GREENVILLE | Going 0 for 14 from the floor is no way to go out.
That’s one of the reasons K.D. Johnson has been spending extra time this week working on his jump shot.
“In practice he's been great,” said Jabari Smith. “He's been paying attention to detail, had a lot of energy. I've been seeing him in the gym getting shots up on his own. He's been very locked in and very focused on bouncing back from that game, putting it behind him and just moving forward.”
Coming off a 67-62 loss to Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Auburn is preparing to play No. 15 seed Jacksonville State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Johnson comes into the game second on the team averaging 12.3 points per game. Making an early shot against the Gamecocks could be the spark to get him rolling.
“When it's not going in, it's psychologically a challenge, but if he makes one, watch out because it will just be -- when Jabari was asked a question, are you worried about KD's shooting? No, 100 percent, not worried about it,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl.
“So he is a very unpredictable player, and so not shooting it well was sort of unpredictable. So you never know exactly what you're going to get, but more often than not, he's delivered for us.”
In many ways, Johnson reminds Pearl of his son, Steven, who played for him at Tennessee and is now an assistant coach at Auburn.
"Dads, have you ever coached your son and after he struck out, he threw his bat and he kind of embarrassed you in front of other people because he kind of cried when he fouled out? I had one of those sons in Steven Pearl. I've got another one of them in K.D. Johnson. You want to know what he's thinking? Just look at his face, all those expressions,” said Pearl.
“I'd rather teach him to care a little less than to care. The fact that he cares and the fact that he's emotional and the fact that he's unpredictable, you know, he's a maniac, but he's my maniac.”
Tip-off at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C is scheduled for 11:40 a.m. CT on truTV.
