How Auburn basketball can survive until Jaylin Williams returns
AUBURN — Auburn basketball seems to have dodged a bullet.
Members of the program held their collective breath Saturday night when fifth-year forward Jaylin Williams went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury. His foot looked to get stuck on the ground after a missed dunk, and his body rotated while his right leg remained planted. He was helped off the court and ruled out for the rest of the game minutes later, and coach Bruce Pearl wasn't optimistic postgame.
"We think he's got to have something," Pearl said Saturday. "We think it's something. (It was) not just a bang. He had a pivot. We'll do an MRI tomorrow and then we'll take a look at it."
The MRI revealed the injury was not as bad as originally thought, and Williams, the all-time winningest player in program history at 107 career victories, is expected to return before the season is over. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported Sunday morning that Williams will be "out for a couple of weeks."
With the Tigers still in the hunt for a top-four seed in the conference, and with it a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, a couple of weeks could feel like an eternity. Here's how Auburn can survive without Williams until the 13-point scorer is ready to return.
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The simple fix for Auburn basketball: An increased role for Chaney Johnson
Alabama-Huntsville transfer Chaney Johnson started the 2023-24 campaign slow after garnering praise from Pearl all offseason — the Alabaster native averaged four points on 43.8% shooting in nonconference play — but has popped recently. He's making 61.1% of his shots over his last seven games, including a nine-point, 10-rebound effort in a loss at Florida on Feb. 10.
The combination of Tre Donaldson, Denver Jones, Chris Moore, Johnson and Johni Broome — the probable starting lineup with Williams out — has played 16:10 together this season, per College Basketball Analytics. That lineup has been outscored 36-25 while on the floor, including a 1:58 stretch against Kentucky that saw it score two points to the Wildcats' six.
An interesting note, however: A five-man crew of Donaldson, KD Johnson, Chad Baker-Mazara, Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell has the highest adjusted team efficiency margin in the country amongst five-man combinations that have played at least 95 possessions together, according to Evan Miya. Perhaps Pearl could deploy those players together more often with Williams sidelined.
Getting smaller with Chris Moore and Chad Baker-Mazara
Former Northwest Florida State College standout Chad Baker-Mazara has been a super sixth man for the Tigers this season, averaging 9.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and a steal off the bench. He's backed up Moore at small forward all season long, though his 21.1 minutes get him on the floor more than Moore's 14.2.
But what if they played together? The Tigers would lose some height, but they'd make up for it with Baker-Mazara's abnormally lengthy wingspan and Moore's inexplicable knack for chasing down loose balls and playing bigger than he is.
The issue, however, is Baker-Mazara and Moore haven't played alongside one another since Auburn's win over Virginia Tech on Nov. 29. The idea can work, but it'd be experimental against SEC foes.
A total 180: Going big
Instead of going small, the Tigers can go big by deploying Broome and Cardwell at the same time.
The two centers have only been sent out on the floor together once this season: a 1:30 run against Indiana that featured Auburn outscoring the Hoosiers by three points. It's a funky fit, as Broome takes most of his shots (56% of them) from within 4.5 feet of the rim and Cardwell is a pure rim runner who excels at rolling downhill toward the basket and catching lobs.
Broome has shown the ability to hit outside shots, though. He's shooting 44.8% from 3-point range on 2.2 attempts per game against SEC competition, and he knocked down four of his five attempts from long range in Auburn's 40-point win over South Carolina on Feb. 14.
A three-guard lineup
Pearl's biggest success at Auburn — a run to the Final Four in 2019 — saw the Tigers start three guards: Jared Harper, Bryce Brown and Samir Doughty. Even Malik Dunbar, who started some games in place of Doughty, was listed at 6-foot-6.
Going back to that could be an option, only this time it would feature some mixture of Aden Holloway, Donaldson, KD Johnson and Jones. The Holloway-Johnson-Jones unit has shared the court for 5:54 this season, and the Donaldson-Johnson-Jones combo has for 53 seconds. The Tigers have been outscored 13-12 in the 6:47 any mixture of those four have played together.
It's not completely foreign, but it would throw a lot on the plate of Jones, who has already begun picking up some minutes at point guard over the last couple of games.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Jaylin Williams: Options for Auburn basketball after injury to forward
