Auburn improved to 18-1 on the hardwood Saturday against Tennessee, also moving to 6-0 in conference play. But the Tigers didn't escape a 53-51 instant classic defensive battle at the Neville Arena without a hitch.
Jahki Howard was sent away from the bench by Bruce Pearl for the second half after a basketball X's and O's conversation got heated. Pearl downplayed the chances of it becoming a significant long-term development while speaking to the media.
“He had a rotation out there, and I don’t think he felt great about his rotation,” Pearl said about the intense back-and-forth and consequences postgame, per AL.com. “We had a conversation, and we had another conversation after the game. He’ll be fine.”
Former Auburn RB Shaun Shivers, now a coach at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, Florida, made it a learning moment for the athletically gifted Howard.
"Bro, this is unacceptable! Take the coaching, and don’t let your emotions get in the way of something good, not everyone gets the opportunity to play at this level," Shivers tweeted. "Don’t take it for granted!"
Howard is an intense player who's clashed with teammates and Pearl. As fellow freshman Tahaad Pettiford explained, few take the game as seriously as Howard on the hardwood.
“You try to get him to smile on the bench and he was just locked in, but I guess it’s just normal for him,” Pettiford said, per AL.com. “I mean, when it comes to game time, he’s always locked in, but off the court he’s just a normal kid, smiling, always making jokes, but once he gets on the court it’s just a whole another Jahki.”
Howard's talent is massive and AU is winning too much right now to stress about these kinds of incidents too much. If things could be made completely right by the SEC Tournament, Howard can be one of March's breakout stars.
And the destination will have been the journey.