Auburn basketball: Wreck ‘Em Red sees Justin Powell as Texas Tech fit

It’s Selection Sunday, but the only thing Auburn basketball fans will be selecting today is which channel to change the television to if the Alabama Crimson Tide win an SEC Basketball championship after the football team took the SEC crown this past winter.

This year is a down-year on the Plains, with the Tigers intelligible for the postseason since the initial tip-off of the 2020-21 season against St. Joseph’s in Late November. It was made even worse when the season kicked off without the presence of Sharife Cooper, the team’s 5-star point guard recruit.

Without Cooper, the team dropped a few non-conference games but at least had freshman Justin Powell to keep fans entertained. The freshman from Kentucky wowed fans early with double-digit scoring outings against St. Joseph’s (17), Texas Southern (15), and a pair of 26-point outbursts against Memphis and South Alabama.

When Powell left in the second half of the team’s matchup against Texas A&M in January, few thought that would be the last time Tiger fans would ever see him in orange and blue.

But now, numerous teams are in pursuit of the prospect from Prospect. One team that sees a smooth fit for Powell is Texas Tech as Wreck ‘Em Red’s Matthew Conner makes the case:

"…a serious concussion ended (Powell’s) season on January 2nd and now, he’s decided to look for new opportunities.  And perhaps Texas Tech would be the right fit for him.  Certainly, he would be a great first for the Red Raiders given that he would bring something to the roster that is currently lacking.This year, Texas Tech has struggled to find enough 3-point shooting.  In fact, the Red Raiders made the fewest 3-point field goals of any team in the Big 12 this season.Powell averaged 1.9 made 3s per game in his brief run this year.  That’s more than any Red Raider made this season and it would be a huge boost to this program to add a sharpshooter of that caliber for next year should the NCAA grant athletes one transfer without penalty as has been widely rumored."

While Kentucky appears to be the clear favorite for Powell’s service–with Louisville also an enticing option for the local kid–Texas Tech’s FanSided site certainly likes the sound of the Auburn basketball transfer taking his talents from the Plains to the South Plains.