Auburn guard Wendell Green Jr. day-to-day heading into road games at USC, Washington
AUBURN — Wendell Green Jr. is day-to-day after spraining his ankle in the late stages of the win over Georgia State on Wednesday night.
Green Jr. was standing in the lane when a Georgia State player stepped backwards onto Green Jr.’s foot, causing Green Jr. to stumble backwards and hit the floor. He left the game with the trainers’ help and didn’t return.
Auburn’s starting point guard scored 17 points in 28 minutes, including 11 from the free-throw line. He will not practice on Thursday or Friday, but will travel with the team. The plan is for Green Jr. to be assessed further after the team arrives out west before Sunday afternoon’s game against USC.
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“We will evaluate him. We won’t know until probably Saturday or Sunday,” Bruce Pearl said on Thursday. “At this point, we’ll figure out whether he will practice on Saturday.”
Green Jr. is the Tigers’ leading scorer averaging 14 points per game, and the leader in assists at four per game. He also leads the team in total usage.
If Wendell Green Jr. can’t go, Pearl will be faced with a decision of starting true freshman Tre Donaldson or senior Zep Jasper. The more experienced Jasper would seem to be the logical choice, with Donaldson coming off the bench. Donaldson is coming off an impressive 18-minute performance against Georgia State, where he scored six points, grabbed three boards, stole three passes and dished out three assists.
“Coach (Pearl) has just been telling me to stay ‘right and ready,'” Donaldson said after Auburn’s win over Georgia State. “They gave me the opportunity and I took most of my opportunity and helped lead my team to the win. That’s all I can ask for is the opportunity, and on my part, it has to continue to do whatever Coach tells me to do and whatever will help the team win.”
Auburn plays USC on Sunday at 4:30 pm CT. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Tigers then travel to Washington for a Wednesday night game that will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
