Tag: Jabari Smith

Five-star forward AJ Dybantsa places Auburn in top schools

The 6-9 small forward is the No. 1 prospect in the 2025 class.

Forward [autotag]AJ Dybantsa[/autotag] narrowed his favorite list of schools down to seven on Friday morning. The No. 1 overall recruit in the class, Dybantsa’s list includes BYU, North Carolina, Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor, Alabama, and Auburn.

The 6-9, 200-pound small forward rates at a “100” on the recruiting scale according to most scouts. That scouting report has made him an early favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, something that has weighed heavily on Dybantsa’s decision regarding where he would like to play college basketball.

Out of the seven schools he listed, Auburn is the only one in which he has already visited. The Brockton, Mass. native spoke highly of his time with [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] on the Plains, specifically stating Pearl’s ability to develop him into a scorer at the next level.

“They were saying that if I came here, they would play me a lot at the wing, the 2-guard ..I’d be a scorer and a playmaker,” Dybantsa said in a recent interview with On3’s Joe Tipton. “That’s what I’m trying to do at the next level.”

While many experts currently give Auburn the edge in landing the most coveted recruit in the 2025 class, fans will receive more clarity after Dybansta finishes his visits later this year. If he were to become a Tiger, Bruce Pearl would land his biggest recruit since [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] came to the Plains as the No. 7 ranked prospect in the nation.

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Five-star forward Caleb Wilson lists Auburn in top 12

The 6-9 power forward is a consensus top five recruit in the 2026 class.

2026 five-star basketball prospect [autotag]Caleb Wilson[/autotag] announced the final 12 schools he will consider attending on Wednesday. Auburn, along with SEC rivals Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee were among them. The 6-foot-9 power forward is a consensus top-five recruit in the 2026 class.

Wilson, who is set to visit Alabama and Kentucky in September, spoke highly of his time on the Plains. The acclaimed high school prospect said his visit to Auburn “was really good.”

Wilson further elaborated on Bruce Pearl’s success with developing forwards, specifically former Auburn star and current Houston Rocket [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag]. “Coach Bruce Pearl develops pros at a high level, especially forwards. I would go watch [Smith] play when I was in middle school. He was a really good player, could catch and shoot at a high level and defend.”

While Wilson has yet to schedule another visit to Auburn, his words certainly should exhibit confidence in ears of Pearl and his staff. The Atlanta, GA native possess a “vast array of offensive moves, at multiple levels” according to scouts. If Bruce Pearl can convince him to come join the Tigers, Wilson could fit into Pearl’s offensive scheme very similarly to the way his aforementioned Auburn idol, Jabari Smith, did during his lone season on the Plains.

Other than the quintet of SEC programs, Wilson’s top 12 consists of Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, UCF, and USC. His commitment decision is not imminent.

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Jaylin Williams signs undrafted free agent contract with Denver Nuggets

Williams is ready to take the next step of his basketball career by earning an invite to Nuggets’ camp.

Auburn basketball can now add another member to its growing list of NBA talent.

[autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag], who played forward for the Tigers for five seasons, has signed an undrafted free-agent contract with the Denver Nuggets following the conclusion of the 2024 NBA draft.

According to Justin Hokanson of Auburn Live, Williams’ contract with Denver is an “exhibit 10” contract. Williams will have the chance to compete in the Nuggets’ training camp with the possibility of earning a two-way contract with the team. The contract serves a minimum of one season, with most of the contract not being guaranteed.

Williams is the first former Tiger to earn a chance to play at the professional level since [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag], who were both drafted in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft.

He leaves Auburn as the program’s winningest player with 114 career wins since 2019. In five seasons, Williams averaged 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game.

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Jaylin Williams among top 100 prospects ahead of NBA draft

Williams looks to become the next Auburn player to join the NBA ranks.

Under [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s direction, it has become common practice for Auburn basketball to produce NBA talent.

Pearl has produced six NBA draft picks since taking over the program in 2014, most recently sending [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] to the association as first-round picks in 2022. The next Auburn-made NBA product could be forward Jaylin Williams.

Williams had an impressive Auburn career which saw him average 10-plus points per game in four of his five seasons on the Plains. Now, he is ready to take the next step in his career by joining the NBA ranks.

Ahead of next week’s NBA draft, [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] ranks No. 78 in On3’s top 100 prospects list. NBA Scouting Live feels that Williams could be a threat on both sides of the basketball.

Auburn’s Jaylin Williams is a versatile scorer that can make plays on both sides of the ball. He has a variety of skills but can tend to fade into the background too much at times, but he is a skilled forward that could end up being a second round pick in the 2024 draft.

