Bruce Pearl didn’t try to hide his pride about Chuma Okeke being at the next level, and he also couldn’t keep secret his desire to see his other SEC Champion power forward Jabari Smith teaming up with the missing link during the Tigers’ 2019 Final Four run in Orlando.
The Magic, the franchise currently employing Okeke, happens to have the No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2022 NBA Draft. Smith is strongly linked to Orlando to be selected first overall.
Bruce Pearl may be onto something.
Here was his tweet, which was a response to a photo of Okeke working out with NCAA/NBA legend Carmelo Anthony:
Don’t you sweat on Big Chume! Heard it hear..he’s gonna have a monster year for the Magic! And I’m rooting for Jabari to be his teammate!? 🙏 https://t.co/vfFt2VGzjm
— Bruce Pearl (@coachbrucepearl) June 16, 2022
This follows Instagram activity at the beginning of June that should excite Auburn fans who want to see all of their favorite Tigers in same place in the pros:
Bruce Pearl has built an NBA feeder school at Auburn
AU is relevant in football, basketball, and baseball. It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger indeed.
As we all know, Bruce Pearl–who was hired in 2014 after being dishonorably discharged from the University of Tennessee for recruiting violations–has been the lone reason for why the Tigers were just a No. 2 seed in the March Madness tournament.
With Smith and Walker Kessler likely to follow Sharife Cooper, JT Thor, Isaac Okoro, and Chuma Okeke as draft picks from Pearl’s recruiting and development, Auburn continues to build its brand as a basketball powerhouse in the SEC.