Auburn basketball taking names, stealing headlines (and we love it)
By Rob Maxwell
For years it was unfathomable that Auburn basketball could not just make headlines days before fall practice begins for the Auburn football team, but generate genuine excitement at the same time.
But that’s what Bruce Pearl and the Auburn basketball program are doing.
Despite having two of its best players sitting out last season and all-time leading scorer and Pearl assistant Chuck Person caught in the middle of an FBI investigation, Auburn won the SEC regular-season title, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2002-03 season and won a game in it.
And the news continues getting better.
Late Monday night, 4-star small forward Isaac Okoro (ranked No. 35 in the country by 247Sports) committed to Auburn for the 2019 class. He’s the No. 1 player in the state of Georgia (McEachern High School in Powder Springs) and teammates with Babatunde Akingbola, a 3-star, 6-8 center also committed to Auburn.
Okoro was a member of the 2018 USA Basketball Men’s U17 World Cup Team that went 7-0 to win the 2018 FIBA World Cup. The 6-foot-5 Okoro averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds on the team.
But Okoro’s commitment is just another item in a growing list of positives for Auburn basketball:
- On June 4, Auburn gave Pearl a 5-year contract extension.
- At the end of May, Auburn basketball received good news when Wiley announced he was withdrawing his name from the NBA draft. Guards Bryce Brown and Jared Harper also explored their NBA options and chose to return.
- Forward Danjel Purifoy, who sat out the 2017-18 season (as did Wiley) because of eligibility issues, is returning.
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Throw in that Auburn will meet Xavier on Nov. 19 in the first round of the Maui Invitational and with a win in that game likely meets Duke in the next round and you have Tigers basketball in new territory. That territory is where the elite basketball teams live. You know, the ones that expect to win every time they take the floor. The ones expecting to make a run to the Final Four.
Still, the news hasn’t been all good. Mustapha Heron transferred to St. John’s. That’s a significant loss, but minutes already were going to be difficult to come by next season. Heron’s departure frees up someone to get a few more.
Pearl went with a 9-man rotation most of last season that included Heron, Harper, Brown, Anfernee McLemore (did you hear that he’s cleared for practice after that horrific injury late last season?), Horace Spencer, Desean Murray, Chuma Okeke, Davion Mitchell and Malik Dunbar.
Next season, that turns to at a solid 10 with Harper, Brown, McLemore, Spencer, Okeke, Dunbar, Wiley, Purifoy, Samir Doughty and J’Von McCormick. There’s been talk that Akingbola might reclassify to the 2018 recruiting class and be part of the 2018-19 team. That could add an 11th player to the rotation or Akingbola could redshirt and spend the season getting stronger and practicing against Wiley, Spencer and McLemore.
Purifoy will be suspended for at least the season’s first nine games because of the NCAA ruling, but here’s the lineup Auburn likely puts on the floor in Game 1:
PG: Harper
SG: Brown
C: Wiley
F: McLemore
F: Okeke
That’s a combination of size, speed and skill that Auburn basketball has not had in some time.
Off the bench Spencer adds depth in the frontcourt, while Dunbar can play guard or forward. Doughty plays mostly wing and McCormick provides a backup for Harper at point. Once Purifoy returns, he could find his way into the starting lineup or inject offense off the bench.
Yes, the time to get excited about Auburn football is here, but don’t forget about Auburn basketball, because it’s going to be on a different level in 2018-19.