1 BIG THING: TEAM CULTUREBruce Pearl faced a dilemma Saturday. For the first time all season Sharife Cooper was eligible to play, and the Auburn head coach wanted to insert his freshman point guard into the starting lineup. After all, Cooper was the top recruit in program history when he signed. He was ready to play, having practiced the last two weeks. Plus, he hung in through what was a challenging time.
But who do you take out? Returners Allen Flanigan, Jamal Johnson and Devan Cambridge had all earned their spots in the starting lineup with their improved play on the court this season. Any of the three could have had a gripe if they were pulled for Cooper.
That's not how it works at Auburn, though. Not with those three.
"Devan, Jamal and Al all offered to come out of the starting lineup in order to start Sharife," Pearl said. "Each one of them. That tells you about the culture and the chemistry in our locker room."
"It's just good to know those guys have your back," added Cooper. "They didn't have to do that. They didn't have to sacrifice something that they wanted themselves. They just told BP, 'We want to win. Whatever you got to do, we want to win.' I'm thankful for those guys. Those are my brothers, and I'll do anything for them."
3 QUESTIONS WITH SHARIFE COOPER
Q: How hard have the last few months been, not being able to play?
Cooper: I'd be wrong if I didn't say it was very hard. But I made up my mind and told them I wasn't going to let nothing break me. Through the ups and downs, through the trials and tribulations, I always just told myself I won't let it break me. I think that's what kind of got me through it – as well as my family, my coaches, all my support staff, Auburn fans. I couldn't be more thankful for them. I just constantly see support and people fighting for me. That kind of helped me keep my spirits up, and I'm thankful for those people.
Q: What was it like shaking the rust off?
Cooper: It's been a long time since I've played a game. Practice never can simulate a real game. The first couple minutes, I knew I was going to be a little rusty. I haven't played in a long time, so I didn't want to force anything. I wanted to kind of get the feel of the pick-and-roll, get the feel of their defense and get the feel of our offense. I knew once I kind of settled down, things would get to flowing, the offense would look better, and it did.
Q: What makes you such a good passer, especially having not played this season?
Cooper: When I watch, I kind of envision myself out there. Devan, he wanted me to play so bad because he likes the backdoor lobs. The main thing I do is keep my head up. And if you're open, I'm going to find you. If you're backdoor, I'm going to find you with a lob. So I always tell my guys to be ready. 'Be ready in the corner. Don't move, I'm going to hit you. And when you get it, shoot it.' I just keep talking to those guys, they keep talking to me, and we're building chemistry as we go. We haven't had much time, but we'll figure it out and we'll get rolling.
1 KEY STAT: AUBURN ARENA DEBUTIf Sharife Cooper's stat line from Saturday (26 points, 9 assists) looked familiar, it should. Fellow freshman Justin Powell also had 26 points and nine assists earlier this season against South Alabama. Ironically, both Cooper and Powell did it while playing for the first time inside Auburn Arena.
On the season, Cooper and Powell are two of only eight Division I men's basketball players to score 26 points and dish out nine assists in a game, and of those eight, they are the only freshmen in college basketball to have done it. Auburn is also the only team to have two different players put up that stat line.
The Tigers are hopeful to get Powell back from injury this week as they travel to Georgia on Wednesday and return home Saturday for a date with Kentucky in Auburn Arena.
