AUBURN | Danjel Purifoy was expected to miss 3-4 weeks with an ankle injury. He was back in two. He only expected to play about 10 minutes against Alabama. He played 29.
And his ankle after Saturday’s 84-64 win over the Tide? Just fine.
“Oh, there was no pain. We were playing Alabama so I didn't care. I couldn't feel anything,” Purifoy said.
Purifoy turned his ankle in the later stages of an 88-85 loss to Ole Miss Jan. 7. His rigorous rehab schedule helped him return after missing just three games.
“If you watch the injury, he rolled it over pretty good,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “But I think within four or five days we were starting to comment about boy, he’s really responding to the treatment. And the swelling went down and it went down fast.
“The second thing is, he’s not been in pain for over a week. He had a week of pain free. And I think we probably could have taped him up and played him earlier than we did.”
Purifoy came off the bench to finish the Alabama game with five points on 2-of-4 shooting along with three rebounds and three steals.
“When I first got in the game and everybody started cheering for me, that's when I stopped thinking about my ankle and just went out and played,” Purifoy said.
After picking up two home wins last week, the schedule gets much tougher for the Tigers starting Tuesday at No. 23 South Carolina. Saturday’s game is at TCU. Both teams are in the NCAA RPI top 30.
Having a healthy and productive Purifoy back will be a key for Auburn’s chances of pulling off an upset or two.
“It was great to get (Purifoy) back,” Pearl said. “I yelled at him more in that game than I have all year because I expect so much from him. I know what he’s capable of. And make winning plays in many, many ways. It was, we just have to build on this now. Offensively he lets me and us do a lot of things we can’t do without him. And then defensively, he can guard multiple positions. He can guard inside.
“When South Carolina goes small with (Sindarius) Thornwell at the four, they’re big at times and then when he plays the four, they’re sometimes even more dangerous. I mean that’s a great combination, so having versatility at that position is important to be able to go up against South Carolina.”
