ALEX CITY | With the way it finished, it’s easy to overlook Chad Baker-Mazara’s first season at Auburn.

But the rising senior was one of the Tigers’ best players in conference play and Bruce Pearl believes a strong offseason can elevate him to a professional career in basketball.

“I look at Chad as a pro,” said Pearl. “He's the body type of what they're all looking for: that 6-foot-7, 6-8, guard, any position. But he's got to get a little bigger, a little stronger to withstand the pounding.

“And obviously, he takes a lot of hits and is a target for a lot of extracurricular stuff out there.”

Those extracurriculars is what got Baker-Mazara ejected with a flagrant 2 foul three minutes into Auburn’s first-round loss to Yale in the NCAA Tournament when he was caught throwing an elbow.

It was a disappointing end to a breakout season for Baker-Mazara, who finished third on the team averaging 10.0 points per game. He scored in double figures in 10 of AU’s last 13 conference games and finished third in the league shooting 87.6 percent from the free throw line.

This is an important summer for Baker-Mazara to add size and strength to his frame, and work on controlling his emotions better on the court.

“He needs to continue to work on his body, and look at himself,” said Pearl. “This is when you change your body. This is when Chad Baker goes from 178, can he get to 188? Can he get 10 good ones? Well, you can't get that in the fall. He can get it in the summer.

“So these next eight weeks are really, really important for our team as we start, really right after Memorial Day, of getting after it."