< Previous 9 MEN’S B ASKETB ALL S T AFF IRA BOWMAN Assistant Coach STEVEN PEARL Assistant Coach WES FLANIGAN Assistant Coach DAMON DAVIS Strength & Conditioning Coach RANDY ROBERTS Chaplain CLARK PEARSON Athletic Trainer IAN BORDERS Video Coordinator MADDUX JEFFREYS Graduate Assistant KT HARRELL Graduate Assistant CHAD PREWETT Director of Operations MARQUIS DANIELS Director of Player Development MIKE BURGOMASTER Assistant Director of Operations TRA’CEE TANNER Equipment Manager HOLLY MCKEE Sports Dietitian CLICK EACH PHOTO FOR FULL BIO10 FEA TURE: D YL AN CARD W EL L Q&A DYLAN CARDWELL has provided a jolt of energy for this Auburn team. He’s pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game and is third on the team with eight blocks, but it’s his passion on the court that has rubbed off on his teammates. We spoke with the freshman big man for our latest newcomer spotlight. Do you have any hidden talents? Cardwell: I can play the piano. I can sing. I can dance. I just like music. When I was at Oak Hill, we had a piano in our chapel. So I would just get bored when the chapel was empty, and I would go in there and play the piano. I can play hip-hop songs. What’s something people don’t know about you? Cardwell: I was born with 12 fingers and 12 toes. What’s your first memory of coming to Auburn? Cardwell: The Kick Six. I remember they kicked the field goal, the ball was in the air, and I was in the Tiger’s Den. I was watching it on TV. And then the player caught it, and when he was running, I was like “Oh, he could return this.” He got to the 20-yard line, and that’s when I ran out of the Tiger’s Den and down to the field. By the time I got to the field, he had just crossed the other 20. So I missed like half the run, but I knew he was going to return it for some reason. As soon as he got in the end zone, I just ran on the field. My aunt said she saw me in an interview – I was jumping behind Coach Gus. I was just running around crazy like I was an Auburn student. In 2019, I did the same thing. It was fun. What sport would you play if not basketball? Cardwell: I would play football. I’d be lining up, me and Bo Nix. Do you remember the first time you dunked? Cardwell: I was really slow to dunk. It took me until the ninth grade. My first in-game dunk was ninth grade, and after I dunked it, I immediately ran into the stands. I high- fived my AAU coach, and I went to hug my mom. But this is in the middle of a game. I dunked it, and I ran into the stands to celebrate because I had never really tried to dunk in a game before. It was crazy. Give me one word to describe Bruce Pearl. Cardwell: Impactful. He’s very impactful. He’s a great father figure to everybody on this team. He’s a great head coach, a great listener. He can impact you in many ways – spiritually, physically, emotionally – he’s just an impactful guy. How do you see yourself fitting into the team this year? Cardwell: Just playing a role. Crashing the boards, hitting open shots, finding my teammates, protecting the rim, trying to get as many steals as I can in the passing lane, just being a good teammate. I want to be an all-around player. Whatever I can do to help the team is whatever works for me. What makes this 2020 class special? Cardwell: We’re all hard-working. We all love staying in the gym. We’re all highly motivated, and we just love competing. We can all bring something different to the game, but at the same time, I feel like we have the potential and talent to all play together at the same time. So we can all shoot, we can all spread the floor, we can all score in the paint, we can all pass. We have crazy court vision. We all have high IQs. I feel like this is a great freshman class, a very humble freshman class and a very hard- working freshman class. 15 A UTLIVE The Bruce Pearl Family Foundation is once again continuing the fight against cancer with the sixth year of AUTLIVE, Auburn basketball’s fight against cancer. The best way to beat cancer is to detect it early and be able to fight it on your home court. This year’s AUTLIVE game will take place in Auburn Arena on Saturday, February 27, 2021 vs. Tennessee. You can support the cause by purchasing a t-shirt for $25 beginning early January. AUTLIVE raises the awareness of cancer prevention and detection while t-shirt sales and donations raise money to benefit cancer patients at these locations: Russell Medical Foundation, Smile-A-Mile, Coosa Valley Medical Center, Children’s of Alabama, East Alabama Medical Center, Joy to Life, aTeam Ministries, Cancer Wellness Foundation and Russell Hill. Pearl and his coaching staff initiated the OUTLIVE program in 2009 at Tennessee in recognition of former Vol Chris Lofton, who beat testicular cancer through early diagnosis and local #ThinkSunSouth WHETHER YOU’RE CUTTING, MOWING, MULCHING, TILLING, LOADING, DIGGING, PLANTING, HAULING OR OFF-ROADING... QUALITY JOHN DEERE EQUIPMENT, AFFORDABLY PRICED. 21 LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEAST. >> FIND YOURS << SUNSOUTH.COMNext >