Who comes back next year?

[TexasTiger 12,828]

Chuma? Harper? Wiley? We have one transfer who becomes eligible and 5 signees, I believe. I think that’s 13 on scholly. Who replaces Bryce Brown’s production? Which new guys contribute most? 

[War to the Eagle 362]

Everybody (underclassmen) except Harper and Purify?  Everybody except Harper? Everybody? How about Pearl... does he get an offer he can't refuse elsewhere?

With Okoro coming in, Tyrell Jones coming and a couple of bigs, this can be a really strong team again next year.  It doesn't have to be a one-hit wonder, and as we've seen over the last two years, this could be just the start of some great Auburn Basketball.  Love Pearl's passion, his ability to motivate and his style of play.  I also hope we can hold onto him.

[thewhiz7 273]

Harper is possible to get drafted but outside of unforeseen transfers I think all underclassmen will ultimately return. Just my very uneducated opinion. 

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

Purifoy has stated he was coming back. We lose Brown, Spencer, Dunbar, and Blackstock to graduation. I don't forsee Okeke coming back... Harper. Who knows? He has another year of eligibility left, and he's not exactly setting the mock draft boards on fire... Doesn't mean he wouldn't take a development league spot or go international. McLemore is a junior, I think he stays. Doughty I think stays ( for his sake I hope he does). Wiley I wouldn't be surprised if he dipped. McCormick stays, he's next in line at Point.

But I could be wrong. Maybe we start all Freshmen next year 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[thewhiz7 273]

Why would Wiley dip? Okeke I think comes back because the injury is going to set him back in the draft. He actually will have a lot to gain by coming back and showing he's recovered. Should be a 1st rounder next year.

[tgrogan21 6,198]

IMO, I think every underclassman comes back. Harper isn't high enough on draft boards, he might not ever get any higher, but I also think he will want to try and finish with a national championship next year. Wiley had a really rough year and with him being legacy, I can see him wanting to come back as well. Purifoy has already stated he's coming back (granted it was right after an emotional win). Doughty and McCormick I don't think will want to transfer again. Not sure if McLemore has graduated or will graduate but he's all about his academics and making sure he is set for after basketball is over with. As for Chuma I don't think too many NBA teams will take a shot on him with that injury. He'll need to come back and show that he doesn't have any lingering issues. 

 

Next year we should be primed to make another deep run in the tournament. 

[thewhiz7 273]

3 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

IMO, I think every underclassman comes back. Harper isn't high enough on draft boards, he might not ever get any higher, but I also think he will want to try and finish with a national championship next year. Wiley had a really rough year and with him being legacy, I can see him wanting to come back as well. Purifoy has already stated he's coming back (granted it was right after an emotional win). Doughty and McCormick I don't think will want to transfer again. Not sure if McLemore has graduated or will graduate but he's all about his academics and making sure he is set for after basketball is over with. As for Chuma I don't think too many NBA teams will take a shot on him with that injury. He'll need to come back and show that he doesn't have any lingering issues. 

 

Next year we should be primed to make another deep run in the tournament. 

I agree completely.  My memory is failing me right now but dont we have a transfer that is eligible to play next year?

[tgrogan21 6,198]

1 minute ago, thewhiz7 said:

I agree completely.  My memory is failing me right now but dont we have a transfer that is eligible to play next year?

Yep! Jamal Johnson. If everyone stays, with the incoming class we should have some amazing depth and experience. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,652]

We got 3 traditional forwards/wings, and Babatunde will basically be a center, ala Horace Spencer. I think Samir will be starting (unfortunately) at the 2, but Okoro has to get burn ASAP. Hopefully Purifoy drops a ton of the weight and can become a palatable 3, because I dont want to see him at the 4 again.

Jvon and Jamal Johnson will be a good PG stable, jared SHOULDNT be needed as much 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,652]

Anybody that can leave shouldnt. JH had one of his worst games during this run aside from that last 3; brain dead dribbling into guards and some other dumb shots when he clearly didn't have his legs. Very symptomatic of how he was during our low stretch in the RS. 

Wiley? lol

Chuma simply can't go. No one is leaving to be a 2nd round prospect, and there's no reason to take him in the first round if he can't work out (he won't be able to).

Only way we lose someone is to transfer

[cole256 17,042]

Wiley is better than what most of this fan base thinks. Whoever you guys think is a good post player wouldn't be as good with this particular team. 

I don't know what you guys are thinking as far as thinking chumma will be back and ready next year. Unless he is some medical marvel. But you can't count on it. 

Harper isn't going. Or at least he's not going to have a first round grade. 

Hope Johnson is good. Imo samir needs to come off the bench. We need to replace two spots

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

1 minute ago, cole256 said:

Wiley is better than what most of this fan base thinks. Whoever you guys think is a good post player wouldn't be as good with this particular team. 

I don't know what you guys are thinking as far as thinking chumma will be back and ready next year. Unless he is some medical marvel. But you can't count on it. 

Harper isn't going. Or at least he's not going to have a first round grade. 

Hope Johnson is good. Imo samir needs to come off the bench. We need to replace two spots

If Chuma is back by mid-season, I'd count that as a major win.  Agree about Wiley though.  Excited to see what he can do with a full, healthy off-season.

Honestly, what we have coming back may be a more balanced team than this year's club.  I think we'll be able to play inside more consistently to compliment the outside game.

[Gene Loblaw 636]

I think Austin is gone. From day one when he committed, the word was that he and his family thought he had a small window to play pro basketball because of his injuries/size. If they feel like his legs only have 8 years left in them, then he may not want to waste another year in college.

