AUBURN— Bruce Pearl has his hands full with the scouting of SEC leading scorer Scotty Pippen Jr. of Vanderbilt.
The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 18.9 points per game, plus 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals. He poses the biggest threat when the Commodores (13-11, 5-7 SEC) visit Auburn Arena on Wednesday (8 p.m., SEC Network).
Pearl is impressed with the second-generation star’s ability to create plays against tough defenders – and the Auburn coach particularly pointed to Pippen’s ability to shoot fouls.
“He’s one of the best scorers. He’s one of the best assists. He just has good pace,” Pearl said. “He’s got great IQ, good feeling. He can really score from two. In other words, he gets into the paint. He’s in no rush. You have to be second in the field against him. He can make Two difficult. He doesn’t care about paint traffic. And of course he’s also a real perimeter threat. So just a real dangerous player with the ball. He’s got good hands, so defensively he will strip you and tear you apart.
“And 177 free throws. And (Auburn fullback) KD Johnson, for example, gets a lot for us. He shot 118. That just tells you how the officials know who he is.”
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Auburn (23-2, 11-1) has a swarm of guards who aren’t afraid to strip and tear it up themselves, thanks in large part to the insurance of center Walker Kessler behind them.
“We can get up there and pressure the ball and take risks,” junior winger Allen Flanigan said on Saturday. “I mean, you’ve got Walk at the back. He’s 7 feet. He’ll jump, challenge and block. Then it’s on to the runs. We can run in transition.”
Auburn (23-2, 11-1) is a top 25 team in steals, averaging 8.76 per game, led by the starting duo of Zep Jasper and Johnson.