While Auburn basketball may not have had the best run during the 2020 season, they sure had a tremendous offseason. Practically the whole team was arranged after losing Sharife Cooper and JT Thor to the NBA Draft, Justin Powell to Tennessee, and several other transfers to various schools.
However, Bruce Pearl wasted no time in replenishing the Tigers’ roster, adding in transfers Wendell Green Jr., Walker Kessler, KD Johnson, and Zep Jasper. Not to mention incoming freshman Jabari Smith, 5-star power forward and the #1 recruit out of the state of Georgia.
According to fellow FanSided site Busting Brackets, Auburn basketball was the 6th biggest offseason winner heading into the 2021-22 season:
"Losing Sharife Cooper and Justin Powell in the backcourt were certainly blows for the Tigers but they were able to overload in the transfer portal, bringing in a few good guards this offseason. Zep Jasper and Wendell Green put up some big numbers at College of Charleston and Eastern Kentucky respectively, while KD Johnson was a double-digit scorer at Georgia.But the biggest addition for the team came in the frontcourt. Although JT Thor departed for the NBA Draft, Auburn was able to land Walker Kessler, a former five-star recruit from North Carolina who in limited minutes, displayed flashes of stardom. He’ll be paired with five-star incoming prospect Jabari Smith in the frontcourt, backed up by Jaylin Williams and Dylan Cardwell."
Ahead of the Tigers were the Gonzaga Bulldogs at #5, the UNC Tar Heels at #4, the Creighton Bluejays at #3, the Kansas Jayhawks at #2, and the Texas Longhorns coming in at the #1 spot. The SEC school with the next biggest offseason was the Kentucky Wildcats coming in at #12.
Auburn basketball’s season will kick off on November 9 at Auburn Arena versus Morehead State before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle for Atlantis Tournament November 24-26th.