AUBURN | K.D. Johnson, like many Americans, gained weight during quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis. He said as much last week when speaking with the media as the Tigers opened practice before the 2022-23 season.

"Fatigue. I was getting a little winded early," Johnson said of how that affected him. "Inconsistency. So now you all can see more consistent playing for me going forward the whole time."

That's a good sign for the shooting guard who enters his second season on the Plains, already becoming a fan favorite due to his mean-mugging that resulted in many memes last season. Now back at his usual playing weight, Johnson is ready to help lead Auburn back to the top of the SEC and further into March Madness after a surprising second-round exit this past postseason. Now a veteran, he's familiar with what goes into an entire season in Bruce Pearl's system and is doing his best to help out those who are now in the place he was in last year as a newcomer.

"With the new guys that are coming in with our transfers, such as Johni and Chance, the newer guys, I was the new guy last year, so I was the one learning the system through the Auburn culture, and now I can help my younger guys get along with it," Johnson said.

A player never to hide his feelings, K.D. feels the trip to Israel helped this year's team bond quickly, and the competition against the professionals in the last game during the trip was a great experience for everyone. But, after surprisingly going all last season without getting a technical foul, Johnson did get whistled up for one in Israel. So, did he have a him vs. the entire country attitude?

"Nah, not necessarily," he said. "I was just over there trying to have fun. They have some good competition over there, so we were just over there competing with the new guys."

Johnson is definitely taking a team-first attitude heading into his junior season, stating that it doesn't matter if he starts or comes off the bench as he has total trust in Pearl to use him in whatever way is best for the Tigers. He's spent the offseason re-working his shot after shooting 38.6 percent from the floor last season, including 29 percent from behind the three-point line.

But back to the memes. After seeing almost every face possible from the Atlanta native, we couldn't possibly be in store for even more this season, right? Wrong.

"Yeah, I've got a lot of new ones for them," Johnson said.

And as far as what will be different now that he's back to the weight he considers his optimal weight?

"Explosive," Johnson said. "You'll see a few more dunks and stuff like that."

Auburn fans everywhere wait with enthusiasm for this K.D. Johnson.