Tag: Chuma Okeke

Wes Flanigan on Auburn’s recruiting: ‘We keep the families close’

Auburn assistant coach Wes Flanigan talks recruiting, winning and coaching his son.

Auburn assistant coach Wes Flanigan recently caught up with Jake Crain of The Jboy Show. The two talk about everything from recruiting to the future stars of Auburn hoops.

Recruiting:

Recruiting has skyrocketed after Auburn’s historic run to the Final Four in 2019. Auburn’s 2020 class is currently ranked ninth nationally on 247Sports. They bring in 5-star PG Sharife Cooper, 4-star PF JT Thor, 3-star PF Chris Moore, 3-star SG Justin Powell, and 3-star C Dylan Cardwell.

What’s Auburn’s biggest secret to success? According to Coach Flanigan:

“A lot of it is based on winning. When you start winning you create this fanbase, and our fanbase is unbelievable. I feel like we’ve got the best home court advantage in the SEC and one of the best in the country.”

Family is also important when it comes to Auburn’s style of recruiting. “We keep the families close. Our families are a part of our team, we don’t push those families back we urge them to continue to support their kids.” Flanigan continues to describe how Coach Pearl built Auburn basketball on the foundation of family. Bruce Pearl’s son Steven has coached alongside his father for six years now and was promoted to assistant coach in 2017. Flanigan’s son Allen had a successful freshman season appearing in all 31 games and finished as the Tigers’ third-best rebounding guard.

On coaching his son:

Flanigan never imagined that he and his son would be at Auburn at the same time, but it feels like a dream come true for the assistant coach.

Coaching your son’s basketball team isn’t always easy. Flanigan describes the experience to be, “like a roller coaster,” citing the he and his son’s different emotions as well as the ups and downs that come with coaching. Now that he coaches his son he feels an additional level of anxiety that didn’t exist before. “I want him to do so well a lot of times so that adds a little anxiety and pressure to me.”

On the 2018-2019 season:

Against Georgia: Flanigan realized a major turning point in the season as Auburn faced Georgia on the road after a brutal loss to Ole Miss. Georgia didn’t have a great RPI and the Tigers knew that another humiliating loss would damage their tournament hopes. The game came down to a three from Chuma Okeke. Flanigan said that was Chuma’s, “I’m ready, now I’ve arrived” moment.

Skip to 2:30 for that Okeke three:

Against Kansas: “When I watched us play the way we played against Kansas, that was the first time I felt really, really good about us getting to the Final Four.”

Against North Carolina: “When we played North Carolina I felt like there was no way we was losing to them.”

Which Auburn players we should start buying stock in:

“As a dad, Allen Flanigan,” Wes laughs. (he’s not joking, buy stock now).

Tyrell Jones, Babatunde (Flanigan cites his impressive work ethic), Jaylin Williams-all highly recruited (buy stock now).

“The thing we’ll miss that we’ve had the last few years is the level of experience, but the talent is there.” Flanigan says there are a lot of (Auburn basketball 2020-2021, these boys are going to be fun to watch just buy stock now).

The entire interview is great, listen here.

Teammates say Chuma Okeke is progressing in recovery from ACL tear

As Chuma Okeke continues to recover from a torn ACL, his teammates believe he is making strong progress in his road back to playing.

The Orlando Magic drafted Chuma Okeke with the 16th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft but the former Auburn forward has not been around the team much since then.

That’s because the organization and Okeke have agreed to redshirt the 2019-20 season in order to rehab after suffering an ACL tear in his left knee last March against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.

Okeke is the only unsigned first-round pick as the two sides agreed to hold off signing his rookie-scale contract until he is ready to play again. The move allowed the Magic to keep an open roster spot available for a player that can contribute this season.

Okeke has spent much of his time rehabbing with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland, roughly one hour west of Orlando. Several of his Magic teammates have kept in contact with him, including then-two-way contract player Josh Magette (the Magic have since cut him).

During his time with Lakeland, Magette had an opportunity to get to know Okeke. Magette said Okeke is progressing in his recovery, according to Nathan King of Auburn Sports.

He’s been great. He’s getting closer to getting back on the court and practicing with us (Lakeland). He’s got a great attitude, really professional for being such a young guy. He comes in and is very supportive and engaged during our games. He’s a guy you want around.

The move by the Magic to redshirt Okeke is a bit rare as players entering the NBA with injuries have often signed their rookie contracts rather quickly, such as Michael Porter Jr. with the Denver Nuggets. Teammate Al-Farouq Aminu liked the move since Okeke can rehab at his own pace.

The thing that’s good about [Okeke] right now is that he has the luxury of time with him being down there with the G League. If he would have been up here or something, they would have wanted him back within seven or eight months, where the likelihood of a full rehab actually goes down. I think he’s going to be able to get a full, full year of just being able to make sure he gets his knee strong, and then be able to resume playing.

The Magic view Okeke as a potential player that can impact games on both ends of the floor. Head coach Steve Clifford believes Okeke is a perfect fit with the team as a player that is versatile on defense and can help stretch the floor on offense.

The organization has not provided an update on Okeke but president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said during his introductory press conference that Okeke is a player of the future and they will not rush him back into action early.

Okeke could eventually play some in the G League with Lakeland but it is evident the Magic have high hopes for him in the future and believe he can develop into a key player.

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