Samir Doughty wasted no time finding his niche in Auburn's offense last year, scoring his season-high of 20 points in the second game of the season against Washington.

He then went on start 27 of Auburn's 40 games. But most of the attention was on the high-flying backcourt duo of Jared Harper and Bryce Brown when it came to Auburn's offense.

This season, the Tigers will look to Doughty from the get-go as one of their "top offensive options."

"He's a leader," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Doughty. "He's going to get a lot more attention than he did last year. He's going to get the kind of attention that Jared got and that Bryce got. As you would expect and so how he's able to handle that, we'll have to go through and see that. But he's done great. He's worked hard and he's shown good leadership."

In Doughty's first season with the Tigers after transferring from VCU, the Philadelphia native averaged 7.3 points, 3.5 boards and 1.4 steals per game in a sixth-man role.

He shot an efficient 45.8 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from 3-point range — the latter serving as the best per-attempt mark on the team from last year.

Still, Bruce Pearl knows Doughty is a player that prefers to put the ball on the floor and attack off the dribble, so he'll be looking for an equal amount of confidence beyond the arc from his 6-foot-4 guard.

"Samir's always had a good eurostep," Pearl said. "He's always had the ability to one, two and get to the rim. And he's done a better job with a little more size and strength to finish. So, yes, he's done that. At the same time, I want him catching and sticking. If he's open, I want him to be able to shoot the basketball."

Doughty has bulked up this offseason and is working to improve his strength and athleticism, as well, for those instances where he does attack the basket.

He noted that he's trying to add an effective mid-range game to his offensive skill set, as well.

“Just finishing around the basket more," Doughty said. "I’ve been working on my shooting, but I know that’s something I struggled with last year: finishing over the top of bigger people than I’m used to."

A senior, Doughty knew the shoes were going to need filling and that the bigger role — both on and off the floor — was on its way. And, with a team composed of just five seniors to eight newcomers, he's embracing that responsibility.

"I’ve taken on more of a leadership role, more of a scoring role, but also still trying to get my teammates involved," Doughty said. "Still want to be unselfish, but I think being a leader — being more of a leader is the biggest thing I have to adjust to.”

-------

NOT A MEMBER?

JOIN AUBURNSPORTS.COM TODAY to enjoy around-the-clock content including stories, analysis, videos, podcasts, call-in shows and The Greatest Message Board In The History of The Internet.