Throughout the season, Allen Flanigan was consistently good, but Bruce Pearl wanted more from him. He got it.
While Auburn recorded a program record of 109 points against South Carolina on Saturday, Flanigan set a career high with 24 points and also added six points and four assists. He was the leader in almost every category – he had the most points, the second most rebounds and the second most assists for the team.
But Pearl still wants more.
“I have great expectations for Al,” said Pearl. “Al will probably tell you after each game that I want him more than anyone else and he will go out with – lead us in rebounds, lead us in percentage of field goal, he reaches the foul line and hits everyone – I will find something wrong with his game because I consider him a great player. “
Still, Pearl admitted that Flanigan had a great game against South Carolina.
Flanigan found his playing style to be very physical, downhill, and he took advantage of that against the Gamecocks. As a result, he went to the line of six free throws. He did them all, which means it’s something that Pearl won’t be able to undermine.
Pearl is also unlikely to be able to find flaws in Flanigan’s external shots. At the start of the game, Flanigan was shooting 37 percent beyond the bow. He made 67 percent of his attempts on Saturday for 12 points.
Flanigan created defensive confusion, too, with a steal and a block, and he fell with four defensive rebounds.
Offensively, Flanigan was part of an entire Tigers squadron that showed better passing and court vision (in addition to what Sharife Cooper did for himself). He finished with four assists, but also indirectly helped to create other opportunities. Flanigan finished with the third highest plus / minus score on the team in the 33 minutes he played.
This season, Flanigan is one of the most outstanding players in the league last year. He increased his averages from 3.2 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game to 14.4 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Flanigan knew he would have to make that leap as soon as the season was over. Despite having only played three games, he was the only return player on the team with some initial experience. He also had more minutes last season, after an average of 13.8 minutes per game.
“My mindset and everything had to change very quickly during the summer and during the quarantine phase,” said Flanigan. “Really being just a leader, being a guy that other guys can look at – the youngest guys – and really just following what I do, leading by example”.
As soon as the 2020 season started, Flanigan established himself as a leading and trusted player. Babatunde Akingbola, a striker who was also Isaac Okoro’s teammate at school, said early on that Flanigan would be the team’s next Okoro. It was a bold statement, but so far, Flanigan has lived up to it.
Like Okoro, Flanigan is one of Auburn’s best defenders. He is a big, athletic guard who can cover many positions. He also showed that he can play physically and drive downhill.
So far, Flanigan has scored 13 of 16 double-digit games. He did a lot of that without a real point guard while Sharife Cooper was away. And he even did that by playing out of position as a point guard when Justin Powell got hurt.
Now that Cooper is back, Flanigan is reaping the benefits of having a point guard who can find the ball for him and draw the attention of his opponents, as well as with the lessons he learned from passing through the point.
“Both Sharife and Al are guys that you need to be able to protect all the way to the edge,” said Pearl. “And you have to leave because they can win the one-on-one match.”
Against South Carolina, all the things Flanigan has shown he can do fit into one complete game. He really did it all, said Pearl.
Now, Flanigan has a new personal record of 24 points to beat and an even higher standard for Pearl to maintain.
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