AUBURN, Ala. – It's time to meet the Class of 2020. Over the next three weeks, we'll be bringing you Q&As with all five newcomers. Next up is Dylan Cardwell, a versatile big man from Georgia.
Favorite movie? Jumanji
Favorite food? Chicken Alfredo or Chicken Fried Rice
What artist are you listening to right now? Drake, Brent Faiyaz
What video game are you playing right now? GTA, NBA 2K
Nicknames? The Anomaly, Do-it-all Dyl
Who would you pick to play you in a movie? The Rock
What do you plan to major in? Business Finance
What was the go-to Netflix show during quarantine? I have a top five.
1. Umbrella Academy
2. Money Heist
3. Outer Banks
4. The 100
5. You
Do you have any hidden talents?
Cardwell: I can play the piano. I can sing. I can dance. I just like music. When I was at Oak Hill, we had a piano in our chapel. So I would just get bored when the chapel was empty, and I would go in there and play the piano. I can play hip-hop songs.
What's something people don't know about you?
Cardwell: I was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes.
Your uncle is Rodney Garner. What was his reaction when you picked Auburn?
Cardwell: When he found out he was kind of excited, but he was like "OK, now it's time to get to work. The recruiting is over. You're now an Auburn man. So now it's time to put forth effort." There was no celebration. It was, "Congrats. Now let's get to work." He just flipped the switch. My aunt, we always joke around. When he's recruiting, he's a pretty entertaining guy. When he's not recruiting, he's a coach. Him as a coach is a strict guy that wants to get the job done. As soon as I committed, he wants to get the job done.
What's your first memory of coming to Auburn?
Cardwell: The Kick Six. I was in the Tiger's Den. I remember they kicked the field goal, the ball was in the air, and I was in the Tiger's Den. I was watching it on TV. And then the player caught it, and when he was running, I was like "Oh, he could return this." He got to the 20-yard line, and that's when I ran out of the Tiger's Den and down to the field. By the time I got to the field, he had just crossed the other 20. So I missed like half the run, but I knew he was going to return it for some reason. As soon as he got in the end zone, I just ran on the field. My aunt said she saw me in an interview – I was jumping behind Coach Gus. I was just running around crazy like I was an Auburn student. This past year, I did the same thing. It was fun.
When did you start playing basketball?
Cardwell: When I was 3, I played in a church league called Upward. But I played soccer first. I'm a soccer player at heart. That was my first sport.
What sport would you play if not basketball?
Cardwell: Football. I'd be lining up, me and Bo Nix.
What is the biggest basketball highlight of your career?
Cardwell: We were in Charlotte for the All-Star weekend at Oak Hill. They pick four teams from across the country to play. There were 10 or 12 NBA players there. Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker were on the sideline. I wasn't really doing much the whole game, but then in the third quarter, it kind of just turned on for me. There was a whole sequence. They came down and tried to make a lay-up, and I blocked it off the backboard. We ran down, I got a lob dunk. After I dunked it, I blocked it again. We came down again, my teammate missed a lay-up, and I put it back. So I had two dunks in a row and two blocks. It was a crazy atmosphere and just like back-to-back-to-back. That was my favorite memory. I have a picture of it in my room.
Do you remember the first time you dunked?
Cardwell: I was really slow to dunk. It took me until the ninth grade. My first in-game dunk was ninth grade, and after I dunked it, I immediately ran into the stands. I high-fived my AAU coach, and I went to hug my mom. But this is in the middle of a game. I dunked it, and I ran into the stands to celebrate because I had never really tried to dunk in a game before. It was crazy.
Is there a player you model your game after?
Cardwell: I really love Carmelo and Anthony Davis. Those are my two favorite players to watch and to study. And then just energy-wise, Montrezl Harrell. Those three right there, a combination of all of them – skill and the motor.
What stood out from your visits to Auburn?
Cardwell: I just like the energy. When I went to the Georgia Southern game, I felt like the whole crowd was into it. I play really well when the crowd is into it whether it's a home crowd or an away crowd. I just love having the crowd there because it gives me another energy boost. So just seeing the Jungle at their peak, that made me want to play here even more. You go to other colleges, and you just can't compare. The Jungle is different.
Give me one word to describe Bruce Pearl.
Cardwell: Impactful. He's very impactful. He's a great father figure to everybody on this team. He's a great head coach, a great listener. He can impact you in many ways – spiritually, physically, emotionally – he's just an impactful guy.
How do you think Coach Pearl and his system can help your game?
Cardwell: Playing faster. I'm pretty fast, but I don't play fast. So just playing fast and being the first one down the court, that can open up the court in so many ways and open up points for me, points for my teammates. And not only that, he encourages his bigs to shoot, which is crazy because most colleges want a traditional big man and a traditional style of play, back to the basket, but he wants both and that can translate to the NBA. So he's pushing you toward being a better person as well as a better basketball player.
How do you see yourself fitting into the team this year?
Cardwell: Just playing a role. Crashing the boards, hitting open shots, finding my teammates, protecting the rim, trying to get as many steals as I can in the passing lane, just being a good teammate. I want to be an all-around player. Whatever I can do to help the team is whatever works for me.
What makes this 2020 class special?
Cardwell: We're all hard-working. We all love staying in the gym. We're all highly motivated, and we just love competing. We can all bring something different to the game, but at the same time, I feel like we have the potential and talent to all play together at the same time. So we can all shoot, we can all spread the floor, we can all score in the paint. Everybody – Sharife, JT, Justin, Chris and I – we can all pass. We have crazy court vision. We all have high IQs. I feel like this is a great freshman class, a very humble freshman class and a very hard-working freshman class, so I'm just excited to see what we have to bring to the table.