AUBURN, Ala. – It's finals week, which means the No. 8 Auburn men's basketball team won't play its next game until Saturday. However, on Monday, it was the assistant coaches' turn to face the media and answer questions about everything from this year's team to life at Auburn.
Here are some of the highlights from Monday's session with the assistants.
Wes Flanigan (first year)
On Jared Harper: When it's all said and done, Jared Harper will probably leave here as one of the best point guards who ever played in Auburn history. He's a guy who's worked hard to get to this point. He's not one of the guys that came here with all accolades. He's a guy that always gets knocked on because of his size, but he's one of the best point guards in college basketball right now. I guarantee you, due to the championships and the numbers, he'll be able to leave here as maybe the best point guard who has ever played here."
On being back at Auburn: "It means a lot. Obviously, you work so hard as a player. When I was here we didn't have great success, but we were successful. We had some postseason teams. You work so hard, and from the outside looking in, for the last 17 years I've followed the program. I've followed the football program. There's still that feeling when Auburn wins or when they lose. To be back here now, with Bryce Brown and Jared Harper – some of the guys that have helped this program get to where it is now – being a part of it is great."
On the defense: "We've started to guard the ball a little better. We obviously started to work on the chemistry. Working together and communicating is a huge part of it. I think that our guys feed off of the crowd and the enthusiasm in the building. When we're as aggressive as we were on Saturday and we're active with our hands, we're as good as anybody defensively. It all starts with our energy and our effort. You have to extend the effort, and I think that's something that our guys are buying into."
Steven Pearl (fifth year)
On Austin Wiley coming off the bench: "He's the ultimate team player. That's why the guys all love him. I don't think coming off the bench really bothers Austin at all. And part of that, too, is I think Austin recognizes that we start well with our current starting lineup, and we did all of last year. Anfernee [McLemore] has a different dimension. Anfernee can stretch the floor when he makes shot. He's a great rim protector. And we play a little faster in the beginning. So to be able to go up 51-32 in the first half against Dayton, who hasn't given up over 60 points in their last five games, that says a lot about how we start games. Austin knows that we start well with who we have in there, and he's all about the team winning. So I don't think it bothers him at all."
On coaching with your dad every day: "The coolest part is seeing how (the program) has evolved. This is our fifth year, and to walk into the film room day one and see what we had there – you had K.T. Harrell and that was about it. You had a bunch of really tough kids like Malcolm Canada and Tahj Shamsid-Deen, but it was a mess when we first got here. And then over time, we've just kind of built it up. So to see the progression of Auburn basketball and to do it with the fan base and how amazing that they've been to us – showing up when we weren't any good – and evolving to now when we won an SEC championship last year and are ranked top 10 in the country right now, it's cool to do it with your pops. We did it at Tennessee together, and now doing it as Auburn has been pretty special. The coolest part is we have a staff where everybody is family. We're all very close. It's been fun to do it with these guys."
Ira Bowman (first year)
On what drew him to Auburn: "When you get an opportunity to work for a Hall of Famer like Coach Pearl and an opportunity to coach in the SEC with a team that has the opportunity to do really well – I felt like it was something I couldn't turn down."
On team chemistry: "You look at the makeup of our roster, and these guys are brothers. You can see the excitement on the bench for other guys when things are going well. You look at Malik Dunbar, who has been one of the most efficient players in the country, who was starting before. And then Samir Doughty, who comes in and who has a good feel. There are so many pieces that fit. You look at a guy like Horace Spencer, who is the heart and soul of our team, who is a senior, who plays with his heart on his sleeve. There are so many pieces that numbers-wise don't always show the effect that they have on the team."
On his strengths as a coach: "As a coach, you want to be as well-rounded as possible. I've run the defense at a lot of places I've been, but I've also worked with Steve Donahue, who is considered one of the top-five offensive minds. He was the National Coach of the Year three or four years ago. I've learned so much from him. I don't want to be a Jack of all Trades, but I want to get in where I fit in. I want to supply where there's a need. I would like to think that I'm as good offensively as I am defensively, but I've also been good at player development. I've taken that task of making people better and not having the player be the same as a freshman to a senior. Between offense, defense and player development, I think I bring a little bit of all of them to the table."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf