Auburn basketball: Tigers pursuing one of the country’s best guards

Auburn basketball continues to go after the country’s top talent

Incoming Auburn freshman Sharife Cooper is the highest-rated recruit in program history. The five-star guard is the No. 23 recruit in the country and the nation’s fifth-ranked point guard prospect.

As good of a player Cooper is, Bruce Pearl and his staff are going after a player who has the potential to be even better. On Monday, Auburn offered 2021 combo guard Hunter Sallis. Sallis, a 6-foot-3 guard out of Omaha, Nebraska is a top-20 recruit in the nation and the No. 2 combo guard in the class.

As one of the nation’s top recruits, Sallis has obviously caught the attention of various major programs across the country. The rising high school senior has already received offers from schools such as Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville and Nebraska. Sallis has taken visits to just two schools (Nebraska and Gonzaga) so far.

Not only would Sallis be the highest-rated recruit in Auburn history if he were to commit, he would also be the Tigers’ first commitment in the class of 2021. Depending on how long Cooper stays at Auburn, a backcourt of him and Sallis could be especially potent.

As a junior, Sallis helped lead the Millard North Mustangs to a 24-5 overall record before falling in the final round of the state championship.

Sallis isn’t the only elite guard that Auburn is pursuing in the class of 2021 either. The Tigers have also offered a scholarship to five-star guard JD Davison and four-star prospects such as Frankie Collins, Matthew Cleveland and Chance Moore.