Okoro's offense 'encouraging but not surprising' to Auburn

Five-star freshman Isaac Okoro is already displaying an offensive skillset to match his SEC-ready defensive capabilities.

Don't color Bruce Pearl shocked.

“It’s encouraging but not surprising," Pearl said of Okoro. "He’s got really good basketball IQ. He’s picked up on everything."

Okoro led Auburn in scoring last Friday in the team's 76-66 win over Davidson with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 2 of 3 makes from downtown. His floor percentage, which calculates the team's scoring possessions with that player on the court, was a game-high 73.2%.

"To see him just do it; not just make it, but the willingness to catch it and shoot it was so very, very encouraging," Pearl said after the game.

And the controlling defensive presence Pearl gushed over in the offseason about Okoro was present and accounted for, too. Auburn matched the 6-foot-6 freshman wing up early and often against Davidson's Axel Gudmundsson, and the defending Atlantic-10 Player of the Year was mostly neutralized, scoring 7 points on 2-for-7 shooting and committing three turnovers.

"Obviously, he's such a great defensive player," Pearl said of Okoro postgame. "You just can't score over him."

Okoro will next be tasked with guarding a South Alabama team that Pearl thinks is one of the more athletically gifted squads the Tigers will face all season. The cross-state foe is led by top scorer Josh Ajayi, a 6-foot-6 four-year starter at forward who has averaged double-digit scoring every season since arriving in Mobile. Pearl and the Tigers will look to Okoro again to keep Ajayi in front of them.

“Athletically, they’re really good,” Pearl said of the Jaguars. “Several of those guys can play above the rim. And they’re fast and quick.”

Pearl said he's playing Okoro at both the small and power forward positions, and the freshman is still making the "easiest transition" out of all Auburn's newcomers.

"That’s really hard to do, and he is on it and all over it," Pearl said. "He’s a really smart player. He’s been a great addition, and we’ve just got to continue to get more experience with him.”

Auburn and South Alabama tip off at 7 p.m. CST from the Mitchell Center on Tuesday. The action is set to be broadcast on ESPN+.