Auburn Tigers news: Hugh Freeze eyeing transfers from Miami, Michigan State
Hugh Freeze is eyeing two Power Five transfers in the portal on both sides of the ball to add to his Auburn Tigers roster ahead of the 2024 season — with imminent visits planned for the pair on the Plains.
Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl’s Auburn hoops squad will be taking on Indiana at the Holiday Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta. The Tigers head coach had much to say about his time in the state, as well as Bobby Knight, who recently passed away.
There’s plenty of AU news. Let’s get to it.
Auburn Tigers have planned visit with Miami’s Jaleel Skinner and Michigan State’s Derrick Harmon
Freeze is bringing Miami’s Jaleel Skinner and Michigan State’s Derrick Harmon to the Plains over the net two weekends, and both offer intriguing potential; the former on the offensive end and the latter defensively.
“This is one to watch,” Auburnundercover’s Jason Caldwell said of Harmon. “Very physical player with some ties to the Auburn staff.” Harmon will be visiting Auburn University’s campus this weekend.
Meanwhile, Skinner will make his way to AU. Thus far, no other program has been strongly linked to Skinner.
Bruce Pearl pays respects to the legendary Bobby Knight
Having spent nearly a decade at Southern Indiana, Pearl knows a thing or two about the Hoosier State. He spoke to the love of basketball those across Indiana during a December 7 press conference.
“Their fans know the game” Pearl said (h/t AL.com). “They know the game cause when they were in high school they played the game. There’s a basketball rim or a backboard on every light pole in the state, everybody’s backyard. As a result, the high school coaching is outstanding. The youth coaching is outstanding. The players are high-IQ. I think the biggest thing I learned is that— now, they don’t know nothing about football. Whereas our fanbase, they’ve forgotten more than some of our coaches know about football.”
Pearl also gave a heartfelt tribute to the recently-diseased Knight, one of the all-time coaching legends who’s inextricably linked to the Hoosiers from his 39 years coached in Bloomington.
“One of the things that I was doing as a young head coach was watching Coach Knight,” Pearl prefaced before saying, “I was listening to his radio show and always was so impressed with how he communicated with the fans. He absolutely taught the game to the fan base, and he had more respect for the fans than the media. He would give the media such a hard time and barely answer their questions, and some random caller from Fishers, Indiana or whatever — he’d go and answer that question and break it down. I learned a lot by listening to him and watching him.”
The Auburn Tigers and Indiana Hoosiers tip off their Holiday Hoopsgiving 2023 matchup at 1 pm central. AU is favored by seven points in the matchup despite glaring shooting struggles — including 11% 3-point shooting — in their last few games.