The Auburn basketball program will be better off after former assistant coach Wes Flanigan and transfer portal entry Allen Flanigan departed the Plains — this, at least, according to On3’s Justin Hokanson.
Hokanson was appearing on the May 8 edition of The Next Round when he made the prediction that team chemistry and culture will improve with the elder Flanigan now an assistant at Ole Miss and the forward looking for a new home.
“Not surprising that either one of those guys are gone…and I think that the Auburn Basketball culture and chemistry moving forward will be better for it” said @_JHokanson on the departure of Wes Flanigan and Allen Flanigan entering the portal @AuburnLiveOn3 @On3sports pic.twitter.com/csEx2sFMGV
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) May 8, 2023
Auburn basketball transfer Allen Flanigan could be natural fit for Ole Miss
A major draw for Allen Flanigan with the Auburn basketball program was the presence of his father, Wes, on Bruce Pearl’s Tigers coaching staff. Wes is now in Oxford, and the Sip could make sense as the next destination for Allen.
Flanigan was someone who could’ve been drafted by the NBA had he departed for the draft in 2021. His stock fell, though, during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns as his shooting percentages dipped and his counting stats decreased overall. He lost his starting job this past season.
Flanigan could likely rebuild his stock in an expanded role with the Rebels in Oxford, and he’d be back with his father during his last season at the collegiate level. Flanigan was eligible for a fifth year due to the extra season granted by the NCAA for the 2020-21 COVID-stricken school year.
While things didn’t work out in orange and blue the past few years, Flanigan had several fruitful years and multiple double-digit scoring efforts in the Tigers’ first-round matchups during the 2022 and 2023 Rounds of 64. Ole Miss could do worse than the Little Rock native in the transfer portal.