Tre Donaldson's high school football coach had some wise words for the Auburn sophomore: "He taught me if you're not learning, you're not growing."

That would mean something coming from any coach, but Donaldson didn't have just any coach back in Tallahassee. His coach was Heisman Trophy winner and NBA veteran Charlie Ward, who knows a thing or two about handling pressure in college. The point guard admits humility took some time growing up as a two-sport star in the Florida capital.

"I have 'Humble Beast' on the back of my back," he said. "That word is big to me because at first, when I was young, obviously I was gifted and talented, but I didn't… the word used to bother me. Like people would tell me, 'Be humble' and I didn't really understand what the word means. I felt like I was being humble. But it took me some time to learn the word and just understanding it. And once I finally understood it, I took a big leap in life and athletics."

That word has helped Donaldson take a big step in his second season at Auburn. Through 16 games, the guard averages 7.7 points per game with 3.6 assists to 1.4 turnovers in 18.4 minutes per outing while sharing time with true freshman Aden Holloway in Auburn's backcourt. That's a significant improvement from last year. Still, it's possibly not the points or lack of turnovers that have pleased Donaldson the most, but his free throw percentage, which sits at 90 percent after shooting just 55 percent from the charity stripe last season.

"I took it upon myself because I felt like that was one of my only weaknesses last year… shooting free throws," he said. "It's just a focus thing ... I knew I had to focus on them more. And that's why I'm able to knock them down. I feel like that's what we've done as a team as well."

Bruce Pearl has noticed the change in Donaldson, stating he was more of a football player than point guard when he arrived last summer. Now, he's turning into the playmaker the Tigers rely on.

"I continue to point to Tre and Aden as the leaders of our team as it relates to our backcourt," the coach said. "Valuing possessions, they both have got a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which means they value possessions. And they've trusted their teammates to also get the ball ahead and let some of those other guys make some plays, and they've been willing to take the hockey assist but not put the ball in positions on the floor where they turn the ball over so much."

Donaldson is also part of a second unit that has become one of the best in the country, leaving no slack when the starters come out. What has been the secret to them gelling so fast? Well, Gus Malzahn would be proud of the guard's answer.

"We're just guys that like to fly around and have fun," Donaldson said. "Just being ourselves. I mean, me, KD, Chad… those are the guys making plays and stealing the ball. That's just our personalities. Dylan, too… Chaney."

It's all been part of the process of trying to achieve the dream of playing in the NBA, where Ward played for 12 years before getting into coaching. For Donaldson, he knew something had to change in a variety of ways.

"I don't change my body and continue to grow and learn; I'm not taking that step to get there," he said. "So I just feel like I've worked in all aspects of my body, my mental, watching film, little things like that. That's what I feel like helped me have that big jump."