Tag: steven pearl

Five-star center Flory Bidunga sets commitment date

One of the best centers in the country is set to make his commitment this weekend and Auburn is a finalist.

[autotag]Flory Bidunga[/autotag] is one of the best players in the country and he is ready to make his commitment.

The five-star prospect is set to commit during halftime of the Under Armour Boys Elite 24 game on Saturday, Aug. 12. The game is set to start at 8 p.m. CT and will be on ESPNU.

He will be picking between Auburn, Duke, Kansas and Michigan, and while he has enjoyed the recruiting process he told Brandon Jenkins of 247Sports that he is ready to finish it.

“It is exciting,” Bidunga said. “These schools have been recruiting me for a while and it has been fine. It has been great to see the facilities but now I am trying to get this done so I can enjoy my senior year.”

Bidunga is originally from the Republic of Congo but currently lives in Kokomo, Indiana. He is the No. 4 overall player and No. 1 center in the 247Sports Composite Ranking. The 6-foot-8, 215-pounder is also the No. 1 player from Indiana.

He broke down each of his finalists with Jenkins and it should be no surprise that Bruce and [autotag]Steven Pearl[/autotag] are the reasons Auburn is a finalist for him.

“I love [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] and his son Steven,” Bidunga told Jenkins. “They have been there from the beginning to now. They kept going with me. It has been good so far with then.”

If Auburn can land Bidunga he would be the second five-star of their 2024 class, joining point guard [autotag]Tahaad Pettifort[/autotag] who is the No. 18 player and No. 2 point guard in the country.

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Auburn promoting Steven Pearl to associate head coach

He is entering his 10th season with the program.

[autotag]Steven Pearl[/autotag] has received a promotion ahead of his 10th season on the Plains. Auburn announced on Tuesday that he was being named associate head coach.

“Steven has been an integral part of the success that we’ve had at Auburn from the beginning,” head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] said. “Many people may forget that he started as an assistant strength coach and worked his way up through our program. He has been able to recruit and coach at a very high level. His ability to communicate and teach our system to our players is second to none. He is truly one of the best assistant coaches in the country and has earned this promotion.”

With Steven on the bench, Auburn has won three SEC Championship titles and made four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the first Final Four in program history in 2019.

“I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity and the trust so many people here at Auburn have put in me,” Steven said. “To BP, our administration, the board, our amazing coaching staff, our student-athletes, supporters of our program and the Auburn Family at large – thank you for this honor. I recognize how privileged I am to be able to come to work every day for the Auburn men’s basketball program, and I do not take that for granted.

“I couldn’t be more fired up about the direction and future of our program. I promise you I will stop at nothing to help the program bring home more championships to Auburn. We are just getting started. War Eagle!”

He has helped bring several talented transfers to Auburn, being the primary recruiter for [autotag]Walker Kessler[/autotag], [autotag]Wendell Green Jr.[/autotag], [autotag]Johni Broome[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Jones[/autotag].

Auburn is set to open the 2023-24 season on Nov. 7 against Baylor. The game will be a neutral-site matchup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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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.

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.