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

Despite averaging 15.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and nearly seven blocks per game as a senior at Worth County high school, Anfernee McLemore was only a three-star prospect. And despite garnering offers from prestigious schools such as Brown, MIT and Stanford, the 6-foot-7 forward decided to play for Auburn.

McLemore would get playing time right away and was a bright spot on an Auburn team for the third-straight season under Pearl.

Undersized for his position, McLemore made up for it with incredible athleticism, timing and leaping ability. McLemore was playing the best basketball of his career as a sophomore putting up per-40-minute stats of 15.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.6 blocks per game.

The sophomore was the anchor of the Tigers defense and one of the best shot-blockers in the conference. Unfortunately, McLemore suffered a gruesome ankle injury in a February game against South Carolina.

While that injury definitely hindered McLemore’s career potential, the undersized big man would go on to recover and would be a consistent player and leader for the Tigers over the next few seasons.

He was a consistent presence during the Tigers Final Four run in 2019 and the development of his three-point shot has helped the Tigers create mismatches against opposing big men.

McLemore’s career averages of 6.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game won’t wow you but he helped Auburn win a bunch of games in the past few seasons and overcame adversity while remaining a hard worker and positive influence for the team.