Auburn basketball facing familiar foe in Julian Phillips’ commitment
Auburn basketball fans (and all their homies) hate the G-League. They may soon be provided with another reason why.
LSU de-commit Julian Phillips, who recently canceled a visit to one of his top choices, Kansas State, is down to his top choices, presumably Tennessee, AU, and the NBA’s minor-league feeder system.
Given Phillips’ recent caption innuendo regarding his decision (’bout that time’) it seemed like the Plains was the impending choice for the Link Academy star.
The 5-star forward is meeting with the G-League Ignite team just ahead of his commitment decision, though, per Joe Tipton:
Significant development here on 5⭐️ Julian Phillips, as he will meet with the G-League less than 24 hours before announcing his commitment on Thursday. https://t.co/X2RLrZLg0b
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 11, 2022
Auburn basketball has already had one of the most impactful offseasons
Julian Phillips would be a superstar addition to the Tigers that would elevate them even further in just about any 2022-23 season preview/projection/prediction. If he commits, he’d give AU a star frontcourt alongside fellow LSU 5-star de-commit Yohan Traore and Morehead State transfer Johni Broome.
If he doesn’t? Bruce Pearl has still loaded up enough and has retained upperclassmen like Jaylin Williams and Dylan Cardwell to provide frontcourt depth.
It’d perhaps be easier to see Phillips commit to the Vols, where Tiger fans could at least integrate his commitment into a friendly rivalry (besides Twitter) with an SEC rival. But if he goes to the G-League?
Then we have a Jalen Green repeat. And a troubling trend that may keep Auburn basketball under a glass ceiling for the rest of time. The Tigers picked a poor time in history to prioritize their hoops program, with the G-League (and Overtime Elite) poaching prospects at a head-spinning rate in an effort to weaken the NCAA and strengthen the NBA and its subsidiaries.