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That looks like a decent estimate and I could easily imagine seeing something like to start the season and SEC play. It provides balance & options for spacing, while keeping the players at their ideal position. Just a few thoughts that came to mind: 1) as much as I like Green at PG, I'd probably reduce his minutes & play Zep at the point more as you mentioned. Partly because Green needs fresh legs to do his thing and partly bc Zep has so few turnovers at the 1; 2) I am hoping that Moore can work his way into the rotation via 3&D and get 5-10 minutes a night by SEC play; and 3) I'm hoping that BP experiments a lot at the beginning of the year. There are two lineups that I'd love to see in particular for 4-5 minutes at a time. Big lineup: 1) Westry, 2) Flanigan, 3) Traore, 4) Jaylin, 5) Broome. Especially against certain teams. Westry & Flan can play make while Broome plays down low and Jaylin and Traore space the floor and fly in for dunks. Smother, steal, & run lineup: 1) Zep, 2) KD, 3) Westry, 4) Moore or Flan (whichever is playing better D atm) 5) Traore. I'd hate to play against a lineup like that especially after being gassed in the middle of a half. And perhaps, you put Broome @ the 5 and Traore @ the 4 if they have good bigs. Seeing Westry & Traore in both of those lineups highlights their athleticism, versatility and my high expectations. I know Jabari was a unicorn, so perhaps my expectations are a bit high for incoming freshmen. But Okoro, Cooper, and Heron were also immediate gamechangers, so the high expectations are due to Pearl's success as well.

Now that we officially have Flan & Cardwell back, I'm excited about our team as is and am glad that Pearl & co. are not going to bring in another transfer unless it's a great fit. And as others have said, I'm not sure a top transfer would come here given that they'd likely get more minutes elsewhere. But that said, the two players that I am still keeping my eye on in the portal that I am guessing Pearl & Co. would seriously consider given mutual interest and would likely be 1 & done are: Isiaih Mosely - withdrew from draft and has crystal balls for Miss. State. Would fit more at the 2 & 3, and a top tier scorer/shooter. https://www.ozarkssportszone.com/2022/05/31/isiaih-mosley-wtihdraws-from-nba-draft-remains-in-transfer-portal/ Pete Nance - likely to return, but hasn't decided on the draft from what I can tell. A top target of UNC and others that missed out on Mayer. Fits more as a big 3 / stretch 4, so there would be more of an overlap with Traore & Jaylin, but is a great 3 pt. shooter & defender. Update: Pete Nance officially withdrew and ON3 lists these 2 as the top remaining in the portal. https://www.on3.com/transfer-portal/news/transfer-portal-who-is-left-on3-explores-the-top-100-ranked-players-who-remain/

Fly War Eagle seems to think he got our last scholly. But he's a walk on and we still have 1 scholarship left? https://flywareagle.com/2022/05/30/auburn-basketball-jared-harper-brother/ If he plays anything like his older brother, then I'm sure he'll earn minutes sooner or later.

I like it.

I've got the O&B glasses on as much as anyone, but this is my attempt to talk us both down. I agree with Steel that there will likely be growing pains at the beginning of the year and in SEC play. While Broom, Traore and Westry look phenomenal, we also just lost possibly the #1 pick in the draft and another likely potential 1st rounder/D player of the year. So I do think some of our success last year was insane talent over chemistry to some degree. And while I am super excited about our new talent, our weaknesses and some lack of chemistry/cohesion got exposed at tourney time. And by chemistry I don't mean that the team didn't get along, just that they hadn't played as a team for years like the core of our Final Four team had. So I won't be too worried about a slower start than last years scalding hot start in the SEC or our ranking as long as our chemistry and guard play is improving after losses. Sometimes that adversity can be incredibly helpful in identifying areas of improvement and hopefully, we'll be better prepared for tourney time next year. In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if we make it to at least the semifinals of the SEC tourney and the Sweet 16 next year. Although, I think we are learning how incredibly difficult it is to get to and beyond the Sweet 16 even when we have an incredibly talented team. That wasn't much of a talking down. I guess I am more excited about next year's team than I realized but feel nervous that a better tourney showing hinges so much on our guard play. We really will need them to shine and get more from Flan or Moore.

I have to admit that Justin Powell & Desi Sills are other names that I see popping up now and then and wonder how much they could've helped last year & this year. I get some of the animosity against Powell, but it also sounds like some of that has been his Dad if those rumors are true. So I also feel for him a bit. He was killer (shooting, passing, hustle plays, etc.) in some of his first games for us, so I was surprised he didn't have a good year last year.

Could be. As Grave eluded to and you & others have said, guard play is super important at every level, but even more so at the college level. So the team could be better on offense just with our guards getting an extra year of improvement. If it were even half of the improvement of Bryce & Jared during their last season, it would be a huge improvement over last year. Obviously Westry, Flanigan, Broome, and Traore factor into how well our offense does, but improved guard play will go along way. Sometimes it felt like our Defense and transition baskets were our best offense last year (other than Jabari 1-on-1 or the alley-oop lobs to Kessler). On that note, I am curious how our defense will compare to last year. Obviously, we are getting as close as we can to a Kessler replacement in Broome, but I'll be interested to see how the rest of the D goes. I think Jabari was a bit underrated as a 1 on 1 defender at the beginning of the year. And others would likely think so as well if he ends up drafted #1 overall. Traore and Westry look like phenomenal athletes, so who knows, we could potentially end up being as good on D by tourney time, especially if Flanigan & Moore are healthy/improved as well.

