Tag: Chandler Leopard

Yohan Traore announces transfer destination

The former five-star guard has announced that he is heading west.

A busy week continues for Auburn basketball, as a member of the 2022-23 roster has announced his next move.

[autotag]Yohan Traore[/autotag], a member of Auburn’s 2022 signing class, has announced that he will be heading west by committing to UC Santa Barbara. Joe Tipton of On3 was the first to report the news.

Traore announced his intent to enter the transfer portal on March 28 after spending just one season on the Plains. He signed with Auburn as a five-star center from Glendale, Arizona, but did not see much as much action as anticipated during his debut season. He played in 25 games last season, with his longest outing being 22 minutes in Auburn’s 85-64 win over Bradley during the Cancun Challenge last November. In his last 13 appearances, he played over 10 minutes just once.

While in the portal, Traore garnered interest from several power six programs such as Alabama, LSU, Arizona State, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma.

In his lone season at Auburn, Traore averaged 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game, while playing an average of 9.8 minutes. He is the third player from Auburn’s 2022-23 roster to commit to another program from the transfer portal, joining [autotag]Chance Westry[/autotag] (Syracuse), and [autotag]Chandler Leopard[/autotag] (Samford).

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=702301474]

Johni Broome makes important decision regarding future

Broome was expected to be an instrumental piece to Auburn’s roster in 2023-24. Is that still a possibility?

After a stellar first season at Auburn after transferring from Morehead State, it was assumed that center [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] would be an instrumental piece to Auburn’s lineup during the 2023-24 season.

However, it appears that the plan is in jeopardy.

Broome announced Tuesday that he plans to test the NBA draft waters while maintaining his eligibility. In the announcement that he released via Instagram, Broome says that it has been an honor to wear the Auburn uniform, but that he is looking forward to his future as an athlete.

After discussions wiith my family and staff at Auburn, and as I look toward the future and the next step in my career, I have made the decision to enter my name into the 2023 NBA draft, while retaining my eligibility. I look forward to obtaining valuable feedback that will assist me in my lifelong goal of playing in the NBA, and I appreciate all of your support along this journey! War Eagle Always!

After spending two seasons at Morehead State, Broome transferred to Auburn for the 2022-23 season, where he became an asset right away. He ended the season by averaging 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. He reached double figures in scoring 28 times last season and recorded 11 double-doubles.

Broome joins [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag] as players from last season’s roster to declare for the NBA draft. Four players from last season’s team entered the transfer portal, with [autotag]Chandler Leopard[/autotag] and [autotag]Chance Westry[/autotag] announcing their plans to transfer to Samford and Syracuse respectively.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrMfGQar6G-/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1365]

Chandler Leopard announces transfer destination

He appeared in 18 games during his time at Auburn.

Former Auburn basketball player [autotag]Chandler Leopard[/autotag] has found his new home.

The Athens, Georgia, native is staying in Alabama and will finish his basketball career at Samford. He announced the news on Friday via Instagram.

Leopard, who was a walk-on at Auburn, appeared in 18 games over four seasons on the Plains, scoring nine points and grabbing three rebounds in 22 minutes of action. He appeared in six games last season and grabbed one rebound in Auburn’s 89-56 win over the Missouri Tigers.

He was a key member of the scout team during his time at Auburn and was named to the SEC Academic honor roll twice. The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder is a shooting guard.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrCADnDOo3N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[mm-video type=video id=01gx4dmygqafba5m81bb playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gx4dmygqafba5m81bb/01gx4dmygqafba5m81bb-aa6c10e5a82b65b2debe916e714caf99.jpg]

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1365]

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

Transfer Portal: Akingbola, Leopard are the latest players to hop in

The number of total departures from last season’s roster is up to six.

A week after the news of highly regarded freshmen [autotag]Yohan Traore[/autotag] and [autotag]Chance Westry[/autotag] entering the transfer portal, two more members of the 2023-24 roster declared their intention to transfer.

Seniors [autotag]Chandler Leopard[/autotag] and [autotag]Babatunde Akingbola[/autotag] announced this week they plan to transfer from Auburn, doing so as graduates from the university.

News of Leopard’s decision was broken on Tuesday by Verbal Commits on Twitter. Leopard, a native of Athens, played in 18 games during his three seasons on the Plains, totaling 22 minutes. Last season, his biggest moment came in Auburn’s 89-56 win over Missouri on Valentine’s Day, when he recorded a rebound in the late moments of the second half.

Akingbola, affectionately known as “Stretch,” became the latest Tiger to announce he will seek another year of eligibility elsewhere on Thursday. In an announcement on Twitter, Akingbola thanked the coaching staff as well as Auburn fans before indicating he planned to graduate during the summer.

“I’m looking forward to what the future has in store for me,” Akingbola said in the tweet.

The 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria played in 50 games over the last four years for Auburn; the 2020-21 season was his most productive. That season, he appeared in 27 games, averaging 11 minutes of action. He pulled down 69 rebounds, and shot 47% from the field.

With the departure of Akingbola and Leopard, Auburn’s total of known departures is up to six players. Four members have entered their name into the transfer portal. Wendell Green Jr. announced this week he is preparing for the NBA draft. The only player who is out of eligibility is guard [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag].

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=702301474]

Could Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams return to Auburn’s roster next season?

Both players went through senior day ceremonies on Saturday, but is there a chance that they could be doing the same thing next season?

Prior to Auburn’s 79-70 win over No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday afternoon, seven players took part in the annual “senior day” festivities as they prepared to play their final game at Neville Arena.

However, due to the extra season of eligibility that a majority of Auburn’s upperclassmen own, there is a possibility that two starters could grace next season’s roster.

[autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] have been mainstays in Auburn’s starting rotation all season long and were heavily influential in Auburn’s important win over Tennessee to close out the season by scoring 16 and 13 points respectively.

“Hopefully we can get both of them back,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said of Flanigan and Williams after Saturday’s game.

Is there a true possibility of both players returning for next season? Neither has ruled out the possibility.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, both players were asked to share their thoughts on using their extra season of eligibility due to COVID next season.

“Right now, I’m focused on the season and finishing this thing out the right way. Once that comes to an end I will start thinking about the factors then,” Flanigan said Friday during Auburn’s scheduled media availability.

Williams responded by saying that he is focused on ending the season in a strong way.

“Yeah, I haven’t really been thinking about it much,” Williams said. “We have been struggling to win games like the last five weekends. I’m just trying to get on track with my teammates and figure out how we are going to win and play through March.”

Flanigan has played in all 31 of Auburn’s games this season, starting 16 of them. As for Williams, he has started in all 30 games that he has participated in. Other seniors that took part in senior day include [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag], [autotag]Chandler Leopard[/autotag], [autotag]Lior Berman[/autotag], [autotag]Babatunde Akingbola[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Harper[/autotag].

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1365]