Tag: K.D. Johnson

Former Furman guard JP Pegues visits Auburn

With the frenzy of the transfer portal getting underway, former Furman point guard JP Pegues visited Auburn on Tuesday

The chaos of the transfer portal is starting to get underway in college basketball, with players announcing their exit left and right. [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] have both already announced that they are leaving the program, which means [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] is in search of another guard.

Luckily for Auburn, the news of two of its guards leaving is attracting some attention from top players, including former Furman point guard [autotag]JP Pegues[/autotag]. The Paladin star made a visit to the Plains on Tuesday.

The junior had an impressive campaign this season, averaging 18.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game during Furman’s 17-16 record in the 2023-24 year. His stats led him to be named to the first-team All-Southern Conference squad.

He already took a visit to South Carolina last weekend before making his trip to Auburn. After a visit that he feels went well, he looks to make one final visit to Florida on April 12 before making a decision.

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Auburn guard Tre Donaldson enters transfer portal

Donaldson leaves the Plains after an impressive sophomore season in which he averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game.

A week after senior guard [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] decided to leave Auburn and enter the transfer portal, backcourt mate [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag] has joined him. The sophomore guard announced the move on his Instagram early Wednesday morning.

Donaldson leaves the Plains after an impressive sophomore season in which he averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game. While he played well throughout the season, Donaldson was stuck in a timeshare for minutes at the point guard position alongside 5-star freshman Aden Holloway.

With Holloway yet to decide on whether he will come back to Auburn and 2024 5-star point guard Tahaad Pettiford waiting in the wings, Donaldson may have been locked in the same type of limited minutes per game in his junior season.

Donaldson’s loss could force [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] to the transfer portal himself in hopes of finding a way to replace the assist production his sophomore guard offered. With the Tigers’ guard room depleting, Pearl has a tall task ahead of him in order to get his squad ready for next season.

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Auburn guard K.D. Johnson hitting the portal

Just days after Auburn’s first round exit to Yale, Auburn guard KD Johnson has announced that he is entering the transfer portal.

It was just a few days ago that Auburn basketball’s season ended in the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the Yale Bulldogs. As if the feeling was not already bad enough, some more bad news has hit the Tigers’ program.

Auburn guard [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag] announced he is entering the transfer portal on Tuesday, marking the first member of this year’s team to leave the squad.

Johnson spent the past three years playing for [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] after transferring to the Tigers from Georgia. He played key minutes off of the bench this season in Pearl’s 10-man rotation, which proved to be a vital part of the team’s success.

While being the second rotation with the team for the last two seasons, he started all but three games that he played in during the 2021-22 year.

Over the course of his Auburn career, Johnson racked up 959 points, 224 rebounds and 142 assists. He was a 38.2% shooter from the field to go along with his 72.5% success rate from the charity stripe.

In his final game with the program versus Yale, he played a season-high 26 minutes, scoring seven points to go along with two rebounds and one assist. Johnson has not announced what his future plans are for his college career, but it is known that he played a crucial role in the Tigers’ recent success.

[lawrence-related id=80965]

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Recap: Auburn emphatically punches ticket into SEC Tournament Semis

If you had any doubts about Auburn’s ability to make a deep run into March, the Tigers proved that pessimism was unwarranted on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

If you had any doubts about Auburn’s ability to make a deep run into March, the Tigers proved that pessimism was unwarranted on Friday afternoon in Nashville.

[autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag]’s Tigers absolutely bullied the South Carolina Gamecocks for 40 minutes in an 86-55 SEC Tournament Quarterfinal win. If not for a few early offensive rebounds by B.J. Mack and the other Gamecock forwards this thing would have never been close.

Auburn’s No. 7 ranked KenPom defense showed up massively, holding South Carolina to a measly 55 points in the game. The aforementioned Mack along with other star Meechie Johnson combined for just 17 points, which is nearly 11 points lower than their per game average this season.

On the offensive end, things didn’t change much from what we saw in the regular season. The Tigers ran their sets through star forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], relying heavily on the junior’s presence to not only score but create open looks for the guards.

Auburn’s best player finished his afternoon with a game-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists. Frontcourt mate [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] played a solid game as well, but it was the backcourt quartet of [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag], [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag], [autotag]Trae Donaldson[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag] that stood out on Broadway.

Baker-Mazara was his normal “stat-stuffing” self with 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Jones, Donaldson and Holloway shot an extremely efficient 50% from the field for 21 combined points.

Senior [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] was his usual, “sparkplug”, self off the bench as well, adding 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.

If Bruce Pearl can get that kind of production and efficiency from his guards during the remainder of the postseason, the sky is truly the limit for Auburn in March.