Williams ends his collegiate career as Auburn’s all-time winningest player with over 110 wins. In five seasons at Auburn, Williams averaged 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game over 141 games. He looks to join the likes of [autotag]Isaac Okoro[/autotag] and [autotag]JT Thor[/autotag] by becoming another former Tiger on an active NBA roster.

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Auburn basketball’s 2024-25 SEC opponents, locations revealed

Make your plans now to watch Auburn basketball compete in a revamped SEC slate this season.

The SEC Men’s Basketball landscape will change for the 2024-25 season and beyond, as Oklahoma and Texas will join to provide a boost to an already loaded conference.

Auburn will meet both the Sooners and Longhorns on the court this upcoming season as part of its’ 18-game SEC slate. The dates are not known at this point, but the locations are. As part of their initial schedule as SEC members, Texas will host Auburn while the Tigers will welcome Oklahoma to Neville Arena the SEC announced Monday.

Auburn has a short history with Oklahoma and Texas when it comes to men’s basketball. The Tigers have squared off with the Longhorns just once in history, winning a 45-27 contest in Auburn on Feb. 11, 1911.

Auburn has faced the Sooners three times in history, winning two. Most recently, Auburn defeated Oklahoma as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge during the 2021-22 season, 86-68 at then Auburn Arena. [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points and securing 12 rebounds while connecting on 9-of-10 free throw opportunities. [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] added 21 points and nine rebounds while [autotag]KD Johnson[/autotag] scored 13 points.

Outside of Oklahoma and Texas, Auburn will welcome Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Tennessee to Neville Arena while facing Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt on the road.

Auburn will face rivals Alabama and Georgia, as well as Ole Miss in a home-and-home setting. The Tigers went 4-2 against those opponents last season, sweeping Georgia and Ole Miss while losing two games to Alabama.

Auburn will look to build on its SEC Tournament championship campaign next season with returning stars such as [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag], and [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag]. A full schedule release will be revealed at a later date.

Jabari Smith Jr. and Walker Kessler to take part in Rising Stars game

Two former Tiger teammates are taking part in the NBA Rising Stars game

Former teammates turned young and budding NBA stars [autotag]Jabari Smith Jr.[/autotag] and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] have accepted their invitations to play in the NBA Rising Stars game to kick off the 2024 All-Star Weekend.

It’s the second straight year the former Tiger teammates will be participating in the event. This year’s version takes place on Friday, February 16 at 8 PM CST.

Smith comes into the All-Star break amid a breakout sophomore season for the Houston Rockets. The former second-overall pick has parlayed an outstanding Summer League and preseason into a 14-points-per-game and 9-rebounds-per-game campaign. He also averages nearly a block per contest.

As for Kessler, the 22-year-old has slightly regressed in terms of production this season for the Utah Jazz. The 7-foot center from Atlanta, Georgia is averaging 8 points and 7 rebounds this season after 9-point and 8-rebound averages in his rookie year.

Smith and Kessler make up a player poll of 28 rookies, sophomores, and G League players who will be drafted into four teams to compete in a single elimination tournament.

Other notable players in the poll rookies Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Scoot Henderson, and Alabama alumni Brandon Miller. Former Kentucky center Oscar Tshibwe is one of seven players in the G League poll.

The Panini Rising Stars Challenge can be seen on TNT and HBO Max at 8 PM CST on February 16. NBATV will also be televising practice in the morning, starting at 10 AM CST.

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Rockets’ Tari Eason pretended to be a reporter to ask teammate Jabari Smith a funny question

Tari Eason may have a future in this business, too!

After another victory, Houston Rockets wing Tari Eason got a journalistic itch that he just had to scratch.

During a media scrum with forward Jabari Smith following the win over the Grizzlies, Eason put on his metaphorical reporter hat. Eason said that he was from the “Clutch City Inquirer” (which is a truly phenomenal fake name for a Rockets publication) and got Smith’s attention.

Eason said that he noticed Smith “get to the paint” unlike ever before.

He wanted to know if Smith felt that he was on his “bully” this season. While the question got a chuckle from the other reporters in the locker room, it was an insightful observation from Eason.

Smith, indeed, is getting to the rim more often this season than he did when he was a rookie. He finished 23 percent of his attempts at the rim last year, per Cleaning The Glass. This season, that has increased to 31 percent.

He averaged 2.6 paint touches per game last season and is now up 3.9 per game. That increase (1.3) ranks fifth-most among the 125 players who have averaged at least 40 touches per game this season and last season.

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Jaylin Williams, Aden Holloway win SEC Player of the Week honors

Jaylin Williams and AdenHolloway were honored by the SEC after dominating Indiana.

Following dominant performances against Indiana, [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag]  have both won the SEC’s Player of the Week awards.

