Auburn basketball recruiting got hot for a minute. On November 12, blue-chip guard Kaden Magwood announced his commitment to Bruce Pearl’s Tigers. After his announcement, eyes turned to three recruits interested in Auburn.
Magwood was a massive acquisition for a Tigers team that already sits atop the KenPom rankings after a hot start. Led by breakout freshman Tahaad Pettiford, a player who Magwood has already drawn comparisons to, the Tigers beat the then-KenPom No. 1-ranked Houston Cougars in a massive matchup, solidifying this Auburn team as a true threat.
This said, not much momentum has been built for the Tigers’ recruiting since. Eyes turned to Bryson Tiller, a six-foot-ten, 240-pounder who Tiger fans looked to as perhaps the replacement for one of Auburn’s bigs -- both of whom are playing their last season for Coach Pearl.
On November 14, he committed to Kansas.
"No matter," Tiger fans thought to themselves. "Samis Calderon is a similar-style player who will surely join such a hot team!" Calderon is a six-foot-eight, 200-pounder, who, despite a smaller stature than Tiller, averages just 0.4 points per game less in the same league. Tiger fans saw this as less of a consolation prize and more as proof that the Tigers’ recruiting wasn’t dead just yet.
On November 14, he too committed to Kansas.
As the season trudges on, and Auburn continues to dominate on the court, it’s easy to forget that next year’s Tigers may find themselves flush with guards and without any bigs.
At least, that may be how Auburn finds itself in terms of true freshmen. Coach Pearl famously loves to recruit from other programs, finding players that desperately have something to prove, and will put in the work to prove themselves.
JP Pegues, Denver Jones, Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly, Chaney Johnson, and several others are examples of this idea, all played at other schools before making names for themselves at Auburn.
Despite the pickup of Magwood, AU's high school recruiting is admittedly struggling. But that doesn’t mean Pearl won’t go find himself a diamond in the proverbial rough in the transfer portal.