AUBURN | Babatunde Akingbola knows exactly who he is on the basketball court.

Sure, the sophomore is working hard to expand his skill set, but not at the expense of being Auburn’s rim protector, the one who can provide the blocked shots and be the catalyst for fast breaks.

“That’s my thing. I love to play defense,” said Akingbola, whose nickname is Stretch. “You have to be good at something. You can’t be great at everything on the court. If I’m really good at defense, I can help my team.

“People like Turbo are going to score a lot. People like Sharife and Allen are going to score. I’m going to score, too, but my first thing is my defense. I really take pride in it.”

Akingbola, who is 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, has some big shoes to fill at Auburn’s 5 position. He and 6-foot-11, 250-pound freshman Dylan Cardwell are competing to replace departing seniors Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore.

“I learned a lot,” said Akingbola of playing behind the veterans last season. “Being patient is the key. Don’t rush things when you get the ball in the post. Take your time trying to finish everything. Austin is a big guy. I don’t know that anybody can be big like Austin. The thing that I see myself doing is talking to my teammates and keeping my teammates going.

“On defense, I’m supposed to block shots. That’s my job. I like to block shots. I feel like I will do a lot of that this year. Last year, from Austin and Anfernee, they’re good defenders and they’re good offensive players. I’ve been working really hard on my offense. We just have to see how that goes this year.”

Communication is a key for playing center. He’s usually the closest to the basket and can see and help direct his teammates on the defensive end. It’s an area that Akingbola has worked hard to develop.

“He’s grown tremendously,” said Tyrell ‘Turbo’ Jones. “Last year, Stretch wasn’t really one to talk a lot in practice, not knowing that once he got on the court now, he learned from last year and transferred it to this year. Him being a vocal leader on the court is really big for us. That’s his role that he wanted to take on. He’s been doing a pretty good job of that.”

Akingbola has also worked hard on developing his offensive skills. He’s worked on his post-ups and has a goal of making 70 percent of his field goals this season. He’s even adding a 3-point shot to his repertoire.

“Just finishing around the rim. That’s the big thing for me because that’s where I’m going to be getting my points from,” he said. “Getting offensive rebounds and trying to put it back in, that’s the thing for me.”

Auburn will open the season against St. Joe’s Nov. 26 in the Ft. Myers Tip-Off with a team that includes just two juniors along with five sophomores and five freshmen.

“I feel like we’ve been doing great,” Akingbola said. “The team is really working hard - after practice, during the weekend, playing against each other. The bigs and the guards are pushing each other.”