AUBURN - It was just a start, but Auburn basketball coach Jeff Lebo was pleased Friday after the first day of preseason practice.
"It was a good, competitive practice," Lebo said. "The upperclassmen. early on, looked a lot better than the young guys. The young guys competed hard, which I was happy to see.
"The first day of official practice, you have a lot of teaching and a lot of standing, but overall, the effort was pretty good."
Lebo welcomed eight returning lettermen, including three returning starters, and five newcomers. The veterans included seniors DeWayne Reed, Tay Waller, Lucas Hargrove, Brendon Knox and Johnnie Lett and sophomore Frankie Sullivan.
Andre Malone, Ty Armstrong, Kenny Gabriel, Earnest Ross and Rob Chubb went through their first official practice as Tigers.
"Being able to start a little bit earlier, we are a little bit ahead of things," Lebo said. "We have to spend a little bit extra time teaching for the
new guys. We have a lot of new faces, and they need more reps than the
older guys."
Hargrove said he saw promising signs for the Tigers, who finished 24-12 overall, 10-6 in the Southeastern Conference and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals last season.
"We came out and played really hard," Hargrove said. "The freshmen are really, really good compared to previous years' freshmen. I think that is going to be a big help, because if everybody is on the same page, we can get in a groove faster and earlier in the season. We have great team chemistry."
Auburn plays Miles College in an exhibition game on Nov. 6 and opens its final season at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 13 against Niagara, which went 26-9 and played in the NIT last season.
