Auburn basketball: Bruce Pearl pursuing Bama/UGA ’22 Upstate NY target

Anyone that isn’t excited about the future of Auburn basketball isn’t paying attention.

While the 2020-21 season was tough to watch, Tiger hoops will more closely resemble the winning basketball Bruce Pearl had them playing from 2018-2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed everything on the Plains.

Well, the NCAA’s strange handling of the Sharife Cooper situation and Justin Powell’s season-ending injury certainly contributed a fair share to the Tigers’ down-year as well. The SEC also had several (faux) powerhouses in 2020-21, including the SEC Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee, Missouri, and Florida, all of whom were exposed in the NCAA Tournament.

I mean, not everyone can knock off Kansas, UNC, and Kentucky in short order to reach the Final Four. Some teams struggle to knock off #11 seeds. Oh, hey Nate!

Either way, with the additions of (*clears throat*) Walker Kessler, Wendell Green Jr., and Zep Jasper from the transfer portal, as well as Jabari Smith and Trey Alexander to the Class of 2021, the Tigers are in position to become a winning program again.

If Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams can take steps forward in their junior year, the ceiling may be higher than simply owning a winning record. Enough things break right…and we could be talking about a second SEC title for Pearl and co.

With all of the excitement surrounding the program, even after enduring a season that would have forced changes for a school of lesser standing, it shouldn’t shock anyone that Auburn basketball is in the running for some of the best talent in the country.

That’s why Bull City Prep’s Jai Smith received an Auburn offer yesterday:

The Syracuse native is being pursued by 40 other schools, including rivals Alabama and Georgia. An offer from the hometown Orange could be a future game-changer, but for now Auburn basketball’s biggest competition will be coming from Kansas and Maryland, who have already met with Smith.

Here’s to another Upstate, NY man making his way to the Plains. War Eagle!