Williams was named the conferences Player of the Week for the first time in his career. The senior tied his career-high with 24 points and added seven assists and six rebounds to lead Auburn to an 104-76 win over the Hoosiers.

Holloway busted out of a mini-slump with a 24 point performance of his own and was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week for the second time this season. He once again looked like one of the best shooters in the country, going 5-of-8 from behind the arc and making all five of his free throws.

It was the first time Auburn has had two 20-point scorers in once game since [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag] (31 points) and [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag] (22 points) did go against Vanderbilt on Feb. 16, 2022.

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Aden Holloway named preseason Freshman All-American

Hype continues to build for Aden Holloway’s freshman season.

As anticipation for the 2023-24 college basketball season continues to build the hype around [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] is only increasing. On Thursday the point guard was named a First-Team Freshman All-American by 247Sports.

Here is what Isaac Trotter had to say about the ranking.

Aden Holloway just looks like a Bruce Pearl point guard. He won’t be handed the starting gig – sophomore Tre Donaldson is more than competent – but Holloway is the dynamic shotmaker the Tigers so desperately needed. Plenty of freshmen struggle to make shots every year, but it’s easy to see why Auburn is so bullish that Holloway can buck that trend. Holloway should, in theory, be a drop-coverage killer who can scurry around Johni Broome’s bulldozer-like picks and make defenses pay for going under ball screens. If the playmaking sticks, Holloway can change the ceiling of Auburn in 2023-24.

Holloway ended his school career ranked as the No. 18 overall player and No. 4 point guard in the 247Sports composite ranking. That makes him the second-highest-ranked signee in program history, trailing only [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag].

Holloway looks like the perfect point guard for a [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] offense, he is a great shooter and looks to score first but is also capable of setting up his teammates.

He and the rest of his teammates are set to open the season on Tuesday, Nov. 7 against the Baylor Bears. The game will be played at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and can be seen on ESPN.

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Bruce Pearl hints at Auburn’s 2024 rotation

Auburn will have a very different looking rotation this season.

Auburn men’s basketball coach [autotag]Bruce Pear[/autotag]l addressed the media via Zoom on Friday. With fall camp fast approaching, Pearl pointed out four key areas where the Tigers need to make up for lost production from last season.

“We gotta replace [autotag]Wendell Green[/autotag], we gotta replace [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag], we gotta replace [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag], and we gotta replace whoever backed up [autotag]Jaylin Williams [/autotag] last year.”

Pearl mentioned freshmen guard [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] as the likely replacement for Green.

He called Holloway “a combination of a lot of the guards [Auburn] has had in the past.” Holloway was a McDonald’s All-American in 2022, leading his team to a 36-1 record while averaging 18.5 points, 5.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game as a senior.

Auburn’s head coach is high on the former five-star recruit, likening his work ethic to that of former Auburn first-round picks [autotag]Jabari Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag], and [autotag]Isaac Okoro[/autotag].

The starting point guard spot is Holloway’s to lose, although Pearl did mention [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] as a player who will see some minutes and push Holloway to be better.

Pearl’s next test will be replacing defensive wizard [autotag]Zep Jasper[/autotag]. While the loss of Jasper will hurt the Tigers defensively, Pearl did note the potential for the team to improve scoring the basketball, where he is opting to give transfer guard [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] a run in the starting five over fan-favorite [autotag]K.D Johnson,[/autotag] at least for now, due to his high-volume scoring ability.

“Denver Jones could be a candidate for one of our top two or three scorers.”

It’s hard to argue with that statement, Jones was absolutely lethal as a scorer last season. The sophomore guard was one of only 26 players in Division 1 to average at least 20.0 points per game in 2022, helping him become the first-ever FIU Panther to win Conference USA first-team all-conference honors.

Pearl was a little more ambiguous when discussing how he would deploy his front-court options.

He did take time to praise JUCO transfer [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] and Division 2 transfer [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag], calling Baker-Mazara “really good,” while citing his accomplishments at Northwest Florida State College and San Diego State.

The issue with Baker-Mazara is his size, where he measures 6 feet 7 inches but weighs only 190 pounds. That body type does not bode well for a healthy season, especially in the physical SEC.

As for Johnson, Pearl called him “one of the best athletes on our team,” citing his ability to shoot, guard multiple positions, and dribble the basketball.

Of course, returning Tigers [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Cardwell [/autotag] will see ample minutes in the front court as well.

Pearl still has plenty of time to figure out his final rotation ahead of Auburn’s season opener against Baylor on Nov. 7, but it seems like he at least has an idea of how he would like to deploy his roster ahead of this season.

Fall camp performances and injuries will surely change some things too.

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