Tag: Bruce Pearl auburn

Auburn basketball schedules game with Big Ten opponent

Auburn faces this Big Ten opponent for the first time in history on the hardwood.

Auburn basketball will return to Atlanta for Holiday Hoopsgiving in 2021 and will play an opponent from the Big Ten.

On Thursday, the Tigers announced that they will be taking on Nebraska in the Peach State’s capital a year after playing Memphis in the same event.

The game is part of a quadruple-header on Dec. 11 and also features Georgia Tech vs. LSU, Ole Miss vs. Western Kentucky and Clemson vs. an opponent that has yet to be announced.

This will be the first ever meeting between the Tigers and Cornhuskers.

Auburn basketball lands in top half of The Athletic’s early SEC power rankings

Auburn basketball comes in the middle of the pack of The Athletic’s early SEC power rankings for the 2021-22 season.

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After a down year that saw star players have both eligibility issues and injuries, Auburn is expected to be back as a major SEC title and NCAA Tournament contender in 2021-22.

While the squad will look brand new due to departures, both incoming and outgoing transfers and the arrival of the highest-rated signee in program history, the Tigers are bound to be both talented and deep with a lot of skill players coming off the bench.

The Athletic released its early SEC power rankings for next season and has Auburn in the sixth place.

Here’s what the publication has to say:

Bruce Pearl really had it rolling: SEC title in 2018, Final Four in 2019, unprecedented third straight 25-win season in 2020. Then came COVID and all the weird stuff last season brought with it, and the Tigers fell off a cliff. Five-star freshman Sharife Cooper only played a dozen (albeit dazzling) games and rookie sharpshooter Justin Powell only got in 10 before a concussion shut him down for good. Auburn was never really whole or clicked, and went 13-14 and finished 10th in the league. But there’s a very good chance that was an anomaly. Even losing Cooper and JT Thor to the NBA Draft, Powell to Tennessee and part-time starter Jamal Johnson to UAB, the Tigers look well-equipped to challenge the best teams in the SEC again.

Three starters returned: Flanigan (14.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Cambridge (8.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Williams (10.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Two five-star big men were added: McDonald’s All-American Jabari Smith, who is top-five in the Class of 2021 and the highest-rated recruit to pick Auburn in the history of 247Sports, and 7-foot-1 North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler. Three backcourt transfers round it out: Green, an All-OVC point guard who averaged 15.8 points and 5.0 assists at Eastern Kentucky; Jasper, an All-CAA shooting guard who averaged 15.6 points and made 37 percent of his career 3-pointers at College of Charleston; and K.D. Johnson, a former top-100 recruit who averaged 13.5 points and made 39 percent of his 3s as a freshman at Georgia. That’s more than enough for a Pearl-coached team with a normal offseason and typical schedule to get back on track.

Here’s how the rest of the SEC rankings go down:

1. Kentucky

2. Tennessee

3. Arkansas

4. Mississippi State

5. Alabama

6. Auburn

7. LSU

8. Ole Miss

9. Florida

10. Texas A&M

11. Missouri

12. South Carolina

13. Georgia

14. Vanderbilt

Auburn, Bruce Pearl watching NBA to learn how to use size on court

Bruce Pearl has the tallest roster since arriving at Auburn and is learning how to use all of that size by watching the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the first time since Bruce Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014, he’s going to have a good problem on the court in a lot of size.

With UNC transfer Walker Kessler (7-foot-1), J.T. Thor (6-foot-10), Babatunde Akingbola (6-foot-10) and Dylan Cardwell (6-foot-11), the Tigers now have four players, counting Thor, that can be mismatches in the interior. Yet how will Pearl and his staff keep everyone happy with playing time and get the most out of their skills? The Auburn coach is learning by watching the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everybody knows that they’re better when the big fella (Davis) plays the 5 and LeBron plays the 4,” Pearl said per AuburnSports.com Bryan Matthews. “Well, they’ve got a couple of centers that need to be out there. All of a sudden, they’re all playing out of position. They’re bigger. What could they be doing better?

“I watch the Lakers really carefully, because we’re probably going to be bigger. So, taking advantage of our size and it not being a weakness. Letting it be a strength and a problem for our opponents.”

The arrival of Kessler, a former five-star recruit, is one of the top gets in all of college basketball this offseason as he brings a versatility to the position that Auburn hasn’t had in the past.

When you add in Jaylin Williams (6-foot-8) and incoming freshman Jabari Smith Jr. (6-foot-9), you also have three big guys that can shoot from the outside.

“I think the thing is, you look at every team and look at what we have. We’re gonna be really big at 4 and 5, bigger than we’ve ever been,” Pearl said. “We’ve got really skilled guys at the position. Dylan is really getting skilled. He’s really mobile. Walker is really mobile. Stretch is really mobile. Jaylin and Jabari are really skilled. I’ve got five really good frontline guys. So that’s going to be different.”

Auburn, Bruce Pearl watching NBA to learn how to use size on court

Bruce Pearl has the tallest roster since arriving at Auburn and is learning how to use all of that size by watching the Los Angeles Lakers.

For the first time since Bruce Pearl arrived at Auburn in 2014, he’s going to have a good problem on the court in a lot of size.

With UNC transfer Walker Kessler (7-foot-1), J.T. Thor (6-foot-10), Babatunde Akingbola (6-foot-10) and Dylan Cardwell (6-foot-11), the Tigers now have four players, counting Thor, that can be mismatches in the interior. Yet how will Pearl and his staff keep everyone happy with playing time and get the most out of their skills? The Auburn coach is learning by watching the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

“Everybody knows that they’re better when the big fella (Davis) plays the 5 and LeBron plays the 4,” Pearl said per AuburnSports.com Bryan Matthews. “Well, they’ve got a couple of centers that need to be out there. All of a sudden, they’re all playing out of position. They’re bigger. What could they be doing better?

