It's not a perfect product — far from it, as the exhibition showed — but the Auburn basketball team is ready to get the season officially started.

With a flurry of newcomers, players returning who missed out on playing in the postseason last year and back to full crowds, the excitement is high from the players.

The excitement is high from fans, too, as Bruce Pearl and co boast one of the most talented rosters in Auburn basketball history.

"I’m very excited for the season," Devan Cambridge said. "I’m excited to have the fans back in the gym. It’s a different energy especially with the guys that we have on the team now. It felt good to be out there again and I’m ready for Tuesday. I’m ready for this year."

Cambridge is one of the few veterans on the roster. The junior has taken on a leadership role and focused on communicating more on and off the court for his new teammates.

His first experience with that in-game occurred on Friday as Auburn came out slow in the exhibition against Southern Indiana.

"Starting off 0-9 at the beginning of the game, I tried to pick everybody up and tell everybody to slow down," Cambridge said. "That was everybody’s like first game in the SEC for the starters other than me, I was the only returning starter, so I told everybody to stay level-headed, calm down. Believe in Coach. He’s got 600 wins, he knows what he’s talking about."

Freshman Jabari Smith echoed what Cambridge said, citing some first game jitters as part of the issue on Friday.

"I’m real excited for the first game," Smith said. "I’m glad I got to play the exhibition to get those first-game jitters out because I felt like I was real excited to just get it started, play in front of The Jungle and just, you know, get the season started. I’m real excited for the game on Tuesday.

"The thing I need to work on, just calming down, just settling into the game. I felt like at the beginning of the game I was real excited, a little too excited. As the second half started, I got settled into the game and I ended up being able to help our team win."

After the game Pearl credited his bench for "terrific" play, but also said the starters need to play better. Going into the season opener the lineup of Wendell Green, Zep Jasper, Cambridge, Smith and Walker Kessler could get some adjustments.

"And so whether or not there could potentially be a couple of those guys who were coming off the bench, whether we could mix them into the starting lineup, I still haven’t decided that yet," Pearl said. "But that’s a possibility, just because—to get the right kind of chemistry, combination of physicality and defense, rebounding, offense. That still very much is a work-in-progress."

Auburn's opener against Morehead State will tip from Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. CT. The game is available on ESPN+/SECN+.

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