2020 Men's Basketball Recruiting Thread

[ArgoEagle 1,767]

24 minutes ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

 

Debbie Downer. This is E"s new alias.

[Grumps 3,693]

2022 note

 

[mustache eagle 2,389]

thats a big kid 

look at CBP with the weight loss.  dude has slimmed up.  good on him!

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

FWIW, Hooks said on ITAT, this morning, that AU is in "tip top shape" for Kessler. 

Also said things with Cooper still look "fantastic" and expects him to commit early this fall...

 

Pretty cool......

[steeleagle 2,945]

30 minutes ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

FWIW, Hooks said on ITAT, this morning, that AU is in "tip top shape" for Kessler. 

Also said things with Cooper still look "fantastic" and expects him to commit early this fall...

 

Pretty cool......

Its still going to be a matter of how these 2  react to the NOA letter Auburn will be receiving. If the NCAA adds more punishments, depending on the areas that they restrict us in, who knows what is a deal breaker for these top 2 players. 

Kessler is still up in the air, so keeping Cooper is critical. 

[augolf1716 21,096]

Yep we absolutely in it with Kessler. Just got to see what happens

[AUBwins 10,064]

3 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

Yep we absolutely in it with Kessler. Just got to see what happens

Awesome.  What's your plan this weekend? I think it is time to go sleepover at @bigbird house in Texas. Florida is not a place I want to be right now.  Holiday weekend taking up hotels already, and with Galaxy's edge opening at Disney World bringing all the outside guests who probably never dealt with hurricane ... disaster. 

Sorry for thread derail. 

Edited August 29, 2019 by AUBwins

[bigbird 60,371]

6 minutes ago, AUBwins said:

Awesome.  What's your plan this weekend? I think it is time to go sleepover at @bigbird house in Texas. Florida is not a place I want to be right now.  Holiday weekend taking up hotels already, and with Galaxy's edge opening at Disney World bringing all the outside guests who probably never dealt with hurricane ... disaster. 

Sorry for thread derail. 

Mi casa es su casa!

[AUBourne 425]

Visit - 27 Sept

247 Player Info - Cam Thomas

Cam Thomas

Edited September 3, 2019 by AUBourne

[AUBourne 425]

Jalen Green - 247 Player Info

 

 

[tigeraddikt 1,590]

12 hours ago, AUBourne said:

Jalen Green - 247 Player Info

 

 

This is awesome. Looks like he had a few Krystal all-you-can-eats between his AU and Memphis visits.

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

OP updated to include Jalen Green and Cam Thomas visits. What an exciting time to be an Auburn Basketball fan

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

Just to put this out onto the internet, the Auburn Basketball Team has a greater than 0% chance of pulling in the following recruiting class plus already committed Justin Powell:

5* PG - Sharife Cooper

5* SG - Cam Thomas

5* SG - Jalen Green

5* PF - Greg Brown

5* C - Walker Kessler

 

Unlikely as it may be, the fact that this is even a possibility is remarkable. Bless you, Bruce Pearl...

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

5 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

Just to put this out onto the internet, the Auburn Basketball Team has a greater than 0% chance of pulling in the following recruiting class plus already committed Justin Powell:

5* PG - Sharife Cooper

5* SG - Cam Thomas

5* SG - Jalen Green

5* PF - Greg Brown

5* C - Walker Kessler

 

Unlikely as it may be, the fact that this is even a possibility is remarkable. Bless you, Bruce Pearl...

Hey who would have thought Michigan would have gotten the Fab 5. But a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then and a broke clock is right twice a day, so who knows and it nice to see we even have a chance.

[Tiger 8,818]

20 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said:

Just to put this out onto the internet, the Auburn Basketball Team has a greater than 0% chance of pulling in the following recruiting class plus already committed Justin Powell:

5* PG - Sharife Cooper

5* SG - Cam Thomas

5* SG - Jalen Green

5* PF - Greg Brown

5* C - Walker Kessler

 

Unlikely as it may be, the fact that this is even a possibility is remarkable. Bless you, Bruce Pearl...

I'd celebrate in the streets if we just got 2 from this list lol

[steeleagle 2,945]

4 hours ago, Tiger said:

I'd celebrate in the streets if we just got 2 from this list lol

I'm also glad to see us get 'skilled' true basketball players signing w/ Auburn and not 'projects'. 

[ellitor 33,062]

Great read from College & Mag...

 

Quote

 

Several Top Prospects slated to visit Auburn

7 of the Top 50 members of the Class of 2020 are considering Auburn

• By willmclaughlin
• on September 4, 2019 12:22 pm

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

One of the many benefits of going to the Final Four is the exposure it brings a program. Couple that with Bruce Pearl and his tireless energy and you have a lot of guys interested in playing for him. So far, the Tigers have three-star guard Justin Powell out of Kentucky committed to joining the program next year. But Auburn is just getting started in building its 2020 recruiting class.

