Auburn basketball star Jabari Smith will be someone Tiger fans will be watching for years dominate in the pros should he decide to take his talents to the NBA Draft this coming June.
There’s the faintest of hopes that Smith does in fact return to the team in 2022-23 but Bruce Pearl all but poured water on that possibility–and potentially revealed his mindset when it comes to Walker Kessler’s potential NBA departure as well–when he said postgame that he was excited to build around Jaylin Williams next season.
Smith likely played his last game as an Auburn Tiger, and ESPN’s David Hale had quite the biting description (“If it was Smith’s final game with the Tigers, it’s not one he’ll remember fondly”) of it.
But not everyone was as bearish as Hale. Several beat reporters nailed the framing of what could have been the final game of an all-time Auburn great:
Bad games happen. Sometimes they happen at the worst times. But if you're personally dragging Jabari Smith now, after the incredible season he had, you should probably delete your tweet and your account and rethink your life. #WarEagle #AuburnFamily @AuburnMBB
— Kevin Scarbinsky (@KevinScarbinsky) March 21, 2022
It is absolutely wild that perhaps the worst game of Jabari Smith's life was still 10 points, 15 boards, four assists and three blocks.
— Tom Green (@Tomas_Verde) March 21, 2022
We are not the same.
While the 2021-22 Auburn basketball campaign arguably peaked in January, the memeing, peacocking, and Griddying will always live on in the lore of the Plains.
Students camped outside the Auburn Arena, now the Neville Arena, all night to get into games. Bruce Pearl and ‘The Jungle’ became a national headline for its support.
Jabari Smith was the #1 reason why this season had a hype that no other season ever has in history.
Yes, the Tigers fell short, but whatever greatness the projected NBA lottery pick earns throughout his life, Auburn will always be the place he calls home.
War Damn to that.