Quan Prowell never imagined his senior season would turn out like this.

The Auburn forward had big plans for his final season in college. And none of them involved trying to defend 7-foot Southeastern Conference centers in the paint.

The 6-foot-8, 215-pound Prowell isn’t built to bang inside with the SEC’s biggest big men. In the preseason, Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo planned to use Prowell as a perimeter player, taking advantage of his quickness and long-range shooting ability on offense.

But a season-ending hand injury to center Vot Barber changed those plans.

Instead of creating mismatches as a small forward, Prowell has been mismatched as Auburn’s center-of-last-resort.

But he hasn’t complained.

“He has handled (playing inside) very well, and I know that can be frustrating at times,” Lebo said. “He has been really consistent. He has had a terrific senior year. … I think he’s matured a lot, and hopefully he’ll leave here saying this was a good experience for him.”

Prowell’s contributions have been key for Auburn throughout his career. The Columbus, Ga., native began his career with two seasons at Furman before transferring to AU in 2005. After sitting out the 2005-06 season, Prowell played in 21 games as a junior.

He was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder last season, playing in 21 games.

This year, after being suspended for five games to start the season, Prowell leads the Tigers in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 22.6 points over the last five games, including a career-best 31 last Wednesday at Mississippi State.

But it will all be over soon. He has just two regular-season games remaining in his career, and tonight’s game against Georgia marks Prowell’s final game in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Prowell and fellow senior Frank Tolbert will be honored before the start of tonight’s game, along with walk-on Adam Luquire. It’s a special moment for Prowell.

“It means a lot to me,” he said. “It’s been a long road and a long time coming. It’s my last one as a senior at Auburn, at a place where I always wanted to play since high school.

“This one is going to be special to me.”

As for his difficult and often painful senior season, Prowell prefers to take a positive outlook.

He believes all that time spent guarding bigger, stronger players this season will help him in his basketball future. He is realistic to know that his
NBA dreams are a long shot at the moment: There just isn’t much of an NBA market for slender 6-foot-8 college big men who never played in an NCAA Tournament. But he believes his inside-outside skills could appeal to European teams.

“I just want to see if I can further my career at the pro level, whether it’s here or overseas,” Prowell said. “I would rather it be here, but if it’s overseas, I’m willing to take that opportunity.”

And wherever he plays, he believes the hard lessons of the last year will come in handy.

“It makes you a lot tougher because you take so many hits to your body when you are defending the ball,” Prowell said of playing the post in the SEC.

“For the most part, it will help.”

Today’s game will begin at 7 p.m. and will not be televised. Tickets are $15 each, though 300 “family zone” tickets will be available for $7 each at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ticket office.

The first 1,000 fans to arrive at the arena will receive a Chuck Person bobblehead doll.

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Georgia at Auburn
Where: Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum
When: 7 p.m.
TV/Radio: 97..7 FM (No TV)
Records: Auburn 14-13 (4-10 SEC), Georgia 12-15 (3-11 SEC)
Scouting Report: Auburn will try to bounce back from Saturday’s home loss to South Carolina today against Georgia. The Bulldogs are in last place in the SEC’s Eastern Division. Auburn is tied for fifth in the SEC West with Alabama, though the Crimson Tide currently leads on tiebreakers.
Projected Starters, Georgia: PG Sundiata Gaines, 6-1 Sr. (14.7 points, 4.3 assists per game); SG Billy Humphrey, 6-1 Jr. (12.8 points, 3.3 rebounds); SF Terrance Woodbury, 6-7 Jr. (9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds); PF Albert Jackson, 6-10 So. (2.5 points, 3.6 rebounds); C Dave Bliss, 6-10 Sr. (7.7 points, 5.4 rebounds)
Projected Starters, Auburn: PG Quantez Robertson, 6-3 Jr. (7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds); G Rasheem Barrett, 6-5 Jr. (13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds); G Frank Tolbert, 6-4 Sr. (13.2 points, 5.2 rebounds); F Lucas Hargrove, 6-6 So. (7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds); F Quan Prowell, 6-8 Sr. (15.7 points, 6.4 rebounds)