Auburn point guard DeWayne Reed had a forgettable start to Southeastern Conference play.
In AU’s first two SEC games, Reed was a miserable 0-for-8 from 3-point range and scored a total of 13 points. Throw in an 0-for-4 effort against Xavier, and Reed entered last Wednesday’s game at LSU in an 0-for-12 3-point-shooting slump.
Auburn coach Jeff Lebo had a simple message for his sophomore point guard: Keep shooting.
Lebo recruited Reed as a scorer and a distributor. And with Auburn short-handed to start SEC play, the Tigers need Reed’s scoring more than ever. AU couldn’t afford for its point guard to have a crisis of confidence.
“He puts a lot of pressure on himself at times,” Lebo said. “Early in the season, he took some bad ones and contested ones.
“He’s done a much better job in the last couple of games to take them when they were available and open. When he’s open, everybody on the team has confidence that he can make that shot.”
Against LSU, Reed’s slump was forgotten. He hit four of his six 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 20 points.
After that game, Lebo had another simple message: Keep it up.
Auburn (10-5, 1-2 SEC) will need plenty of points from Reed and the rest of his teammates today against No. 18 Ole Miss.
The Rebels (15-1, 2-1) are among the nation’s hottest teams. Ole Miss started 13-0 before losing its SEC opener at Tennessee, then won its next two SEC games, including a Wednesday win against Florida.
Auburn, meanwhile, has a bit of momentum itself. The win against LSU snapped a three-game losing streak. Lebo admitted he was a little surprised by his players’ reaction: The locker room was relatively quiet after the victory.
“Any time you win in this league, I don’t care where it is, home or the road, it’s big,” Lebo said. “I told our team after the game ... I don’t know if we exerted so much energy, in the locker room, we just didn’t seem to be as excited.
“When you pick up a win in this league, you need to be excited.”
Of course, the celebration might have been muted by exhaustion. Auburn has just seven healthy scholarship players. Reed played 35 minutes and was one of four Tigers to top 30 minutes against LSU.
Today’s game begins at 4 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Net (Channel 26 in Lee County).
Before the game, former Auburn players will participate in the Legends Game, beginning at 1:15 p.m. Among the former AU stars expected to compete are Wesley Person, Reggie Gallon, Derrick Bird, Nathan Watson, Ronny LeMelle and Ian Young.

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