Yeah it sounds like UNC is trying to sell Mayer on playing the same role as Manek did last year and that they have a good chance to win it all next year, so that will be tough to beat, especially if we are not promising a starting role or significant minutes. Any update on the Nance kid that was transferring out of Northwestern? He'd also plays the 3/4, could be a potential great fit and shoots lights out from 3. And his Dad and brother play/played in the league. I'm guessing he'd be looking for a place with a lot of minutes as well, but who knows what Bruce is selling in terms of development to improve draft stock.

I hope he does if he finds the right fit and it sounds like they may be waiting to see who withdraws from the draft or not adding anyone if there is not a great fit. Here is what Mark Murphy on 247 wrote yesterday: In basketball: *I wouldn’t say it is 100 percent certain that there won’t be any more additions to Coach Bruce Pearl’s 2022 signing class, but it looks unlikely the Tigers will add another player. Pearl, Wes Flanigan, Ira Bowman and Steven Pearl are currently on vacation and their focus on the recruiting front has been class of 2023 and beyond prospects.

Yeah, I agree unless there is a wing that can really help our team improve and keep the momentum like a Mayer or Nance that would have only 1 year of eligibility. The coaches hopefully have a good idea of who's possible to get this cycle & how likely Flan & Moore can be productive this year. Obviously everyone will probably wish we have more depth next year if there is a significant injury in the wing rotation but we'll see what CBP decides to do.

Yeah, I get the feeling that his confidence was sky high when he was training with Okoro while Okoro was preparing for the draft. Perhaps he could work out with Okoro again this summer if only for a couple of weeks.

Am I remembering correctly that he was about this weight in 2019-2020 and 10+ lbs lighter his freshman year and at the beginning of last year? He looked like he had lost some strength/weight while he was injured. So hopefully he's getting that back as well.

I can't edit my previous post yet, so I'll add this note here. It looks like AJ Green is considering Iowa St. & Duke if he returns to NCAAM. https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4702528/jaxson-robinson Another guy that I somehow missed is Jaxson Robinson from Arkansas. He had a hard time cracking the rotation and wasn't great from 3, but his scouting report suggests that he should develop into a good 3&D wing. I don't remember seeing him play last year. Any thoughts on whether or not he'd be a good target?

AJ Green getting some praise from his performance at the NBA draft combine. Maybe he should be higher on my list than I had thought. https://247sports.com/college/houston/LongFormArticle/Players-who-helped-themselves-on-day-one-of-NBA-Draft-Combine-week-Darius-Days-James-Akinjo-Jalen-Wilson-AJ-Green-Marcus-Sasser-187642184/#187642184_1

If I were Harsin, this would be driving me nuts. If they don't bring in top recruits this year he's got to reconsider the recruiting approach you'd think. Find/overpay an O-line that can recruit at the highest level. Perhaps bring in more alum with NFL O-line experience to make the development options more attractive. TBH, I am surprised none of this happened this past year.

Yeah, I didn't realize it was the same article until later. It's as worthless as click bait.

good point. just hoping he gets closer to reaching his potential at some point this year.

Maybe C Moore will finally have a breakout year. I heard alot about his defense prior to him joining, but it seems like he has never been able to break into the rotation.

Thanks for the list. It seems like the PTD issue should be top priority to resolve ASAP given how much impact it can have on the portal. I am not sure if this was related to why Desi Sills didn't join the bball team last year, but c'mon, this should be something that can be figured out if we have similar majors.

Yeah, good question. How much of it has to do with perception? and how much of it is the position coaches? I don't remember us being quite the CB factory that we are now before Carlton Davis, but since then it seems like we have been churning them out even though the position coach has changed. I am wondering if there is somehow the opposite effect on o-line recruiting right now?

Ha ha. It feels like it since Pearl has hit his stride. I wonder how many final fours would a team need to make to start getting into the conversation for that list? I don't think Duke was in it pre-Coach K.

I saw your note from earlier, but didn't read that part about 2 scholarships left. Whoever wrote that article doesn't seem to understand much about our team. They must be short staffed like all the other places that don't pay well.

https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/lists/auburn-basketball-2022-transfer-portal-bruce-pearl/ Another list of transfer targets for Auburn, except only two on the list have shot well from 3. Nance eclipsed 44%, so I think we'd seriously consider him given his strengths and shooting if he doesn't stay in the draft. Teddy Allen has been decent from 3, but it sounds like he is headed elsewhere and I am not sure how he'd mesh with KD anyways. Not sure how they came up with this list, but the rest don't seem to fit the shooter need at all.

Thank you Ellitor for making the poll and the info. I think you are right about Mosley, but here's hoping for him or Mayer.

Spot on. I had forgotten about Heron, but that may be the closest in recent history. I was going all the way back to Marquis Daniels and Jamison Brewer, but I still don't think it's the right comparison.