Chris Moore’s return to the court for Auburn saw the junior take on a somewhat different role.

After missing two weeks of action due to a shoulder injury he sustained in the opening minutes against Ole Miss on Jan. 10, Moore returned to the rotation for Auburn during its 79-63 loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday night. Moore, who started each of the first 16 games for the Tigers this season, not only came off the bench against the Aggies, but he served as Auburn’s backup four.

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It was an altered role for Moore, who has predominantly played on the wing this season. Fifteen of his 16 starts came at small forward, with the one exception coming Dec. 2 against Colgate, when he started at the four while Jaylin Williams was sidelined due to an illness. Against Texas A&M, the 6-foot-6 Moore played behind Williams in the rotation, while Allen Flanigan made his fourth straight start on the wing and was backed up by walk-on Lior Berman.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said the decision to shift Moore to power forward was “a combination of a couple of things” heading into the game against the Aggies. Among them was the way Flanigan has been playing in that starting role on the wing. In the three games that Moore was sidelined — in addition to the Ole Miss game, when Moore played fewer than three minutes before injuring his shoulder — Flanigan averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and two assists per game. The Tigers also got quality minutes off the bench from Berman, including eight points in 17 minutes against LSU.

“Just prior to (Moore) getting hurt, Al started playing better,” Pearl said. “And then Al seemed really comfortable with Lior behind him, and I was liking what I was getting out of that position.”

Moore’s move to the fou- spot as part of a more small-ball lineup also allowed for he and Flanigan to be on the court at the same time, which has proven effective in spurts for Auburn this season. However, that decision Wednesday came at the expense of freshman Yohan Traore, who did not make an appearance in the rotation for the first time this season.

“(Playing Moore at the four was) just to put a little more experience on the floor and to give a chance for Al and Chris to play a little bit together, we gave that a shot,” Pearl said. “Very, very tough to ask Chris to come back after being out a couple weeks, and then of course he took seven stitches on Monday, the first day back in a pretty violent collision. Man, it had to be really hard for Chris to be able to play at a high level, but he was fine out there. But just to put a little bit more experience out there.”

Moore did not score and had just one rebound, a turnover and a foul during his 12 minutes against Texas A&M. He admitted afterward he had some jitters he had to shake after missing three-plus games and trying to play with a brace on his right shoulder. Prior to his injury, Moore was averaging a career-high six points and 2.7 rebounds per game this season.

The DNP-Coach’s Decision for Traore, who has been Auburn’s backup power forward throughout the season, came after one of the freshman’s better games this season. In Auburn’s win at South Carolina, Traore finished with eight points — a fastbreak dunk and a pair of 3-pointers — after scoring a combined 10 points over the prior 10 games.

“Yo is special, he’s talented,” center Johni Broome said Tuesday. “Everybody on the team knows it.”

The former five-star prospect has taken time to develop this season, and he’s still a work in progress, which is understandable considering he’s still relatively new to the sport. Communication, defense and rebounding at a competitive level are still areas he’s working to get better at in practice, but Traore said the South Carolina performance provided a shot of confidence for him.

How his role evolves moving forward, and whether Auburn will continue to turn to Moore for minutes at the four, remains to be seen. Pearl made clear earlier this week that everyone’s job—from players to managers to coaches—is to get better throughout the season and try to help the team win in the process. What that looks like for each player varies, naturally.

“Yo’s been practicing better,” Pearl said Tuesday. “He’s been more active in practice. He’s continuing to learn and get better. The better he plays, the more he helps us win. You make a couple of shots, and you feel good about it. But it doesn’t necessarily — his making a couple of shots (doesn’t) necessarily help make us win. It makes him feel better that he hit a few shots, which is great. Because then, maybe he’ll continue to rebound better or defend better. We’re playing 10 or 11 guys, and our strength has been our depth. It’s great to see guys step up and contribute, get better and help us win.”

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