Next up for the Tigers is a matchup right back in Bridgestone Arena against Mississippi State at 12:00 PM Central with a trip to the SEC Championship on the line.

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Recap: Auburn finishes regular season with home victory over UGA

Recap: Auburn finishes regular season with home victory over UGA

It was a happy senior night for the Auburn basketball team on Saturday night as an emotional [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag] and [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] won their final game in front of the Auburn Family.

Junior [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was also honored, as we his all but certain to leave for the NBA after this season concludes.

The night was especially special for the latter, who started his career in Athens playing for tonight’s opponent, Georgia. Johnson was his usual self all game long, providing the “firecracker-like” energy that has made him a fan-favorite on the Plains.

The guard finished his final game at Neville Arena with 6 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and one final technical foul.

As for Moore and Cardwell, the duo were important contributors in the 92-78 win, scoring 13 combined points off the bench. Cardwell also tacked on a season-high 4 assists.

Auburn’s star of senior night ironically happened to be newcomer Denver Jones. His 21 points paced all scorers in the game, while his 7/9 3-point shooting night should give him a load of confidence heading into postseason play.

Star forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was quite in the game and will most likely come up short in the SEC Player of the Year race, although bigger things are probably on his mind.

While winning on senior night is always important, tonight’s victory was extra crucial considering Auburn leapfrogged South Carolina in the SEC Standings to finish fourth.

That finish allows the Tigers to wait until the quarterfinals before they take the floor in Nashville for the SEC Tournament next week.

Auburn could end up playing the Gamecocks in the quarterfinal round on Friday, March 15 at 2:30 PM CST.

As for Georgia, the Bulldogs will take on Vanderbilt in the first round on Wednesday.

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Recap: Auburn falls to Kentucky in worst performance of season

The wheels fell off for the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night. Bruce Pearl’s team was outplayed for 40 straight minutes against Kentucky.

The No. 12 Auburn Tigers have been a wagon all season long at Neville Arena. On Saturday, that wagon lost all four wheels, headed downhill, and crashed into “Village Dining.”

Auburn’s offense which had been so potent at home all year mustered just 59 points against a sub-par, at best, No. 20 Kentucky defense. Stars [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] were largely ineffective, and the latter ultimately was forced out of the game halfway through the second half due to injury in the Tigers 70-59 loss to the Wildcats.

Frankly, all Tigers other than guard [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] were virtual no-shows in front of the College GameDay crowd.

The offensive issues were enough to sink the Tigers against a solid Kentucky offense that did just enough on the road. Guards Austin Reeves and Rob Dillingham weren’t fantastic, but the duo was able to draw foul after foul, frustrating Auburn’s perimeter defense for 40 minutes.

That frustration obviously boiled over on the offensive end for players such as [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] (3/10 from the field), Tre Donaldson (0/3 from the field), and [autotag]Aden Holloway[/autotag] (1/5 from the field). Holloway in particular continued his brutal stretch. The freshmen is now just two for his last 21 from three-point range on the season.

Auburn’s loss is tragic for a variety of reasons, the most glaring being they now trail rival Alabama by 1.5 games in the SEC with just five contests remaining. With a road game against No.9 Tennessee in Knoxville still on the schedule, Auburn’s chances of capturing a regular season SEC Championship are extremely slim.

On the bright side, the Tigers will have a full week to regroup before they travel to Athens to take on a mediocre Georgia team next Saturday.

As for Kentucky, the Wildcats now have life in the SEC hunt, especially with games against LSU and in Rupp Arena against Alabama next week.

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Recap: Auburn throttles South Carolina at Neville Arena

No. 12 Auburn bounced back in a major way on Wednesday Night by taking down South Carolina by 40 points at home.

Neville Arena has become the best home-court advantage across college basketball.

The No. 12 Auburn Tigers (20-5, 9-3 SEC) won another game in double-digit, blowout fashion in front of their home crowd on Wednesday night. This lopsided affair was never very close after a 9-4 Gamecock run to open the game.

The 101-61 final was No. 11 South Carolina (21-4, 9-3 SEC)’s worst loss of the season, the 40-point margin was also Auburn’s largest over an AP top-25 team in program history.

Star guard Meechie Johnson and company had no answer for a devastating Auburn defensive attack all night long. One of the hottest teams in the SEC, and college basketball, was rattled for a good 30 minutes of this game.

The aforementioned Johnson along with stars B.J Mack and Colin Murray Boyles were solid, but the remainder of the Gamecocks roster scored just 6 points to help them. On the offensive side, Auburn’s scoring attack was once again led by forwards [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] and [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag].

The latter did his best Steph Curry impression ahead of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, knocking down a career-best four 3-point shots on his way to 21 points.

