AUBURN | J’Von McCormick has already set Auburn’s single-game record with 16 assists against CSUN, and he could challenge Jared Harper’s single-season assist record of 231 set last season.
Suffice it to say, McCormick has responded quite well stepping in for Harper as the Tigers’ starting point guard this season. He’s second in the SEC averaging 6.7 assists per game.
“It’s just exciting seeing my teammates get open shots and build their confidence up,” said McCormick of his assists. “I know I’m going to need them later on this season.”
McCormick is unlikely to score at the pace of Harper, who finished his three-year career 14th in school history with 1,427 points, but Bruce Pearl believes the senior can improve on his current average of 8.4 points per game.
“I think that J’Von is obviously a very unselfish player and a great athlete. I love the fact that he tries to get his teammates involved,” Pearl said. “There are times when he takes the ball down the lane where I would actually like to see him shooting it than passing it, sometimes, because he can score. He can make a tough 2. Plus, if he misses, we get good rebounding position.
“I don’t think that I would need to emphasize that he should try and have more assists than he does. Almost, right now, I would almost be inclined to saying, I want you to score a little bit more. I want him to hone his 3-ball a little bit more. But I recognize that the combination of his own personal unselfishness and the ability to play-make for others is something that he really enjoys—and we benefit from. I want him to impact the game more defensively, and I want him to impact the game even more with his ability to score.”
No. 14 Auburn, 7-0 and off to its best start under Pearl, host Furman Thursday night. The Paladins are 7-2 on the season with losses at Alabama and at South Florida. Furman has forced 164 turnovers, which ranks seventh in the country, has 83 steals, which ranks 17th, and made 87 3-pointers, which ranks ninth.
“They’re a really good team,” Pearl said. “Why are they a good team? Because they really shoot the 3 ball. They’ve made 10 or more 3s on four occasions this season. They also turn you over a lot. It’s funny; they don’t send you to the foul line but 11 times a game, but they have great hands. If you put the ball down on the floor, and they strip and rip you, they reach and they grab, they dislodge the ball.
“They take charges, they sink, they rotate, so guys like Samir Doughty or J’Von McCormick or Isaac Okoro — especially Isaac, with as big and as strong as he is — they’ll be jumping in front of him all night trying to take charges.”
Tip-off at Auburn Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
