Auburn, Alabama enter meeting in similar boat

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Posted 4:49PM on Tuesday, January 10, 2006

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Now, Auburn has some company in dealing with a shortage of experienced big men. Alabama is in a similar situation entering Wednesday night's visit to the Tigers with the loss of senior forward Chuck Davis to a season-ending knee injury. ``We have to regroup quickly,'' Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried said. ``We don't have time to go through a lot of growing pains with this situation. We've got to get to where we need to be fast.'' He'd prefer it to happen in time for the Tide (7-6, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) to extend its five-game winning streak in the rivalry with Auburn (8-4, 0-1). Both teams are expected to start three freshmen in the game with Alonzo Gee likely replacing Davis, who had surgery Tuesday in Birmingham to repair torn ligaments in his right knee. That would mean all four starting forwards will be freshmen. Freshman Richard Hendrix has started alongside Davis the past four games and has raised his average to 8.5 points and 6.4 rebounds during that stretch. The Tide's most heralded newcomer is hoping to boost his performance even more in Davis' absence. ``Now, it's time to grow up,'' he said. Alabama does have a big edge in experience with center Jermareo Davidson, who had a career-high 25 points in the Tide's SEC opener against Mississippi. Coach Jeff Lebo said Alabama's frontcourt ranked ``as one of the top three'' nationally before losing Davis. ``That is where we have had trouble, where we had to play against teams that could score inside,'' Lebo said. ``I know Mark will have them ready to go. A lot of times that presents a lot of opportunities for somebody else. ``I know he will turn that into a positive for our game.'' Lebo noted that Hendrix's play has improved he's averaging 12.5 points and 7.8 rebounds as a starter and called Gee ``very, very talented.'' Auburn has been starting a bigger lineup, with 6-foot-8, 240-pounder Joey Cameron and 6-7, 220-pounder Korvotney Barber both freshmen starting at forward. But No. 2 scorer Rasheem Barrett, another freshman, and fellow reserve Daniel Hayles both play about the same number of minutes as the two starters. ``The way they play they're tough to guard against because they can play some small lineups and shoot the 3 and really give you some tough matchups,'' Gottfried said. Barrett is averaging 11.7 points per game in just 21 minutes an outing and catching Gottfried's attention with his recent play. ``Rasheem Barrett is playing lights out as a freshman,'' Gottfried said. Both teams suffered double-digit losses in their SEC openers, Alabama losing to Ole Miss and Auburn falling at Vanderbilt. Both coaches are guarding against confidence problems following the losses and, for Alabama, Davis's injury. ``I think it's easy to get down,'' said Gottfried, whose team is playing only its third road game. ``Our team is going to be a little bit unsure how we're going to score and how we're going to play without Chuck. We're going to be very positive and just believe in these guys.'' Auburn is hoping one trend continues: The Tigers are perfect in eight home games while losing all four road games. They forced just six turnovers and allowed 12 3-pointers in a 74-50 loss to Vandy. ``We have to understand the big picture here and put that one behind us,'' Lebo said. (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)