As Auburn prepares to play their home opener in football on Saturday, this also means that official visits for basketball are about to ramp up as well. While Sharife Cooper continues to be Auburn’s primary target at Point Guard, there are several Shooting Guards that will be visiting the Plains. In addition, Auburn will have open spots in the frontcourt after Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore wrap up their senior seasons. Keep in mind that those we’ll talk about today are players who have scheduled their official visit to Auburn and the Tigers are also still recruiting several others to potentially join the Class of 2020.

The visit dates are listed based off the day of the home football game.

Weekend of September 7th - Tulane

Jaemyn Brakefield - Power Forward

Those visits begin this weekend with four star forward Jaemyn Brakefield visiting the Plains this weekend. Brakefield is a 6’8” Power Forward currently ranked 35th in the Rivals Top 150. He attends Huntington Prep School in Huntington, West Virginia and has Auburn in his Final 10 schools. Brakefield has said he wouldn’t mind teaming up with fellow Auburn target Sharife Cooper. He will visit Louisville at the end of the month and is down to a Final 10 schools and is also very high on Michigan as well.

Weekend of September 14th - Kent State

Next weekend, the Tigers are slated to host a pair of four-star prospects.

Matthew Murrell - Shooting Guard

Murrell is a Memphis native who plays at the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Murrell is a shooting guard currently ranked 44th in the Rivals Top 150. He has a final 5 of Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss, Texas and Vanderbilt. He will visit Florida the weekend after his visit to Auburn.

Clifford Omoruyi - Center

Omoruyi is a Center out of New Jersey, but originally from Nigeria. He’s really good at finishing at the basket, blocking shots and his game continues to evolve as he’s only begun playing basketball in the last few years. Omoruyi is currently ranked 52nd in the Rivals Top 150 and has been recruited by West Virginia, TCU, St. John’s, Temple, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Kentucky and several others.

Weekend of September 28th - Mississippi State

This is set up to be a massive weekend for Auburn Basketball. Currently, the Tigers will host at least two five star prospects, one who has been talked about as a potential #1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Jalen Green - Shooting Guard

Green is the top Shooting Guard available in the Class of 2020 and THIRD on Rivals Top 150 List.

That’s right, THIRD.

The Fresno, California native announced on Sunday that he would be visiting Auburn as they have been recruiting him very hard lately. The possibility of playing with Sharife Cooper seems like a big reason why Green is considering the Tigers. However, it appears that Kentucky or Memphis are the 2 favorites at this point but perhaps a trip to the Plains could make him rethink that. The potential of an Auburn backcourt of Cooper and Jalen Green is quite mind-blowing and he would most likely become the highest draft pick in Auburn Basketball history. Green is visiting USC this weekend, although unofficially, and also has visits scheduled with Oregon, Memphis and Kentucky along with Auburn. He has said he plans on committing on Christmas Day so this will be a name to watch over the next few months for sure.

Cam Thomas - Shooting Guard

Another guy who many people hadn’t linked Auburn to is Cam Thomas but last week, he announced he would be visiting Auburn at the end of September. Thomas is a 6’3” shooting guard ranked 28th in the Rivals Top 150 list. Thomas is visiting LSU next weekend and UCLA the following weekend before making his way to Auburn on the last weekend of September. He’s one of best scorers available in this class.

And while we’re here, it’s worth mentioning another big time recruit is also slated to visit Auburn down the road.

Weekend of November 30th - Alabama

Greg Brown - Power Forward

Before Green’s visit was scheduled, Brown was the top rated recruit considering Auburn and he picked a really good weekend to visit Auburn where the atmosphere will be at a fever pitch. Brown is an Austin native who is currently ranked SIXTH in the Rivals Top 150. This weekend, he will visit his hometown school of Texas as the football team hosts LSU. He also has North Carolina, Kentucky and Memphis in his Final 5 and will visit all 5 schools. I wouldn’t expect a commit from Brown until 2020 as his visits to Memphis and Kentucky will come after the new year.

Auburn is still hard at recruiting Cooper (ranked 15th), Walker Kessler (ranked 19th), and several others. If Cooper and Kessler both visit, that means 7 players in the Updated Rivals Top 50 will be on Auburn’s campus this fall.

Landing one five-star prospect would be monumental for the Tigers. If they can get two or more to commit, that would absolutely remarkable. It’s certainly not impossible at this point. We’re now less than 9 weeks away from the return of Auburn Basketball on November 5th! War Eagle!

