AUBURN | With all due respect to Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and others, Auburn basketball has its own breakfast club, and this one sounds even more entertaining than the 1985 "Brat Pack" comedy.
The Tigers' version has a budding superstar in freshman forward Jabari Smith Jr., the leader who has helped form the early morning workouts before most other Auburn students are yet to awaken from a night's slumber. Joining the five-star signee is veteran Devan Cambridge, transfer Wendell Greene Jr. and reserve Lior Berman, all grinding in the gym under the guidance of graduate assistant K.T. Harrell.
It isn't a form of punishment. Not at all. But a great example of what makes Smith so unique on the floor, according to Bruce Pearl.
"He's led by example, and for him to come in as a freshman and be our hardest working player on the hardest working team that I've coached, it just says a lot," the Auburn coach said.
A potential top-five pick in next year's NBA draft, Smith expects to be one of the key players that pushes the Tigers to a strong season and possible long run in the NCAA Tournament. A "friend with everybody on the team," per Pearl, the hype and status as the team's alpha has not gone to Smith's head. Actually, he's the one pushing for those pre-dawn workouts.
"We feel like going early just kind of makes you get up and kind of push through it and just show that you really want it," Smith said.
That attitude makes him already viewed as one of the leaders of the Tigers as well, something that many freshmen would have a hard time dealing with so early. Smith knows he's good, but, as his coach states, he wants his teammates to raise their game alongside him. He doesn't have a characteristic that Pearl sometimes sees from star players.
"Oftentimes -- and I've been around some great players -- the better they look, the worse the other guys look and they somehow love the separation between them and everybody else," Pearl said. "Not Jabari."
It adds up to what should be a strong season for both the Tigers and Smith, who in all likelihood is the next one-and-done for Pearl. But, for the time being, the coach is enjoying having the highest-ranked signee in program history on the Plains.
"He's just been a lot of fun to coach," Pearl said. "That's why he's going to be a pro -- because he trains like a pro, and he acts like one, and he wants to be coached."
