as quick and fast and explosive. He’s a problem out there.”
