AUBURN | Davion Mitchell shocked Bruce Pearl when he left Auburn in 2018 and transferred to Baylor.
Three years later, Pearl is preparing to take his hotshot freshman, Sharife Cooper, to Waco, Texas to face Mitchell, who is the leader of the 2nd-ranked and undefeated Bears.
It should be a compelling matchup between two of the best point guards in the country.
“The moment won't be too big for Sharife,” Pearl said. “Will the moment be too big for us as a team? That's possible, especially early. You know, I think early's going to be important because they've just been blitzing everybody. Big leads at home -- at home especially. So, can we handle the moment as a team?
“That's why we're going down there to see. We've not experienced anything quite like it yet.”
The Bears, who lead the country with a +25.7 scoring margin, jumped out to a 36-5 lead over Kansas State Wednesday night. Mitchell had a career-high 31 points, making 7 of 9 3-pointers, in the 107-59 win.
For the season, Mitchell is averaging 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.9 turnovers per game. He’s shooting 53.0 percent from the floor and 47.0 percent from beyond the arc.
“I hated when he left. Broke my heart,” Pearl said. “He was playing with and competing with Jared Harper. Jared was a year older and had a little bit of an edge. I would've loved to have a chance to play them together. If Davion stayed, we never would've seen J'Von McCormick. So, you know, it worked out great for everybody. Davion's gone down to Baylor, he's continued to do the work, he's continued to improve. He was always a great defensive guard. He's playing now like he played in high school offensively — in a sense that you can’t guard him.
“He can shoot the 3 ball and everything. The adjustment to the college game, offensively, when he first got to Baylor, he didn't shoot it a great percentage. But that guy will be in the gym more than anybody else. He's an impossible cover. You've got to stay up on him from the 3 ball, and he can go by you with either hand, and he's got power to finish and he's the best on-ball defender.”
Cooper has been a star since the NCAA ruled him eligible Jan. 8. He’s led Auburn to a 4-2 record averaging 22.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 8.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 4.0 turnovers per game. He’s shooting 40.0 percent from the floor and 18.5 percent from 3-point range.
“He'll be fine from a standpoint of he'll respect Davion for sure, and everything we do will be harder to do because Davion will be guarding him,” Pearl said. “But they've got other guys who can guard as well. I don't think -- it's Baylor against Auburn. It's not Davion against Sharife. There's no bad blood at all between the Auburn and Baylor, Davion and our coaches.
"We love him and we miss him and I'm proud of him, but it'll be a great matchup of great players.”
Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.
