Auburn basketball: Is LSU de-commit Julian Phillips next big recruiting addition?

Auburn basketball is one of the schools Julian Phillips is talking about joining after joining the exodus away from the LSU basketball program in the wake of Will Wade’s firing.

The SEC has two other schools (Tennessee, South Carolina) in the mix, but the Tigers’ momentum is undeniable right now given their recent addition of fellow LSU de-commit Yohan Traore. Gonzaga, USC, and Florida State are also in on the six-foot-10 Frenchman.

Phillips is wise to leave a sinking ship that might as well be considered sunk at this point. Not a single player remains on the roster from a season ago and all commits have backed out of their agreement.

Quite frankly, his praise of Auburn basketball was more glowing than his words about any other school/coach not named Bruce Pearl:

"Auburn: “Coach (Bruce) Pearl is another hot team who played really well in the SEC. He also has had success putting a lot of guys into the NBA; look at Jabari Smith this year. I think I could fit into their system and how they play as well.”"

Auburn basketball is continuingly opening up room for Julian Phillips

As it turns out, the AU guard rotation is shrinking and in need of a guy like Julian Phillips out of Link Academy. Devan Cambridge joined his brother with Arizona State, and Preston Cook took the graduate route to immediate eligibility elsewhere.

Phillips makes a ton of sense alongside Yohan Traore on the Plains since the Bayou was going to welcome them together anyway.

Despite the Round of 32 upset bow-out to Miami in the 2022 Big Dance, Auburn is still a premier destination for recruits moving forward. Bruce Pearl has built something that is starting to look sustainable as more and more players get drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft year in and year out.

It feels like he is next. Time will tell, though.