The Auburn men’s basketball team and head coach Bruce Pearl have been busy when it comes to the recruiting trail. The staff is tasked with replacing their frontcourt duo of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler. Both are expected to be first-round picks in the upcoming NBA draft.
Thus far the Tigers have added [autotag]Yohan Traore[/autotag], [autotag]Chance Westry[/autotag], and [autotag]Tre Donaldson[/autotag]. Pearl could be adding a fourth member to his 2022 haul on Thursday with former LSU commit, Julian Phillips.
He was a member of the LSU Tigers‘ 2022 class along with Traore prior to the firing of Will Wade. Both players decommitted from the program soon after. The Auburn head coach could pick up both if Phillips decides to make the Plains his home in the 2022-23 basketball season.
As we await the decision, 247Sports recently released their analysis on the 2022 recruiting class with Auburn checking in at No. 16 overall.
What 247Sports Says…
Since the arrival of Bruce Pearl, basketball fever has taken over at Auburn and the Tigers continue to reload with talent. There’s not a potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick in this group like Jabari Smith, but there is some impactful talent.
When Will Wade’s time at LSU ended abruptly, Traore became available and his size, scoring touch and rebounding made him a five-star prospect. Well-traveled during his high school career, Westry is a top 40 wing and utility player who can help on both sides of the ball thanks to his versatility. Also an SEC-level football recruit, Donaldson is a tough and physical four-star floor general. This class has a chance to get much better on Thursday and landing five-star small forward Julian Phillips would give them a major boost in the team rankings.
Other SEC schools to make the list:
- No. 2: Arkansas Razorbacks
- No. 3: Alabama Crimson Tide
- No. 15: Kentucky Wildcats
Among the remainder of the top 20, future SEC opponent the Texas Longhorns checked in at No. 5 overall. Plenty of competition is on the way to the SEC and should make for an exciting brand of basketball in the conference for years to come.
[mm-video type=video id=01fzxs7brvq6hn1b2286 playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fzxs7brvq6hn1b2286/01fzxs7brvq6hn1b2286-1dfcd168c99f981b53adcfdde2ee2241.jpg]
[listicle id=47158]
[vertical-gallery id=45968]
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 Patrick on Twitter @PatrickConnCFB.
Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!