After a month of preseason training, Bruce Pearl is ready to see his team play against someone else.

While this is a common cliché that coaches and players in various sports use in the preseason, Pearl's point is to get a clearer idea of ​​the team he's heading into the 2024-2025 season with.

Pearl said on the first day of practice, “I know less about this team than many of the teams I've coached.” That statement was surprising considering how much production Auburn is returning this season, but the Tigers still have questions about it Key positions.

Now with Auburn's first game just days away, the Tigers have a chance to learn more about themselves in a charity exhibition against Furman on Sunday.

“We don't know what we don't know,” Pearl said in a call with reporters Thursday, “and we're going to find out a lot about ourselves in the next week.”

The biggest of those questions is what Auburn's frontcourt will look like following the departure of Jaylin Williams. Since Johni Broome's natural position is five, there are a few players who could slide into the fourth position next to him, with Chaney Johnson and SMU transfer Ja'Heim Hudson being the two main options.

Pearl also didn't rule out the possibility of Broome playing at four with Dylan Cardwell playing alongside him at five.

“It looked good,” Broome said of the two big lineups in practice at SEC Media Day. “I felt more comfortable playing five, but I think playing four this summer and fall kind of helped me.”

Pearl said he doesn't expect Broome to play “a whole lot” of fours, but he will play “a few.”

“Chaney and Ja'Heim, their job is to continue to play better and better so that the minutes that are left with the four are split between them and not a whole lot of Johni,” Pearl said.

Pearl has consistently praised Johnson throughout the preseason, often praising his athleticism but also pointing out some areas where he can still improve.

“Look, he’s a great athlete,” Pearl said. “Sometimes he doesn't put pressure on the ball, sometimes he doesn't run down the lane, sometimes he doesn't follow up, sometimes he doesn't play as aggressively as he should. And when he does that, he will be even more effective.”

An example of Johnson's potential came during a practice where he played with the scout team.

“We couldn’t protect him. We couldn't keep him off the trail. He drove the ball to the basket. Nobody could stay in front of him,” recalls Pearl. “I'm like, 'Nobody's saying you can't do that when you play for Auburn.'”

The other big question for Auburn is the point guard rotation, which features Denver Jones, JP Pegues and Tahaad Pettiford. It's likely that Jones and Pegues will start together, but how interchangeable the three will be remains to be seen.

Jones played primarily as a two-guard for Auburn last season, but Pearl never missed an opportunity to praise his development in the offseason.

“You can’t sleep on Denver,” Pearl said before Auburn’s first practice. “He scores downhill. He was our most consistent defensive guard when it came to contributing just about every day.”

When asked about the point guard rotation on Thursday, Pearl said Pegues and Jones will both play and Pettiford may play “a little bit” at point guard. Pearl clarified that Pettiford will play at both the one and two.

The matchup with Furman will be a homecoming for Pegues, who spent the last three seasons with Furman.

Even though Sunday's game doesn't count toward anyone's record, that doesn't mean Auburn won't play to win like any other game. However, Pearl said he told the team to “go around Vermont,” Auburn's first regular-season game.

“Now these games are also important. We'll keep the score and see how we do. And I’m not going to experiment, I’m going to do everything I can to win these games,” Pearl said. “But Vermont is the one that counts.”

Peter Rauterkus reports on Auburn Sports AL.com. You can follow him on X below @peter_rauterkus or send him an email at [email protected]M