Auburn without top scorer vs. Vols
AUBURN, Ala. — The Auburn Tigers have a 250-pound power forward playing point guard, three scholarship players available in the backcourt and a hard time scoring without hitting their 3-point shots.
That’s the predicament facing Tigers coach Bruce Pearl going into tonight’s game at his old team, Tennessee. Pearl said Monday that leading scorer Kareem Canty will miss his second straight game after being indefinitely suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.
That’s just the latest body blow — and potentially the biggest — for a team that has dropped five straight games. Guards T.J. Dunans and Tahj Shamsid-Deen have been sidelined since December with injuries. Shamsid-Deen (shoulder) is out for the season, and Dunans hasn’t played since hurting his left knee on Dec. 23 against Harvard.
Canty’s suspension follows a 1-1/2-game suspension for forward-turned-point guard Cinmeon Bowers.
“When you have those situations and you’re not winning, it makes it really difficult,” Pearl said. “What you do is you take the guys that you have and you do the very best that you can to figure out a way to compete.”
That means Bowers will play point guard, with some help from actual guards freshman New Williams and walk-on Patrick Keim.
Auburn (9-13, 3-7 Southeastern Conference) made just 15 of 58 shots (25.5 percent) using that lineup in a 65-55 loss Saturday at Georgia. Auburn announced Canty’s suspension before the game.
Pearl hasn’t disclosed specifics that led to that punishment but said the reasons were “more serious” than the reasons for Bowers’ suspension.
Auburn players have missed a total of 84 games. That counts top recruit Danjel Purifoy, who wasn’t cleared academically by the NCAA, and center Trayvon Reed, who also hasn’t played this season and wasn’t enrolled for fall semester (for what Auburn has described as personal reasons) but remains with the team.
It’s no surprise that Pearl’s rebuilding job at Auburn has been difficult, but the other issues have certainly made it more challenging.
“I’ve not experienced anything quite like this, but that’s the status of our program right now,” Pearl said.