The wait was finally over.

There he was — the 5-star gem of Bruce Pearl’s and Auburn men’s basketball’s most recent recruiting class, Aden Holloway, finally in a Auburn uniform.

After missing Auburn’s exhibition game against Auburn-Montgomery last week as he continued to rehab an ankle injury, Tigers fans were left waiting for their first look at the former McDonald’s all-American, who now calls The Plains home.

Tuesday night’s game wasn’t going to be an easy debut for the green point guard as Auburn traveled to the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. for a neutral site matchup against the Baylor Bears, who opened the season ranked 20th.

“It’s probably the toughest first game will game for be for Aden,” Pearl said Monday morning. “You talk about putting him in a tough spot? But look, he’s born to be in a tough spot. This is what he relishes. He’s excited about playing and his teammates are excited about having him be out there.”

And while watching Auburn fall to Baylor 88-82 in Tuesday’s season opener after leading for more than 63% of the game was a tough way to watch the Tigers miss out on securing a season-opening upset over the Bears, seeing Holloway put his potential on display softened some of the blow.

No, Holloway didn’t start for the Tigers on Tuesday night and instead came off the bench to relieve sophomore point guard Tre Donaldson, who notched the first start of his college career Tuesday night.

But it didn’t take long for Pearl to turn to Holloway.

After just three and a half minutes of game clock had expired and the game tied at 4-4, Pearl went to the bench to substitute each of his starters besides Johni Broome, giving Holloway his first official minutes as an Auburn Tiger.

Less than two minutes later, Holloway was flipped a pass from senior center Dylan Cardwell and immediately threw up a three-point attempt through contact. Whistles blew as Holloway’s shot fell through the net, making Holloway’s first collegiate points a four-point play opportunity.

Holloway wouldn’t convert the four-point play as he’d go on to miss the free throw, but the freshman was just getting started.

Only one other Auburn player tallied more minutes than the rookie Tuesday night as Jaylin Williams played 27 minutes to Holloway’s 26.

And while Auburn’s foul trouble might’ve been to blame for Holloway seeing so many minutes on Tuesday night, the freshman was sure to make the most of them in his debut.

In his first official game with the Tigers and up against a NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent, Holloway led Auburn’s scoring efforts with 19 points on the night. Of those 19 points, 12 of them came from beyond the arc as Holloway went 4-for-8 from three-point range.

But none of that came as a surprise Tuesday night.

“He can make shots,” Pearl said of Holloway in the preseason. “I am going to want Aden to score, because that’s what he does well offensively.”

Meanwhile, Pearl hoped his green point guard would continue to develop his skills as a passer.

“It’ll make us better and make him better,” Pearl said Oct. 2. “When he doesn’t pass it, it doesn’t have anything to do with him being selfish or not giving the ball up. It’s just that he’s better shooting it than he is passing it right now. We’ve gotta work on improving that a little bit.”

While Holloway’s skills as a passer are sure to be a work in progress as his first season on The Plains unfolds, he still managed to lead the team in assists Tuesday night with six.

Defensively, Holloway didn’t put up splash stats as he only tallied a block against the Bears, but the rookie was solid, especially given the questions surrounding his recent ankle injury.

From a national standpoint, Holloway’s strong debut will likely be overshadowed by the fact that Ja’Kobe Walter — the freshman on the other sideline — dazzled on his own as he tallied 28 points and six rebounds against Auburn.

But as the old saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy.

And Holloway showed a ton of promise in his debut and gave Auburn fans plenty to be thrilled about — especially considering he’s such a raw talent.

“He just wants to get better. He wants to get better,” Pearl said of Holloway in late September. “Aden has got some of that ‘it’. He’s got some special in him.”