Auburn basketball: The 5 most underrated players of the Bruce Pearl era

Pound for pound and inch for inch, I truly believe that DeSean Murray was the best rebounder in the SEC.

After dominating for two seasons at Presbyterian, Murray transferred to Auburn. And after sitting out for one season, Murray made his Auburn debut. Despite being just 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Murray got off to a strong start and was averaging a double-double through the Tigers’ first three games.

Murray was incredibly strong, tenacious and knew how to use his body well to crash the boards but Murray also used his strength to bang the ball inside. Murray was fourth on the team with 10.1 points per game and even showed the occasional touch from beyond the arc.

Part of why I think he’s so underrated is because, after that season, Murray transferred to Western Kentucky (a program he would eventually leave). He recently played with the Auburn-centered Team War Tampa at The Basketball Tournament but if it weren’t for Murray’s rebounding and inside scoring during the 2017-18 season, Auburn wouldn’t have been nearly as good as they were.