 

 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

OP updated to include 247 profiles for all targets

[ellitor 33,062]

4* SG Matthew Murrell is a name that needs to be added to the OP @tigerbrotha12. He's not on commit watch but he is OVing this weekend & there is buzz AU is making a move.

 

 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

9 minutes ago, ellitor said:

4* SG Matthew Murrell is a name that needs to be added to the OP @tigerbrotha12. He's not on commit watch but he is OVing this weekend & there is buzz AU is making a move.

 

 

Will do. Thought I had him on there... will update now

[ellitor 33,062]

 

Quote

 

4-star SG: 'Auburn would be a good place for me'

Jeffrey Lee • AuburnSports

@JLeeAURivals

AUBURN | One of the top recruits in the 2020 class was in Auburn this weekend on an official visit.

Matthew Murrell, the No. 12 shooting guard and No. 45 overall recruit, arrived in Auburn on Friday and stayed until Sunday. It was his first visit to Auburn.

“It was good,” Murrell said. “They talked to me about the school. At night, we walked around downtown. It’s really a college town. I expected it to be smaller than it is, but it’s nice. I also spent a lot of time with (freshman) Devan Cambridge.”

 

Murrell, from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., met extensively with Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, lead recruiter Wes Flanigan and assistant Ira Bowman.

“Coach Flanigan has been recruiting me for about two years now,” Murrell said. “We have grown close over that time. Coach Pearl is a tough coach. He likes to get after it on defense and he likes to shoot a lot of threes.”

Murrell left the visit the same way he arrived – with high interest in Auburn. But he’s not ready to name a leader.

“I think Auburn would be a good place for me,” Murrell said. “But my options are still open. I’m still going to see what is the best fit for me.”

Murrell, who originally is from Memphis, will take an official visit to Florida next weekend (Sept. 20-22). Auburn, Florida, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Texas make up his top five.

“I’m not sure right now when I’ll decide,” Murrell said. “It may be the early period, but it may be the late period. I’m looking for a place that feels like home, like a second home for me. And I want to be able to come in and make an immediate impact.”

 

 

[tigerbrotha12 2,362]

 

3rd ranked overall player in the country down to Memphis, Oregon and AU. Some say UCLA is involved but no OV has been set. 

Bruce Pearl and co. are in TODAY. 

We may have some ground to make up on Memphis and Oregon, but if the in-home goes well today, that could change quickly. 

Jalen Green will visit AU Sept. 26-29 (Miss State game weekend). 

[AUBourne 425]

This article has a lot of info on the staffs at home visits, player visits and targets. Not copying and posting article because it is a free read on a site dedicated to Auburn.

Power of Dixieland Basketball Recruiting Notebook

[ellitor 33,062]

15 hours ago, AUBourne said:

This article has a lot of info on the staffs at home visits, player visits and targets. Not copying and posting article because it is a free read on a site dedicated to Auburn.

Power of Dixieland Basketball Recruiting Notebook

We still ask any free article still have at least a blurb from the article pasted @AUBourne. But you might as well paste the whole thing since you know I'm going to do it anyway when I see it.

 

Quote

 

@Aubawn’s AU Basketball Recruiting Notebook: Live period begins w/ multiple 5* visits

September 16, 2019 By Jay Phillips

With the live period opening for college basketball, coaches are now able to start actively visiting and recruiting again. The first few days of this period are filled with news about who is recruiting who and can help us identify who Auburn might be prioritizing in the 2020 class, outside of the few we are already aware of like Sharife Cooper and Walker Kessler.

In an effort to do that, this will be an updating list of recruits Auburn coaches are confirmed to visit or already have visited. This doesn’t include the recruits that Auburn is scheduled to host this fall.

Monday, 9/9/19:

Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers and Rivals reported that Bruce Pearl will travel to California to meet with the No. 3 overall prospect in the country for 2020 Jalen Green next Monday (9/16).

That visit is happening today, and Steven Pearl and Ira Bowman are joining Bruce Pearl on his trip to Prolific Prep to meet with the 6-foot-5 combo guard. They are expected to watch the five star practice and then meet with his family afterwards.

It was also reported that Green eliminated Kentucky from his list of final choices and has cancelled his visit to Lexington, so that leaves Penny with Memphis, Bruce with Auburn, and Altman at Oregon as the last men standing for the talented playmaker.

In addition to Green hosting the Pearls and Bowman, he is scheduled to take a visit to The Plains for the weekend of the Mississippi State football game. Fellow five star guard Cam Thomas is also expected to visit, so that is shaping up to be a monumental weekend for the future of Auburn Basketball and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see other names added to the 9/28 visitor list.

Weingarten also reported that Auburn was expected to visit 2021 four star guard JD Davison last Monday.

