2023 Men's Recruiting Thread

[Dunndone414]

Seems like it might be nice to have a list of the guys we know we're recruiting in the 2023 class. Obviously guys with recent visits are our most likely commits, but the attention of being #1 may continue to get us into the mix with new targets. I included Evans because he's a monster target and he had nice things to say about us recently, but at this point it's probably a long shot unless we get him on campus. Others have suggested Collier may no longer be a realistic option, but he's visited a few times and felt worth including since he's still uncommitted. 

C - Jordan Butler (#47, #6 C); visited 1/22/22

F - Kwame Evans Jr. (#2, #1 PF) 

F - Brandon Gardner (#72, #9 PF); visited 2/1/22

SG - Elijah Fisher (#17, #1 SG)

SG - Ja'Kobe Walter (#26, #3 SG); visited 1/22/22

SG - Wesley Yates (#33, #6 SG); visited 1/29/22

PG - Isaiah Collier (#19, #5 PG); visited 6/1/21

PG - Aden Holloway (#48, #10 PG); visited 2/1/22

Edited March 12 by Dunndone414

[CameronCrazy]

Are we still recruiting London Johnson? I heard he was going to reclassify to 2022 and was leaning to Virginia. Any update?

[Dunndone414]

5 minutes ago, CameronCrazy said:

Are we still recruiting London Johnson? I heard he was going to reclassify to 2022 and was leaning to Virginia. Any update?

We didn’t make his top 6. He’s apparently delayed his decision so UVA may no longer be the destination, but they were the favorite as you said. 

[mustache eagle]

The possible trifecta of happenings for future recruiting - 1. Win the natty this year. 2. Jabari get selected No.1 in draft. 3. Kessler get a hefty NIL deal that gets him back on the plains for another year and then goes high in the following draft.

as far as I can tell, that’d just about cover every possible recruiting pitch that cbp could use to get kids to auburn - including many, many others from the last few years.

[Dunndone414]

40 minutes ago, mustache eagle said:

The possible trifecta of happenings for future recruiting - 1. Win the natty this year. 2. Jabari get selected No.1 in draft. 3. Kessler get a hefty NIL deal that gets him back on the plains for another year and then goes high in the following draft.

as far as I can tell, that’d just about cover every possible recruiting pitch that cbp could use to get kids to auburn - including many, many others from the last few years.

Personal opinion - if we keep playing this well Kessler is a sure fire first round pick and leaves. But landing Kessler for another season would arguably be better than any possible high school recruit. It's effectively landing a 5-star center without any downside risk of a bust. 

Of course unexpected attrition is a fact of CBB now, but with the guards we may have coming back we are only a frontcourt piece or two away from being a contender again next season. 

[johnjacob]

10 hours ago, Dunndone414 said:

Personal opinion - if we keep playing this well Kessler is a sure fire first round pick and leaves. But landing Kessler for another season would arguably be better than any possible high school recruit. It's effectively landing a 5-star center without any downside risk of a bust. 

Of course unexpected attrition is a fact of CBB now, but with the guards we may have coming back we are only a frontcourt piece or two away from being a contender again next season. 

Kessler won't be here next season. He will go first round. Cardwell is ready to step up and Stretch I believe is redshirting this season so AU will have a 5 rotation that is solid. I think Cardwell will keep getting better. AU will need to replace Smith unless Coach P thinks Moore could spell Jaylin at the four, but I am not confident in that. 

[gravejd]

I’m interested how we handle the portal this season. We’ll have several upper class men like Cambridge, Jaylin, Moore, Flan, and stretch who have been with the program for a few years. So do you go out and get guys ready to start…or guys you expect to develop a bit and let the guys who have been here run with it and see what they can do? I think we can be really good with those guys leading us but I don’t know that we’ll be championship level. But I also think you gotta reward the guys who have stuck around and been great backup and complimentary players. 
 

And then we also have to pick 2 years out of the next 4 to be short a scholarship. 

[Tiger720]

14 hours ago, johnjacob said:

Kessler won't be here next season. He will go first round. Cardwell is ready to step up and Stretch I believe is redshirting this season so AU will have a 5 rotation that is solid. I think Cardwell will keep getting better. AU will need to replace Smith unless Coach P thinks Moore could spell Jaylin at the four, but I am not confident in that. 

Stretch and Cardwell are very limited offensively. Auburn will need to hit the portal or JUCO to replace Kessler and Smith. With coaching changes and other factors I expect there will be some talent in the portal.

[Nontoxic]

I’m interested to see what LSU does with Wade’s contract. A lot of people from their side don’t feel like he’ll get extended. He’s still currently recruiting big named talent, but the fans seem to want his head after the past few performances. Just wondering if Yohan and others could open their recruitments up with trouble down on the bayou. 

[Tiger720]

3 hours ago, Nontoxic said:

I’m interested to see what LSU does with Wade’s contract. A lot of people from their side don’t feel like he’ll get extended. He’s still currently recruiting big named talent, but the fans seem to want his head after the past few performances. Just wondering if Yohan and others could open their recruitments up with trouble down on the bayou. 

