2000-01 record: 18-14; 7-9 in SEC (t4th in West) Final Ranking: NR Postseason: Lost to Purdue 79-61 in second round of NIT. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Daniels 15.7 ppg | Rebounds: McGadney 8.2 rpg | Assists: Harrington 2.4 apg | FG %: Diame 54.2% | 3pt %: Harrington 34.1% | FT %: Glass 89.1% 00-01 Stats: Auburn | SEC

		Tuesday, Nov. 6 The Tigers will be the surprise team of the league. If senior Mack McGadney returns, and his attitude is better, this could be a really fine team. They’ve got excellent wing players. I absolutely love Marquis Daniels at the point and Kyle Davis is a terrific center who set a school record and led the SEC with 84 blocks last year. Cliff Ellis very quietly put together one of the best recruiting classes not only in the SEC, but also in the country. Look out for 6-foot-8 Brandon Robinson who should have an outstanding freshman year. I hear new players may see as much play time as veterans -- when you have that kind of competition in practice, it's always a good sign. One potential problem may be that the Tigers are scheduled to face a lot of patsies early on. Playing only one quality team (Virginia) in November and December, these new kids won't get a chance to grow very much. Still, the Tigers will be solid contenders in the SEC.

Outlook
If Cliff Ellis had kept point guard Jamison Brewer in school, we'd probably be talking about this team as one of the top four in the league. Without the versatile Brewer, it's wait-and-see.

There's no doubting Auburn's firepower. Wing Marquis Daniels and Adam Harrington are back after averaging 15.7 and 15.5 points, respectively. So is 6-foot-7 widebody Mack McGadney, who tore up the first eight games of the season and then tore up his knee. Kyle Davis started 22 games last year and returns as well.

So the onky glaring hole is point guard, which is where freshman Dwayne Mitchell of New Orleans comes in. Senior Lincoln Glass is currently suspended for academic reasons, which only adds to the need for Mitchell to step in right away. Ellis has even experimented with using the 6-6 Daniels as his lead guard.

What we like: Auburn will be able to really attack from the wings with Daniels and Harrington, not to mention inside with McGadney. That means the point guard will be less responsible for the spectacular plays than the routine ones.

What we don't like: Nobody shot better than 34 percent from three-point range last year, and Auburn's 30.8 percent accuracy from there was 11th in the league. If Glass doesn't come back, Harrington is the only returning Tiger who made more than 11 threes last year.

The bottom line: Eleven of Auburn's 14 losses were by 10 points or less, and half of those were by five points or less. (Then again, nine of the Tigers' 18 wins were by 10 points or less.) With better luck and some additional experience in close games, a few more of those close losses might go to the other side of the ledger. Which is one way to go from the NIT to the Big Dance.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Marquis Daniels	Jr.	F	6-6/200	PTS: 15.7 | REB: 7.0 | AST: 1.6
Adam Harrington	Jr.	G	6-5/200	PTS: 15.5 | REB: 4.3 | AST: 2.4
Mack McGadney	Sr.	F	6-7/250	PTS: 15.0 | REB: 8.2 | AST: 0.5
Lincoln Glass	Sr.	G	5-10/195	PTS: 7.2 | REB: 1.6 | AST: 2.2

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Jamison Brewer	G	6-4/180	PTS: 8.4 | REB: 7.2 | AST: 5.2
Scott Pohlman	G	6-2/170	PTS: 12.5 | REB: 2.2 | AST: 1.7

Auburn Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Marco Killingsworth	F	6-8	Birmingham, Ala./Central Park Christian Academy
Dwayne Mitchell	G	6-4	New Orleans/John F. Kennedy
Derrick Bird	G	6-4	Schoolcraft (Mich.) College
Brandon Robinson	F	6-8	New Market/Notre Dame Prep (Mass.)
Nathan Watson	G	6-3	Fort Payne