AUBURN | In his first 73 games at Memphis and Auburn, Jamal Johnson never scored 20 or more points.
In the Tigers’ first two SEC games this season, he’s reached or exceeded the 20-point barrier twice. He scored 21 against Arkansas Wednesday and 20 at Texas A&M Saturday afternoon.
“Jamal Johnson was terrific,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “Jamal did a nice job moving the ball, and he's got really good length. He's got good size and he's got good range, so he can shoot over the top of a defender. He led us in shots. He led us in 3-point shots. He did a nice job.”
Johnson has been doing most of his damage from beyond the arc. He made 5 of 7 3-pointers against the Razorbacks and 5 of 14 against the Aggies.
He was 6 of 12 from long range in the second half of the TAMU game as he led a comeback from 14-points down. A potential go-ahead 3 with 33 second left rimmed out and then a last-second heave from half court came up short in the 68-66 loss.
Johnson, who averaged just 3.5 points in 11.1 minutes off the bench last season, has upped his average points to 10.7 and minutes to 22 this year. He put a lot of extra work during the offseason with his father, former NBA player Buck Johnson, and was called by Pearl the team’s most improved player going into the season.
One of just two upperclassmen on the team, Johnson has also taken on a leadership role with AU’s young roster.
“He's been in the program for three years now,” said Pearl. “He worked so hard in the offseason — but he's got a leadership role on this team. He's got a lot of voice in the locker room and that's a good thing because he's such a great kid. He's already graduated from school. He's in grad school right now. He's a smart young man and a hard worker.
“And it's just wonderful to see someone like that pay their dues, stay right and stay ready — he's played behind some really good players the last couple of years. But, it's wonderful, just wonderful to see.”
Auburn, 6-4 overall and 0-2 in the SEC, plays at Ole Miss Wednesday night at 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
