AUBURN | J’Von McCormick chose Auburn over a couple of smaller schools coming out of junior college because he wanted a challenge.

He certainly got that joining a talented squad that’s ranked 12th nationally and going up against All-SEC point guard Jared Harper in practice everyday. Even coach Bruce Pearl made it tough for McCormick when he first arrived.

“My wife gets mad at me like all the time. She says I yell at him too much, and he handles it,” Pearl said. “I think part of it is this is what I need to see. This is what I’ve wanted to see. My perception and the team’s perception is he’s one of the quickest guys out there.”

McCormick, however, welcomed the tough love.

“My JUCO coach was pretty hard on me, so I feel like I got that,” he said.

And the decision to come to Auburn, the acceptance of hard coaching and putting in the work on the court has paid off. McCormick has seen his minutes and production tick up the last few games following a breakout performance at N.C. State.

“I felt like it would better me in the future,” McCormick explained. “And I didn't wanna go to a school where I knew I would be the man. I just wanted to be a part of a team that could win history and do something good for the program.”

McCormick came off the bench to score 14 points, dish out three assists and grab three steals in the loss to the Wolfpack. In his last three games, the junior has averaged 7.3 points, 3.3 assists and 3.3 steals.

“I think just as the season’s been progressing, he’s just been getting better and better, he’s getting more accustomed to our system, he’s getting more accustomed to playing and just knowing that SEC play we need to have a deep team, we have 10 players with us right now, so we’re just going to try to use that to our advantage,” said Harper, who is averaging 14.9 points and an SEC-best 6.8 assists per game.

McCormick has become an important backup to Harper and a key defensive player, a role he’s very comfortable in.

“First of all, Coach wants me to come off the bench and be a big impact on defense and I feel like I've been doing that, and contribute on offense as much as I can. So I feel like my role is very good,” McCormick said.

Now, Pearl has no reservations of putting McCormick in the game, whether it’s to spell Harper or play alongside him.

“I definitely have confidence in him. He’s fast, he’s quick, he plays hard,” Pearl said.

Auburn plays at Ole Miss Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.