 

jared and Chuma are toss ups imo. I can understand the arguments both for and against them leaving but I selfishly hope they both stay.

 

As far as someone transferring out? Who knows? But this is ncaa basketball where by average 1.8 kids transfer from each program every year. Last year, Davion and Desean surprised the crap out of everyone when they chose to leave. So it wouldn’t shock me if someone bolted

[AU64 10,122]

Losing some great experience that's going to take a while to replace.   JMO but the experience playing together was the biggest thing this team had going for it that year against those young teams of 5* freshmen.  

Some of the losses are guys who were role players like Spencer and Dunbar but they were really valuable to the team success. Brown's 3 point shots are gonna be missed.....especially his streaks which could erase a 10 point deficit in a minute or two.   

I guess you can call it re-loading …..but I'm thinking that for much of next year it's going to be a re-building process....good starting five but maybe less depth and hopefully getting better as the season moves along.

 

PS....Dunbar and Spencer gave the team a toughness that's hard to replace.  

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

With the injury, I think Chuma returns.

Harper actually ended up on some NBA prospect boards after his run this year, obviously not into the two round draft discussion, but I feel as if he's pretty much at his prospect ceiling due to his measurables.  If he's in a position to finish his degree, I'd lean toward him exploring his professional basketball opportunities somewhere.

As Gene mentioned, with Austin's susceptibility to injury, I would say he chooses to start the earning part of his career too.

 

[Kaiiu 62]

Yeah I think Wiley is done. He was the only non-senior who spoke and thanked Auburn and the fans today. I think he knows this is probably it for his career here.

[around4ever 4,139]

15 minutes ago, SCTiger2011 said:

With the injury, I think Chuma returns.

Harper actually ended up on some NBA prospect boards after his run this year, obviously not into the two round draft discussion, but I feel as if he's pretty much at his prospect ceiling due to his measurables.  If he's in a position to finish his degree, I'd lean toward him exploring his professional basketball opportunities somewhere.

As Gene mentioned, with Austin's susceptibility to injury, I would say he chooses to start the earning part of his career too.

 

Austin was never 100% this season.  The NBA won't take a chance on him at this time.  He is not ready.   He may make a European roster if he chooses to come out.  

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

Just now, around4ever said:

Austin was never 100% this season.  The NBA won't take a chance on him at this time.  He is not ready.   He may make a European roster if he chooses to come out.  

This is kind of where I'm leaning as well.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,652]

Wiley showed a few things last night in his VERY limited touches, I thought we should’ve gave him more looks with him having constant post position and Salt in early foul trouble. It’s gonna be tough without him but I think it’s honestly better for the system if we eschew the thought of having a real center getting minutes. The system doesn’t do anything to highlight their best features and it’s one less position that can give us shooting. Babatunde will probably be playing the 5 often here, hopefully he can compose a respectable outside shot

[abw0004 10,110]

I could actually see Okeke staying with his injury.  He could earn a higher grade to come back and prove his injury didn’t hurt his stock.  But, he could also go to the G-League and prove it there.  Time will tell. 

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

I could actually see Okeke staying with his injury.  He could earn a higher grade to come back and prove his injury didn’t hurt his stock.  But, he could also go to the G-League and prove it there.  Time will tell. 

I don't see the G league as an alternative for a guy like Okeke....either here or NBA is my view.  He's just a soph so I see him coming back. 

Wiley is hard to tell.  He's got the size but lacks shooting skill and is not too physical inside.  He needs further development and playing 10 or 15 minutes a game in BP's scheme is not going to do it for him.   I don't know if he has been 100% healthy for any length of time in the past 3 years. Maybe some time in a "big man" camp would help him with his inside game. 

[AuburnArch13 185]

17 hours ago, cole256 said:

I don't know what you guys are thinking as far as thinking chumma will be back and ready next year. Unless he is some medical marvel. But you can't count on it. 

I agree that we certainly can’t count on him being back next year. But with what we just saw with Eli Stove and Will Hastings, I’m not sure we can rule it out either. They both went from surgery to playing in games in ~6 months, which was damn near unheard of. It’s possible that they were both medical marvels, but it’s also possible that the new stem-cell/ plasma infusion therapy that they received is actually just a game changer in how we should think about ACL recoveries. It’s absolutely not a given or even close to that that Chuma will be ready to go next year, but a ~9 month recovery, which would get him back around the start of conference play, doesn’t seem impossible. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,652]

Yeah ACL injuries aren’t as damning as they used to be. Demarcus Cousins is relatively big as hell and he was ahead of schedule and has been back in rhythm for a month plus or so. If the season starts in early October, he’d probably be back to ~70% by December I feel. Just an example not real times given btw

[johnnyAU 3,630]

It seems like Wiley has a lot of upside, but just needs more time to evolve. Maybe most of it is taking the next step mentally, and perhaps that is just needing more time in the lineup. Hard to tell. Flashes of greatness with extended periods of uncertainty and lack of awareness.  He could be a beast with some confidence and attitude. 

Maybe he takes that next step or he never will. I sure hope he does. 

Before this season, I never fully appreciated Harper's speed or ability to cut through a defense with relative ease and calmness. Dude is a warrior. I hate that he'll be haunted by that missed FT at the end of the game. 

[AU64 10,122]

7 minutes ago, johnnyAU said:

I hate that he'll be haunted by that missed FT at the end of the game. 

Boy I hope not....would not have been at that point except for him.  He's a mature ball player and hope he takes that as part of the game.   Just glad he will be back next year.  Bet the media will know and appreciate what he can do next season.