The 2019 Final Four run forever changed what was expected from Auburn basketball by the rest of the college basketball world.
Bruce Pearl had Tennessee humming at the same time Pat Summit was building her legacy on Rocky Top, but he became an Auburn man in leading that squad–who was of course without eventual NBA first-round draft pick Chuma Okeke–to the very end in a much-maligned (on the Plains at least) Final Four matchup against that year’s NCAA champion, Virginia.
That was his shining moment as a coach, even with a Division II National Championship under his belt with Southern Indiana, a Tigers scrimmage opponent before the 2021-22 season kicks off.
This year’s team has similar ambitions. Damyeon Fishback–who played 52 games for Auburn in the late 1990s–is confident they can reach that goal…and blow way past:
"“My early impression is that they have the coach to win it all…” “From what I have seen they have the pieces to win it all…”"
And Fly War Eagle feels the same. The following 3 specific reasons outline our optimistic outlook for the 2021-22 season:
Reason #1 Auburn basketball could reach Final Four again: Allen Flanigan’s mid-season return
One of the primary sparks for that incredible 2019 Final Four run was the boost that the team got rallying around each other for the departure of Chuma Okeke to the IR with a torn ACL after the Tigers defeated UNC in the Sweet 16.
This year, it could be the inverse that ignites the spark to triumphant on-court results. Allen Flanigan will be returning right around when SEC play starts, and after a difficult early gauntlet that includes non-conference matchups at the Battle 4 Atlantis against the likes of UCONN (guaranteed) and potential matchups against Loyola Chicago, Michigan State, Arizona State, Baylor, Syracuse, or VCU, with a Holiday Hoopsgiving matchup with Nebraska in Atlanta before sneakily challenging mid-major matchups against a veteran Saint Louis squad and a Murray State Racers team looking to meet and exceed high preseason expectations.
By the time the SEC opener against LSU rolls around, Flanigan will either be ready to debut or will have had a tune-up game or two. His return will bring more balance to the lineup and add a third-year forward looking to prove he still has NBA talent.
Reason #2 Auburn basketball could reach Final Four again: Their size and athleticism will keep them competitive against any opponent
“Cause I got a really big team, and they need some really big rings…”
You’d think that Drake’s chart-topper “Big Rings” was written prophetically six years ago about the 2021-22 Auburn basketball team with those lyrics.
Walker Kessler is the new man in the middle, and he’s motivated to find a new lease on life on the Plains after making the wrong choice in Roy Williams’ UNC Tar Heels initially. The big man from Atlanta didn’t play much in 2020-21 as a freshman (8.8 minutes per game) but figures to be featured prominently this season.
Jabari Smith, standing at six-foot-ten, is one of the best prospects to ever don the orange and blue and could be an NBA building block one day. He’s on a similar career trajectory at this point as Kevin Durant was when he starred in Austin, Texas for the Longhorns, and that is not an exaggeration.
Jaylin Williams was often the star of the show for the short-handed 2020-21 Tigers, but now figures to be a sixth man when Allen Flanigan returns. In the interim, he could be a starter, giving Bruce Pearl a six-foot-eight shot-blocking small forward next to the aforementioned oversized studs.
We haven’t even yet mentioned the incumbent bench bigs Babatunde Akingbola (literally nicknamed ‘Stretch’) and ultimate hype man Dylan Cardwell, who stand six-foot-eleven and six-foot-ten, respectively.
This team is built to clean up misses, but is also built to finish lobs at the rim. Second chances should be a specialty for this team, assuming the initial offensive sets don’t produce buckets first.
Defensively, the frontcourt should be frustrating to face. Opposing offenses should grow accustomed to plenty of blocks and deflected passes.
Auburn shouldn’t be overmatched by any team, even with teams reliant on the 3-point shot. Wendell Green Jr. and Allen Flanigan are renowned rugged defenders on the wing, and Devan Cambridge averaged a steal per game last season himself.
This team can compete with anyone. No matter what strength anyone else brings to the table in 2021-22.
Reason #2 Auburn basketball could reach Final Four again: Tigers have star power and depth
If you look at last season’s championship Baylor team–and we know Auburn basketball fans got a great look at them when they were stomping AU out this past January–you’ll notice two things.
First, there was an NBA lottery pick in Davion Mitchell that started off with the Tigers. He had transcendent talent, and was eventually drafted with the ninth pick of the 2021 NBA Draft. But Baylor was no one man show.
Far from it, seeing as though Jared Butler put up equally gaudy stats and ended up being selected with the #40 pick of the same draft. Still, this was not a one-two punch.
This was a punch that stung even when the starters were riding the pine. The likes of Matthew Mayer (13 points, six rebounds) and Adam Flagler (19 points, eight rebounds) were able to punish Bruce Pearl’s bunch for the Bears and–along with Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua–scored a third of the points Baylor scored in their 86-70 trouncing of Gonzaga in the title game.
That’s the identity this year’s Tigers could have, with the likes of Jaylin Williams, Zep Jasper, and Devan Cambridge coming off the bench and Walker Kessler and Allen Flanigan as support pieces in a starting lineup featuring one of the 2022 NBA Draft class’ brightest prospects leading the charge.
Expectations for AU are sky-high, and it really shouldn’t be any other way.