Williams, who normally does most of his work inside as well, decided Broome needed a splash brother by hitting four threes of his own.  In total, the senior shot (8/11) from the field in a customarily efficient night.

Auburn’s second best player finished his night with 23 points, two rebounds, one assists, and one contact lens lost late in the second half.

Plenty of other Tigers chipped in during Auburn’s third 100+ point performance of the season. [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag], [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Trae Donaldson[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Cardwell[/autotag], and [autotag]Chaney Johnson[/autotag] all contributed two or more field goals.

Auburn will celebrate the massive victory before preparing to face a very talented Kentucky team on Saturday night back at Neville Arena.

South Carolina should be due for a bounce back this weekend when LSU comes to town on Saturday afternoon.

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Gallery: The best images from Auburn’s win over Alabama

The Auburn Tigers picked up another impressive win on Wednesday, this time defeating Alabama at home. Here are the best images from the win.

For the first time in the last three years, the Iron Bowl of basketball did not end in a sweep.

Auburn made sure to defend home court on Wednesday behind a rowdy Jungle at Neville Arena.

After a back-and-forth first 15 minutes, forwards Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams took over. The duo finished with 50 of Auburn’s 99 total points in the game, most impressively scoring the final 12 of the first half.

The Tigers’ 99-point performance was impressive, but the real story was the defensive tenacity of [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and guards [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag].

Broome in particular was dominant again on the defensive end. The junior has now collected 21 blocks over his last five games.

Here are some of the best images from Auburn’s blowout win against rival Alabama.

Gallery: The best images from Auburn’s win over Alabama

The Auburn Tigers picked up another impressive win on Wednesday, this time defeating Alabama at home. Here are the best images from the win.

For the first time in the last three years, the Iron Bowl of basketball did not end in a sweep.

Auburn made sure to defend home court on Wednesday behind a rowdy Jungle at Neville Arena.

After a back-and-forth first 15 minutes, forwards Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams took over. The duo finished with 50 of Auburn’s 99 total points in the game, most impressively scoring the final 12 of the first half.

The Tigers’ 99-point performance was impressive, but the real story was the defensive tenacity of [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and guards [autotag]K.D. Johnson[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag].

Broome in particular was dominant again on the defensive end. The junior has now collected 21 blocks over his last five games.

Here are some of the best images from Auburn’s blowout win against rival Alabama.

Recap: No. 11 Auburn makes statement with blowout win over No. 16 Alabama

After an extremely impressive win in Oxford over Ole Miss on Saturday, Auburn may have outdone themselves Wednesday against Alabama.

After No. 11 Auburn lost to No. 16 Alabama two weeks ago in Coleman Coliseum forward [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] was asked how the Tigers would treat the matchup in Neville Arena a few weeks later.

The junior responded with a succinct “It’s personal.”

Things certainly felt personal for Broome and the Tigers on an emotional Wednesday night in Auburn that ended in a 99-81 win over the rival Crimson Tide.

After an up-and-down first 15 minutes that saw the game deadlocked at 39, Auburn’s defense and timely shooting took over. Broome and fellow Forward [autotag]Jaylin Williams[/autotag] went on a two-man, 16-2 run to end the half, giving the Tigers a 14-point cushion as they went to the locker room.

The duo finished the night with 50 combined points, leading Auburn to a 99-81 home victory to knot things up atop the SEC standings.

Guards [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag]and [autotag]Chad Baker-Mazara[/autotag] have become key complimentary pieces on the offensive end for the Tigers in SEC play. Tonight they were spectacular. The pair shot an effective 50% from the field in the win, combining for 27 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists.

While Auburn’s offense was extremely effective, the defense of [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Moore[/autotag] [autotag]K.D Johnson[/autotag] in particular was also a story.

Broome’s five blocks and two steals combined with three steals apiece from Johnson and Moore led to transition opportunity after transition opportunity for an Auburn team that struggled shooting in the half court.

The 10+ turnover margin created by a suffocating Auburn defense was a major factor on the night. Other than the turnover issues, Alabama’s offense suffered from the road woes that have plagued it all season long.

Alabama guard Mark Sears and company made just 9 3-point shots on 26 attempts and only assisted on 8 made baskets. The Crimson Tide were bailed out by a bad Georgia defense in their last road game before tonight. [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] made sure his defense did not suffer the same fate as the Bulldogs.

Auburn’s victory improves the Tigers to 19-4 on the season and 8-2 in the SEC. The Orange and Blue will enjoy tonight’s victory before traveling to Gainesville to take on a red-hot Florida team on Saturday.

As for Alabama, the Tide drop to 16-7 and 8-2 in the SEC. They’ll travel down to Baton Rouge to battle a rejuvenated LSU team this weekend.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch