While Auburn basketball may not have had the best 2020 season, head coach Bruce Pearl is making sure that the offseason makes up for it. A week after securing 5-star transfer Walker Kessler from under the nose of Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels, Pearl added the fourth transfer to the 2021 roster in Desi Sills.
Sills, who was the only member of the Arkansas basketball team to play in all 98 games of the last three seasons, finished the 2020 season averaging 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and one steal. The junior guard shot 43% from the field and 32% from behind the arc and played heavy minutes in Arkansas’ NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight.
According to Auburn Undercover, Sills announced on Instagram that he would be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 31:
"“I’m going somewhere I can be Desi Sills and not be (held) back,” he said on Instagram when he entered the portal. “That’s that on that. I’m a certified (bucket), y’all will see in the near future.”"
Despite the official departure of Sharife Cooper to the NBA, and the possibility that big man J.T. Thor could end up in the big leagues as well, Bruce Pearl’s Tigers still look like a team that will give the rest of the SEC a run for their money. In addition to rising senior transfer Desi Sills, the roster will also get a boost from transfers Walker Kessler, Zep Jasper, and Wendell Green Jr. in addition to high school signees Jabari Smith and Trey Alexander.
Arkansas transfer Desi Sills just announced his commitment to Auburn on his Instagram: pic.twitter.com/SfNY2Df1tS
— Jay Phillips (@aubawn) April 20, 2021
Although there will be many newcomers to the 2021 Auburn basketball squad, what was once considered the youngest basketball team in the country will now have the playing experience and leadership from veteran athletes out of various programs. The Tigers will head into the summer with one scholarship left on the roster, leaving an open spot for J.T. Thor should he choose to return or Scoot Henderson should he choose to reclassify.