AUBURN, Ala. – If Honesty Scott-Grayson had her choice, she'd rather be in Neville Arena shooting 3-pointers than answering questions in Birmingham at SEC Tipoff '24.
"I'm nervous, I don't like doing interviews," Scott-Grayson said Thursday as she prepared for 95 minutes of non-stop media interactions and photo sessions. "It's a great experience to be in a great atmosphere."
Scott-Grayson delayed an opportunity to pursue professional basketball to return for her fourth season at Auburn after leading the Tigers with 45 3-pointers and a 36.9-percentage a year ago.
"Honesty's been amazing," Auburn coach Johnnie Harris said. "She's worked really hard. I'm super excited for her and appreciative that she came back. She loves Auburn and she wants to see Auburn back in its rightful place in the NCAA Tournament."
Joining her teammate and head coach at media day, senior forward Taylen Collins averaged nearly a double-double last season at Oklahoma State with 9.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
"Auburn was a good choice for me because the girls, the coaches and everything were so easy to adapt to," Collins said. "They were welcoming with open arms. I'm so excited to be here and play for Coach J alongside these girls."
A summer trip to France and Switzerland helped the Tigers get a head start building a team that features eight newcomers.
"To have the opportunity this summer to see what we had, I feel like we're a little bit ahead," said Harris, in her third season at Auburn. "We've been able to put in a lot. We have their attention. They practice hard. I'm looking forward to continuing to get better. These kids have worked extremely hard and they've pushed each other."
Auburn won all three of its games in Europe, providing Harris with insight into her team's chemistry.
"They're not going to give up," Harris said. "This is a team that pushes each other. They support each other. They're bought in to our style of play. Now they have an understanding of what it takes to get there.
"They bring it every day. If somebody's not having a good day, you have somebody else to step up. That's the beauty of this team. I have some depth. That's everything for us because there are going to be injuries and things that happen. Last year when we had those, it was really hard for us to win a ballgame, but this year that's all changing.
"We want to press and play fast. With our depth, we'll be able to do that a little bit more than in the past and not have a big drop-off. The sky's the limit when you have a team that works hard. They do the little things so I'm excited about this team."
Not only are the 2023-24 Tigers deeper, they're also taller.
"We got outrebounded a lot last year," Harris said. "That was one of the first things I wanted to address, and not just our post players. Our guards are longer, more athletic. I think they're faster, they're stronger."
Reporters picked Auburn to finish 12th in the SEC. That's just fine with the team's most tenured veteran.
"We're coming in as underdogs," Scott-Grayson said. "There's always more work to be done. We're going to come out this season and compete and shock some people this year."
Auburn tips off the season Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. CT at Neville Arena vs. Jacksonville State.
"The sky's the limit when you have a team that works hard."@The_Ma3stro, @taylencollins & @CoachJ_AU representing @AuburnWBB Thursday at #SECTipoff #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/fOG4iCSVTi
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 19, 2023
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer