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Oct. 15, 2009

AUBURN - The Auburn basketball team will participate in the final season opening practice in the 42-year history of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Friday as the Tigers look to build on last year's 24-12 NIT team.

The Tigers return three starters in leading scorer DeWayne Reed, leading 3-point shooter Tay Waller and Lucas Hargrove off a team that recorded the second most wins in school history and came within an eyelash of reaching the NIT Final Four.

"We have a taste on what it was like to win," said sixth-year Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo. "I think the way for us was the way we finished. We had so many meaningful games coming down the stretch. Every game seemed to grow with importance, and we handled that very well coming down the stretch. So for our guys coming back and being able to play in those kinds of games, I think that is going to be very valuable for our group.

"We have a taste of what it was like, a taste of success, a taste of postseason and also a taste of not making it to the NCAA Tournament. They're hungry. We had a good offseason, and the kids have worked hard, so it's going to be very helpful for the guys that played for us last year."

Mix the senior starting trio in with sophomore guard Frankie Sullivan, 6-foot-10 senior center Brendon Knox, forward Johnnie Lett, Oklahoma transfer Tony Neysmith and a very impressive recruiting class, and the Tigers have depth.

"We have a lot of new faces," said Lebo. "We have three very good seniors who started for us for four years to replace Quantez Robinson, Rasheem Barrett and Korvotney Barber. We're excited about the returning guys. I've been very impressed with DeWayne Reed and Lucas Hargrove, who is about 225 right now. He came in at 167 as a freshman. He is a lot stronger and has been very good in preseason workouts. Brendon Knox has carried on his improvement."

"We have four freshmen, five newcomers," Lebo said. "Defensively, I think Earnest Ross and Andre Malone are physically ready. I think early, like most freshmen, they will struggle when we start to add things, but they've been good so far. They're physical. They can shoot the ball from the perimeter, but they have to work on the ball handling a little bit, and they have to work on defense.

"Kenny Gabriel is a guy who was coached well in junior college. He can really shoot the ball being 6-foot-8. We'll be able to do some things with him like the "pick and pop" and the three pointers. He has a good knack for the ball, but he just has to get stronger. He is long. He has a 7-foot-1 wingspan, so he can get his hand on a lot of balls.

"Our inside guys, Rob Chubb and Ty Armstrong, they'll get better as the year goes on. They're both physical. Chubb can run. At 6-foot-9 and 220, he ran the mile in 5:20. He can really move. They're a little farther away, but I think they'll get better as the year goes on. Both are 6-foot-9 and 220 so when we walk through the airport this year, we'll look like an SEC team. I hope we play like one."

Auburn will play 11 games against 2009 postseason tournament teams, including home games against SEC Champion LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Niagara and Alabama State. Other home games vs. Virginia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Arkansas as well as a road game at 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Florida State, a neutral site game vs. North Carolina State in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., and a game at Missouri State also highlight the schedule.

The Tigers play an exhibition game against Miles College on Nov. 6 before playing its final season opener in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 13 against Niagara, who advanced to last season's NIT, finished with a record of 26-9 and a RPI ranking of 49.

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