AUBURN | Wendell Green had possibly his worst game in an Auburn uniform this past Wednesday against Northwestern, finishing with just two points on 1-of-9 shooting and committing four turnovers.
The guard admits that that performance might have caused a few more bad games last year, mentioning a stretch of four or five games where he struggled near the end of the season. As a result, Green spent the offseason working on his mentality if such a game would come up this year.
I told myself, 'I can't let that happen if I really want to be as good as I say,'" he said. "So you know, a bad game is gonna happen. I had a bad game shooting against Northwestern, but my goal is to come out here and show you can always bounce back."
Bounce back, indeed, as Green led Auburn with 22 points as the Tigers came back to defeat Saint Louis, 65-60, on Sunday.
"Wendell's got great confidence," Bruce Pearl said. "Wendell's got great poise, great preparation. Wendell has been playing at high levels his whole life."
It was a big-time matchup for the second year in a row for Green against Billikens' star Yuri Collins, who Pearl considers one of the top five point guards in the country. Last season, while settling in during his first several games for the Tigers, Green came off the bench and scored 15 points with eight assists in 27 minutes. Collins finished with 13 points and eight assists while grabbing 12 rebounds.
On Sunday, Green was even better against Collins, as the Saint Louis player finished with 10 points and four turnovers with nine assists.
"He was the best player on the floor at Saint Louis, and he was again today," Pearl said. "Does that (Collins being on the floor) have something to do with it? It probably does. Wendell keeps score. He's special."
Echoing his coach's words, Green said that going up against top guards at his position brings out the best in him.
"We went at it last year, but a little bit more hype around it this year," the Auburn guard said. "It was just fun, and just the team that wins. That's what makes a better point guy; if your team can win, so we got the win. And it was just fun to be out there and compete."
