This Auburn Tigers Freshman Could See More Minutes in Upcoming Games

The Auburn Tigers have lost two in a row entering Tuesday night, most recently falling to Tennessee and Alabama, and they are seemingly searching for answers to get back in the win column against No. 19 Vanderbilt.

Auburn head coach Steven Pearl hinted at a few slight rotation changes in his press conference on Monday, but one of the most important was regarding freshman forward Filip Jović.

“The best thing we can do is slide [Sebastian Williams-Adams] to some three, and have Filip play some four. That probably would make the most sense,” Pearl said. “[KeShawn Murphy] is playing great, Sebastian is playing great, those are two of our better defenders.”

“Still have to find a way to get him more than 12 minutes out there, because he just does so many little things that affect winning,” Pearl continued. “We need to reward him for that. We have to do a better job in that area.”

Jović has undoubtedly made the largest strides thus far this year of any Tiger, as he is currently averaging 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page at you, but as he is becoming increasingly more acclimated to the American style of basketball, he has drastically improved in all aspects of the game.

Some could view Auburn’s loss at Georgia as his breakout game, during which he posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Bulldogs. A few games later in the Tigers’ victory over South Carolina, Jović recorded a career-high 23 points and six rebounds.

He has been extremely efficient in conference play, shooting 76.5% from the field in Auburn’s last 10 SEC matchups, while also making his presence known on the glass. His effort on both ends makes him a dangerous weapon, and he is only going to continue to improve night in and night out.

Another reason why his statistics aren’t mind-blowing is due to limited playing time – not because he isn’t performing at a high level, but KeShawn Murphy and Sebastian Williams-Adams have dominated frontcourt minutes. Murphy has evolved into a reliable starting center as he has become healthier, and Williams-Adams is a force on both ends of the floor.

However, following Auburn’s 96-92 to Alabama at home on Saturday, Pearl mentioned his desire to find more opportunities for Jović to see the court.

“Filip’s got to play more. I have to find ways to get Filip more minutes. 13 minutes is not enough for Filip. We have to fix that,” Pearl said.

So, expect to see Jović, Williams-Adams, and Murphy on the floor at the same time against the Commodores on Tuesday night and beyond. Jović has only seen an average of 14.6 minutes in Auburn’s last five games, but as Pearl alluded to, he’s earned more playing time and is expected to play at the four alongside the Tigers’ other top-two big men in upcoming contests.

If Jović, Williams-Adams, and Murphy evolve into a reliable trio for Auburn’s frontcourt, the Tigers could certainly utilize it more going forward, which would provide a massive rebounding presence and stout defense pressure against opposing bigs down low.