I was thinking the same thing. I was hoping we get Yohan. To me LSU recruits more raw athletes than skill players. They rely on their defense creating turnovers to score. That formula will only take you so far and that's why they struggle against good defensive teams. We need a skill big man or two for next season with more than likely Smith and Kessler leaving for the NBA. Cardwell, Moore and Stretch are not starters and are very limited offensively. The guard play will be even better next season adding the two freshman guard and wing player.

[AUlurker]

I think we go portal for PF. I wonder if Bruce will trust Cardwell and Stretch to hold down the 5 next year. We will have an old team next year, so 2023 will be key.

[Dual-Threat Rigby]

21 hours ago, Tiger720 said:

I was thinking the same thing. I was hoping we get Yohan. To me LSU recruits more raw athletes than skill players. They rely on their defense creating turnovers to score. That formula will only take you so far and that's why they struggle against good defensive teams. We need a skill big man or two for next season with more than likely Smith and Kessler leaving for the NBA. Cardwell, Moore and Stretch are not starters and are very limited offensively. The guard play will be even better next season adding the two freshman guard and wing player.

shoutouts to the Mountain Brook kid that went there and got killed by Isaac Okoro. Watford, I believe. Wasted his potential

[Tiger720]

1 hour ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

shoutouts to the Mountain Brook kid that went there and got killed by Isaac Okoro. Watford, I believe. Wasted his potential

Yeah, he never really developed. LSU has top tier athletes but the skill level is average. Wade seems to recruit players that are really athletic but struggles to pass and shoot. You can't out athlete everyone especially in the SEC. Kentucky continues to be successful because they recruit players that are really athletic but also very skilled. LSU post players footwork around the rim is not that good. There offense is like playing pick up recreational basketball. No offensive structure and a lot of hero ball or one on one.

[kj03]

It's very interesting to discus about 2023 Men's Basketball Recruiting Targets. Some player are amazing. 

Brady Dunlap  (SF) 
Cameron Barnes  (PF)
Jordan Butler (C)
Dusty Stromer  (SG)
Braelon Green  (CG)

[Dunndone414]

Ja’Kobe Walter apparently grew up a huge Alabama fan. Of course 😩

[Dual-Threat Rigby]

35 minutes ago, Dunndone414 said:

Ja’Kobe Walter apparently grew up a huge Alabama fan. Of course 😩

I feel like those are generational divides we have to keep chipping away at. We’ll land one of those type of guys eventually 

[Dunndone414]

Wes Flanigan is out in TX to watch Wesley Yates tonight. Stanford and Baylor were at his game yesterday, those are possibly our two biggest competitors for him. Yates visited LSU recently as well. 

[AUinMS9528]

On 2/22/2022 at 11:22 AM, Dunndone414 said:

Ja’Kobe Walter apparently grew up a huge Alabama fan. Of course 😩

It can’t work both ways against us.  No way.  I will not accept that.   If football kids grow up AU fans and then go to bama as a business decision, then basketball kids that grow up bama fans are dad gum gonna come to Auburn!   I have spoken.  

[AU Is Gold]

I would add Baye Fall to that list. I know he plans on visiting Auburn at some point. 

[Tiger720]

Do we have a real shot with Jelanie Hamilton a 6'5" guard out of the Atlanta area? I see where Auburn offered. He is going under the radar now, but I think other schools are noticing him now. Auburn got in early. I am worried that Wake Forest is our biggest threat when it comes to Aden Holloway. He's a very good point guard that is a sharp shooter. With him and JaKobe Walter, teams would not crowd the paint because they can both shoot so good.

[Mikey]

Tre Donaldson, point guard out of Tallahassee, is still listed as a "verbal" on AU's football recruiting list. He's not going to play football at AU, if he were he would have already signed with football. He's expected to sign a basketball scholarship with AU and play basketball only. I suppose he's being carried on the football list to artificially pump up the football ranking for now, but he's basketball all the way.

[Dunndone414]

Overdue update: 2023 5-star SG (#17 overall) Elijah Fisher is said to be working on an Auburn visit. Also looking at the G League, and Texas Tech seems to be his leader. He’s from Canada, and is considering a reclass to 2022. 
 

Needless to say, this would be big. Not getting my hopes up unless we get him on campus.

 

Updated the OP so we can try and keep track of all targets in one place.

Edited March 12 by Dunndone414

[Dunndone414]

One silver lining to the early SEC exit: cruitin. Bruce and Wes Flanigan are in Texas to watch Wesley Yates tonight. His two recent visits are Auburn and LSU, so today’s news can’t hurt. 
 

Scott Drew (Baylor) and Chris Beard (Texas) also there for Yates.

Edited March 12 by Dunndone414

[War to the Eagle]

Wonder about Marvel Allen for 2023.

[Dual-Threat Rigby]

That guy has a heavy auburn bias and air balled Caleb to Auburn