Auburn basketball: BB says Allen Flanigan return means March Madness return

The excitement about the offseason Auburn basketball has had is a testament to how tight of a ship head coach Bruce Pearl runs here on the Plains.

Unless you are the likes of Duke, UNC, Kentucky, UCLA, or Kansas, losing your best player to the NBA means you are likely to take a step back the following year.

And, granted, Pearl’s program certainly took many steps back in 2020-21 after seeing Isaac Okoro get selected with the #5 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. That said, the table-setter for the Tigers offense, Sharife Cooper, is now being tabbed to be taken in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft, and yet Auburn is expected to make a meteoric jump in the standings next season.

Adding the likes of Wendell Green Jr., Zep Jasper, Desi Sills, Jabari Smith, and Walker Kessler will do that to a program, but so will retaining one of the top players on your team the past two seasons too.

In college basketball, upperclassmen help win titles, as the Baylor Bears helped show in 2021. That’s why Allen Flanigan’s return to Auburn will help the Tigers make it back to the NCAA Tournament, says Holden Walter-Warner of Busting Brackets:

"Flanigan’s return is the most significant development in Auburn’s offseason yet. But Auburn has been scoring victories left and right, particularly on the transfer trail.(Sharife Cooper’s) loss could have hampered the program. Instead, Auburn has found numerous victories, fortifying their own depth chart from within the program, as well as from veterans looking for a new place to play. All of those wins should help Auburn make it back into the NCAA Tournament next year."

Now a junior, Flanigan is entering a season where he could be Pearl’s next NBA prospect. If he can bring Auburn basketball back to the promised land–whether it be a March Madness appearance or that coupled with an SEC title–he’ll have no problems silencing pro scouts that wonder if he is a winner.