Corey Evans of Rivals reported that Pearl visited Jabari Smith, a top-10 five star from the class of 2021, last Monday morning.

The consensus No. 1 player in the country for the 2021 class, Jonathan Kuminga actually visited The Plains in September 2018 after Auburn became the second program to extend an offer while he was still just a freshman in high school.

Pearl and staff have continued building a strong bond with Kuminga and even visited the five star small forward last Thursday in New Jersey.

Kuminga and Smith aren’t the only 2021 five stars that Auburn is after as the Tigers also offered AJ Griffin, another top-10 five star recruit from the class.

Auburn fans have never witnessed their program recruit on a national scale like the inroads Pearl and staff have made on the trail in the 2020 and 2021 classes. We as Auburn fans often have to remind ourselves just how far our program has come under the guidance of Bruce Almighty.

And Bruce isn’t the only Auburn coach with connections that are benefitting the Tiger basketball program. AJ Griffin’s father, Adrian Griffin, currently the lead assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors, was a high school teammate of Auburn assistant Ira Bowman.

Bowman’s northeast-connections could be a big deal in 2021.

Corey Evans of Rivals reported that Auburn was visiting Zocko Littleton Jr, a four star guard from the class of 2022 last Monday.

Auburn’s coaching staff, headlined by Bruce and Steven Pearl, capped off a busy Monday with a visit to McEachern High School in Power Springs, Georgia to visit 2020 five star point guard Sharife Cooper, who Auburn fans feel really good about.

Cooper has been Auburn’s top target for years now and the staff is still treating him like it.

McEachern also houses Dylan Cardwell, a borderline top-100 big man who is related to Auburn’s defensive line coach Rodney Garner. 

Jordan Meka, a top-200 forward in 2020, also included Auburn in his top-10 on Saturday night.

Kansas, Vanderbilt, UConn, Georgia and others also made his list.

9/10 Tuesday: 
Pearl started off Tuesday with a trip to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida to meet with top-50 shooting guard Matt Murrell.

Murrell, along with top-50 big man Cliff Omoruyi, visited Auburn this past weekend for the Kent State football game.

It was also reported that Bruce Pearl, along with Gonzaga’s Mark Few, would be visiting five star forward Walker Kessler last Thursday.

The 6-foot-10 Fairburn, Georgia native is perceived to be the second highest player on Auburn’s 2020 big board, behind Cooper.

Duke and Auburn have been early favorites to land Kessler, but Duke’s full staff was in to see 7-foot big man Mark Williams, a five star center in the class of 2020, last Wednesday.

Duke could land two five star big men and play them side-by-side, or they could land one or even better, neither.

Duke bringing their entire staff to visit a similar prospect shortly after Kessler’s visit could mean that other teams have a chance to make ground or take the lead for Kessler.

That made last week’s visit an important one for Pearl and Auburn’s staff.

Kessler also recently visited Michigan and is scheduled to take a trip to Gonzaga on 10/4. 

The 2020 top-15 recruit last visited Auburn for the Fish Fry Weekend back at the end of May, and has taken multiple trips to The Plains with his family in the past—and could do so again in the future—thanks to their proximity to Auburn.

9/11 Wednesday:
Wednesday morning, Adam Zagoria reported that Auburn (along with Michigan) visited Jaemyn Brakefield.

Brakefield took an official visit to Auburn for the football game against Tulane and seemed to enjoy his time on campus. Auburn and Louisville could be the teams to beat here.

9/12 Thursday:
Auburn’s staff visited Kuminga and Kessler on Thursday. 

Kuminga is a very highly touted prospect, who has been rumored to be eyeing a reclassification into the 2020 class. 

As we mentioned earlier, Kuminga visited Auburn last fall for the football game against LSU. 

My thoughts: This was one of the busiest weeks, or maybe the busiest week of off-campus recruiting I have seen Auburn put together.

Pearl made it clear that he would be prioritizing the 2020 class over the 2019 class, and that could pay off if Auburn is able to land any combination of the players listed above.

If Auburn does that, and is able to land multiple five stars in the process, the Tigers could end up with not only one of the best classes in the country, but likely the best class in the history of the program. Pinch yourselves, Auburn fans, because this is real!

 

 

[doverstutts 1,643]

I bought a 24/7 subscription and its hard to not be exited about what may be in the works. Hooks appears justified with his uber exuberance about recruiting. I'll honor the code about no premium content repeated, but I'ma gonna' have a broken heart if we don't have a top 5 class before its all over. Rankings on stars are subjective and not a guaranteed value system, but I'd sure like to see what BP could do with a group of 5"s. This like plowing a new ground for AU basketball