Maybe it was in Allen Flanigan’s first step, as he took off down the baseline and threw down a dunk during the first half against UAH. Or maybe it was in the wide-eyed smile he flashed toward Auburn’s bench as he backpedaled down the court.

Maybe it was a little bit of both, as a year of setbacks and frustrations were pushed to the side Wednesday night in Neville Arena.

The Allen Flanigan of old reemerged during Auburn’s 87-69 exhibition win against UAH, teasing the potential of what’s to come this season for the Tigers’ senior wing. Flanigan scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, added six rebounds, four assists and three steals in Auburn’s preseason tune-up against UAH.

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“Getting back and seeing Al healthy now, seeing his athleticism, and him making plays—it was really, really good,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said.

Sure, it was just a preseason exhibition against a Division-II program, but it was a sight for sore eyes to see Flanigan fill the box score with such a well-rounded performance, especially after the multiple setbacks he has experienced over the last year-plus.

Flanigan was tabbed as a preseason first-team All-SEC selection a year ago, but those aspirations were derailed before they ever had a chance to be realized. He partially tore his Achilles tendon in the preseason and missed several months while recovering from surgery. When he returned to the lineup in late December, he was far from the Flanigan those around Auburn became accustomed to — the one who as a sophomore averaged 14.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and nearly one steal per game in 2020-21.

Flanigan trudged through his injury-shortened junior campaign, starting 20 of the 22 games he appeared in but averaging just 6.3 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting, including a meager 20.5 percent clip from 3-point range. He averaged two fewer rebounds per game, his assists-per-game reduced by more than half (down to 1.3), and he struggled to find his form. The explosiveness and quickness was missing; recovering from an injury that — until relatively recently was a career-threatening ordeal for athletes — took far longer than the three-plus months it took Flanigan to return to the court.

“He wasn’t fully himself; he was just trying to be out there helping the team any way,” point guard Wendell Green Jr. said.

Flanigan endured another setback this preseason, stepping away from the team for two weeks due to personal matters before returning a little more than three weeks ago. The lost time is impossible to replace, but since rejoining the team, Flanigan has looked like his old self. Ahead of Wednesday’s soft opening for the season, Pearl noted that Flanigan had enjoyed arguably his two best weeks on the court of his entire career.

He was making plays on both ends of the floor. He brought consistent energy and effort day in and day out. His body language was vastly improved from last season, and he was playing more effectively, even as he and Chris Moore — who has taken his own leap forward this offseason — have competed for minutes on the wing and have been “neck and neck” for the starting job.

It all pointed to a new and improved Flanigan reminiscent of the old reliable version from 2020-21.

And that’s how it looked on the floor of Neville Arena on Wednesday night. Flanigan displayed that explosive first step with a baseline dunk late in the first half, after a UAH defender overextended on the perimeter. He showed more of that bounce on a fastbreak alley-oop from Green in the second half. He found his spots within the flow of Auburn’s offense and didn’t seem to force the issue.

“Al was so productive when he was out there,” Pearl said. “You know, he’s able to get downhill and score through contact. He didn’t hesitate at all with his jump shot. Was effective defensively. He was one of our top rebounders. Had a really good assist-turnover ratio, four and two. That was a really, really good game for him.”

The result was Flanigan’s most well-rounded performance since the end of his sophomore season. Last year he scored more than 11 points just once, in a 16-point effort against Texas A&M on Feb. 12, when he shot 5-of-11 from the floor and just 1-of-6 from deep. He had six-plus rebounds in a game just twice last year—pulling down six boards against LSU in his second game back and then grabbing eight in Auburn’s NCAA Tournament loss to Miami. His four assists against UAH matched his season-best from last year, which he accomplished just once, against Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. His three steals Wednesday also matched his best from last season, which he reached against LSU and Tennessee.

“We’ve seen it before y’all have, you know, in practice, so we’ve kind of seen it coming, but it was good to see it translate to the game today,” Green said.

On top of it all, he was a plus-17 for Auburn during his 23 minutes off the bench. Only Jaylin Williams and K.D. Johnson had a better plus/minus against UAH (both a plus-23).

It was a vintage performance from Flanigan, albeit in an exhibition, and one that could serve as a prologue for a bounceback senior season.

“I just think it’s great for him to have a little joy out there,” Pearl said. “You saw him smiling out there. He had a presence out there, and it’s just wonderful to see. And again, we saw a little bit of separation. Al separated himself a little bit tonight.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.