The Auburn basketball team is going to look pretty different in the 2023-2024 season, with many players transferring out or declaring for the NBA Draft. Two of the biggest returners were just announced this week in Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams, but another core player will be suiting up with a different SEC school later this year.
Earlier this year it was confirmed that assistant coach Wes Flanigan would be parting ways with Bruce Pearl and the Tigers after five years on the Plains to join up with Chris Beard as a new era of basketball begins at Ole Miss.
As expected, it was announced this week that his son, Allen Flanigan, will withdraw from the 2023 NBA draft and join his father in Oxford for the upcoming season. He is the fifth transfer to join the ranks of the Rebels.
According to The Grove Report, Flanigan will join a competitive backcourt at Ole Miss, and fan expectations are rising for the first team coached by Beard:
"Flanigan now joins a backcourt that already features the likes of Nunez and Murray along with the return of Matthew Murrell, who led the team in scoring last season (14.4).With all the new additions in Oxford, the expectations are certainly rising for a team that will now be projected to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019."
Flan spent the past four years playing with Auburn basketball, and averaged 24+ minutes in the final three seasons. As a senior, he averaged 10.1 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and shot 44.2 percent from the field.
The Tigers are also bringing in quite a few newcomers ahead of the 2023-24 season, starting with freshman Aden Holloway. Incoming transfers include Denver Jones (FIU), Chad Baker-Mazara (JUCO), and Chaney Johnson (UAH). Also returning alongside Broome and Williams is walk-on Lior Berman, a fan favorite.