Auburn basketball: Transfer targets with commitment dates this week

Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl is going to be forced to do some juggling with his team during the offseason. With players headed to the transfer portal and new signees on their way in, Pearl may still need to add a few bells and whistles to the 2021 roster.

The Tigers are losing Javon Franklin, Justin Powell, and Jamal Johnson to the transfer portal. Justin Powell recently announced that he’ll be continuing his career in Knoxville with the Tennessee Volunteers, and Jamal Johnson announced pretty quickly after entering the transfer portal that he will be heading up to UAB. Javon Franklin has yet to commit to another school.

Those losses are the reason why the two 2021 signees might not be enough to build the next basketball team. The Tigers have also landed College of Charleston transfer Zep Jasper, and it’s likely that more transfers will be added into the mix.

Two of Auburn basketball’s top transfer targets announced that they will be making their official commitments later this week after putting the Tigers on their top lists.

Noah Gurley, the power forward from Furman, narrowed his list down to a Top 8. Auburn was including among others including SEC opponents Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. He averaged 15.4 points per game in the 2020-21 season and spent the last two years as a starter for the Paladins. Gurley will make his official decision on Sunday, April 11.

This top target was also heavily recruited by the Tigers out of high school. Nimari Burnett, a former five-star prospect ultimately chose Texas Tech over Alabama, Michigan, and a few other programs. Burnett averaged 5.3 points and about 17 minutes of playing time in 12 games at Texas Tech before entering the transfer portal.

Burnett named Auburn as one of his Top 6 schools along with Alabama, Illinois, USC, Vanderbilt, Oregon, and LSU. He will make his announcement on Thursday, April 8.