Freshman making early splash
Anfernee McLemore has impressed his coaches and teammates since reporting at the end of May.
AUBURN | Bruce Pearl thought he found a diamond in the rough in Anfernee McLemore. Just a month on campus and the lowest ranked of Auburn’s three 2016 signees has met Pearl’s expectations and then some.
“As is often the case, sometimes your least heralded recruit can wind up being tremendously impactful, and I think that’s what is going to happen with Anfernee,” Pearl said. “He’s just a very productive player.
“He can finish around the basket, he’s got a good tempo to his game offensively and he is, for his size, he’s an outstanding shot blocker and rim protector. And just a great teammate.”
McLemore is already earning praise from his new teammates including the highest-rated signee of his class, five-star Mustapha Heron.
“Anfernee might have the best motor on the team,” Heron said.
McLemore, who had 1,033 rebounds and 536 blocks in four years at Worth County in Sylvester, Ga., enters his first season at Auburn with a goal of being a defensive stopper.
“My role is probably going to be a defensive presence, stopping my guy from scoring, being a big body on offense and taking up space and getting other guys open, and just running with the flow of the offense,” McLemore said.
As one of three bigs on the team — joining sophomore Horace Spencer and graduate transfer LaRon Smith — McLemore can expect a lot of playing time.
“If my number gets called, I want to make sure I'm more than capable of being on the court and making an impact and just being a guy that Coach Pearl can trust,” he said. “I've been working on my jump shot a lot.
"I've noticed I get a lot of shots in practice that I didn't take in high school. Coach (Harris) Adler has been getting me in the gym taking those shots so I can be more comfortable taking them on the court.”
McLemore has also put in a lot of work in the weight room. After reporting at 195 pounds, he’s up to 213 on his 6-foot-7 frame. He feels like he’s carrying the new weight well.
“I feel more explosive actually, more of a physical presence on the court,” he said.
And this is just the beginning for McLemore. The start of his true freshman season is still four months away.
“It's what you dream of as a child shooting on a Fischer Price goal. You just hope one day you get to play under the lights at a big college,” he said.