“I watch the Lakers really carefully, because we’re probably going to be bigger. So, taking advantage of our size and it not being a weakness. Letting it be a strength and a problem for our opponents.”

The arrival of Kessler, a former five-star recruit, is one of the top gets in all of college basketball this offseason as he brings a versatility to the position that Auburn hasn’t had in the past.

When you add in Jaylin Williams (6-foot-8) and incoming freshman Jabari Smith Jr. (6-foot-9), you also have three big guys that can shoot from the outside.

“I think the thing is, you look at every team and look at what we have. We’re gonna be really big at 4 and 5, bigger than we’ve ever been,” Pearl said. “We’ve got really skilled guys at the position. Dylan is really getting skilled. He’s really mobile. Walker is really mobile. Stretch is really mobile. Jaylin and Jabari are really skilled. I’ve got five really good frontline guys. So that’s going to be different.”

Georgia guard transfer K.D. Johnson commits to Auburn

Georgia guard transfer K.D. Johnson announced his commitment to Auburn on Wednesday afternoon.

Auburn has landed a transfer from a rival.

On Wednesday, Georgia guard transfer K.D. Johnson announced that he’s committed to play for the Tigers in the upcoming season.

Johnson is no stranger to Bruce Pearl and company as he was highly recruited by the Tigers in 2020 as a top-100 player in the class. He ended up committing to Tom Crean and the Bulldogs where, as a freshman last season, he averaged 13.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 38.7 percent from the three-point line.

 

Auburn basketball rises in latest preseason Top 25 by The Athletic

With the addition of a few key transfers, Auburn has gone from just making the cut of the top 25 to being square in the middle.

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Auburn just made the cut at No. 25 the last time The Athletic put out a preseason top 25 for the 2021-22 college basketball season.

This time, the Tigers had plenty of room to spare.

In the latest top 25 by the publication, Bruce Pearl’s team jumped up nine spots to No. 16. The reason? The transfer portal.

Skinny: The Tigers have added three really good transfers since my previous ranking, including arguably the best player in the portal in 7-1 sophomore forward Walker Kessler, who averaged 8.2 points to go along with 5.3 rebounds over the last 10 games at North Carolina. Sophomore point guard Wendell Green averaged 15.8 points and 5.0 assists at Eastern Kentucky, and 6-1 senior guard Desi Sills averaged 7.5 points off the bench at Arkansas. Bruce Pearl is bringing back two of his top four scorers from last season and is adding 6-10 freshman forward Jabari Smith, a top-five high school recruit.

With Auburn Arena likely at full capacity once again, this is going to be a fun basketball season on the Plains.

ESPN ranks Walker Kessler as second-best offseason transfer

Auburn received a big gift in the form of five-star center Walker Kessler, a transfer from UNC, who will play for the Tigers in 2021.

Auburn got some good news in April when former five-star recruit Walker Kessler, a center from the University of North Carolina, announced that he will be playing for the Tigers in 2021.

How big is it? According to ESPN, Kessler is the second-best pickup in the nation during the offseason.

“A former five-star prospect, Kessler really showed flashes of his ability toward the end of the season. He had a four-game stretch in February when he scored in double-figures in each one, and he posted 16 points, 12 boards and eight blocks against Notre Dame in the ACC tournament.”

Ranked behind just Remy Martin, who has yet to announce his destination, Kessler will be the starting center for Auburn when the season begins and gives the Tigers plenty of size with his 7-foot-1, 245-pound frame.

Auburn basketball signs ‘proven winner’ Desi Sills

Auburn has officially signed Arkansas transfer guard Desi Sills.

Desi Sills is trading in Arkansas red for Auburn orange and blue.

The former Razorbacks guard officially signed with the Tigers on Wednesday and is expected to be a huge producer for Bruce Pearl’s team this upcoming season.

Desi is a proven winner,” Pearl said. “He’s a fierce competitor and a tough, physical defender. He’s got the ability to create for himself as well as others. Playing in our up-tempo system should bring out the best of him. If he plays as well against others as he did against us, we hit the jackpot.”

The guard averaged 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists for Arkansas last year, playing 20.8 minutes per game as the Razorbacks reached the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Eastern Kentucky transfer Wendell Green Jr. officially signs with Auburn

Auburn has officially signed Eastern Kentucky transfer guard Wendell Green Jr.

Auburn has gained another guard for the 2021-22 season.

On Thursday, Wendell Green Jr., a transfer from Eastern Kentucky, officially signed with the Tigers.

“Auburn basketball has a history of doing special things with very special undersized point guards,” Bruce Pearl said. “Wendell Green has won at every level, but has always had to prove himself to people. He’s won at La Lumiere School in Indiana, Detroit Country Day in Michigan and last season at Eastern Kentucky. He’s a fierce competitor and he makes everyone he plays with on the floor better.”

As a freshman for the Colonels last season, Green averaged 15.8 points, 5.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He has four years of eligibility left and is expected to compete with fellow transfer Zep Jasper for the starting point guard position.

LOOK: Auburn signee Jabari Smith receives Mr. Georgia Basketball plaque

Auburn signee and five-star recruit Jabari Smith received his plaque for winning 2021 Mr. Georgia Basketball.

Bruce Pearl has a knack for signing some of the top talent in the state of Georgia. Jabari Smith is the next in-line for Auburn fans to cheer for.

The Tigers signee won the illustrious Mr. Georgia Basketball award for 2021 which goes to the best high school basketball player in the Peach State each season.

On Monday, he received his plaque commemorating the award.

The highest-ranked player to ever sign with Auburn, Smith is the No. 2 power forward and No. 5 overall player in the 2021 signing class.