2024 Portal

[AUSCalum87 365]

I would like to add to though that, from reading posts from UT fans about Mitchell, they believe he was misused and never got the ability to showcase his talents at UT because their coach has no idea what he’s doing. After looking at more of his highlights and reading about Mitchell, I am intrigued. Like I said before, the first thing you notice when you watch film of him is that he is super athletic.

[HAPvsOA 339]

13 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

Going back to portal conversation, apparently Dillon Mitchell from Texas is visiting us. Thoughts?

I think this would be a really good pickup. He's super talented and athletic, but is still working on his long range shot. Feels like a perfect fit for CBP's offense right? Lol!

We may see lots of bricks in the beginning of the year until he builds up his confidence, but even if he gets regulated to just shooting corner 3's, he's the kind of athlete that can expose closeouts. 

What I like most are his stat lines against the better teams that they played, when UT's guards were having trouble scoring, he had to be more aggressive and played well. 

From 247: 

Against two-time national champion UConn, Mitchell scored 21 points and had 8 rebounds. He later had 16 points and 11 boards against Texas Tech and had back-to-back double-doubles against Houston and TCU. He scored in double figures in 17 games and had 10 or more rebounds in 12 contests.

[HAPvsOA 339]

12 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

Yes, I agree that Mitchell is a great defender and unbelievable athleticism. However, it’s his offensive game that concerns me. Literally no offense outside of layups and dunks for 99% of his scoring. Feel like we need more of a threat to be formidable on offense.

Um....is there a better coach to play for to build your offensive game, confidence and overall draft stock than CBP? He's probably looking at Okoro and seeing a D first, super athletic wing get drafted top 5 even though his long range shot is still a bit of a struggle.

But back to your point, I'm sure that we'll see some bricks from him, but if he's able to improve his shot, then this will be a monster pickup given his defense and athleticism. And dunks and layups are what you want, assuming the rest of our team can hit some 3's. 

Edited May 14 by HAPvsOA

[AUSCalum87 365]

3 minutes ago, HAPvsOA said:

Um....is there a better coach to play for to build your offensive game, confidence and draft stock than CBP? 

Yeah, I'm sure that we'll see some bricks from him, but if he's able to improve his shot, then this will be a monster pickup given his defense and athleticism. And dunks and layups are what you want, assuming the rest of our team can hit some 3's. 

I agree after looking at more film of him that he has a lot of potential and UT people were saying he was underdeveloped while there. In saying that, in today’s game, you need almost every guy be an offensive threat and hit some 3s or else your offense becomes stagnant and predictable. I think he is super athletic, but his shot is awkward and will need a ton of work in the offseason. Like I said before, I am intrigued by his potential and Auburn could do a lot worse.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,819]

7 minutes ago, HAPvsOA said:

Um....is there a better coach to play for to build your offensive game, confidence and overall draft stock than CBP? He's probably looking at Okoro and seeing a D first, super athletic wing get drafted top 5 even though his long range shot is still a bit of a struggle.

But back to your point, I'm sure that we'll see some bricks from him, but if he's able to improve his shot, then this will be a monster pickup given his defense and athleticism. And dunks and layups are what you want, assuming the rest of our team can hit some 3's. 

I also don’t know if the offensive part matters all that much. If he starts, he’ll be with 3 other very good offensive players (Pegues if his game translates, CBM, Broome). A defensive menace could provide offensive value by just being a steals + blocks machine and allowing that unit to get in transition more often

[GwillMac6 20,791]

3 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

I would like to add to though that, from reading posts from UT fans about Mitchell, they believe he was misused and never got the ability to showcase his talents at UT because their coach has no idea what he’s doing. After looking at more of his highlights and reading about Mitchell, I am intrigued. Like I said before, the first thing you notice when you watch film of him is that he is super athletic.

Not like we can be exactly picky this late in the transfer portal season either!!! He’s much better than the other options most likely! 😂😂

[AUSCalum87 365]

14 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Not like we can be exactly picky this late in the transfer portal season either!!! He’s much better than the other options most likely! 😂😂

Oh I agree. I was just more hoping we could have landed Achor Achor, so more just disappointed in that situation than anything else. But yes, Auburn could do a lot worse than Mitchell. I am hoping we can get his commitment after today.

[AUSCalum87 365]

By the way, Justin Hokanson had an update earlier this morning about Mitchell’s visit, does anyone have the cliff notes about what he said?

[HAPvsOA 339]

I don't have access to Hoke's inside info, but hopefully the visit went well and he thinks AU is his best choice to get drafted. 

If Dillon joins, then the depth chart would look something like this. If Pettiford and Jones could both play the 1 at times, then perhaps CBP is good with what we have. In other words, he may not force filling the backup PG slot, although it would be great to have someone like J'Von McCormick to get easy buckets/ break down the defense at times. 

PG:  JP Pegues, Pettiford, TBD 

SG: Denver Jones, Tahaad Pettiford, 

SF: CBM, Jakhi Howard

PF: Dillon Mitchell, Chaney Johnson

Center: Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell

P.S. I am really excited about Jakhi Howard and think he could end up being a force at the 3. 

Edited May 14 by HAPvsOA

[AUSCalum87 365]

4 hours ago, HAPvsOA said:

I don't have access to Hoke's inside info, but hopefully the visit went well and he thinks AU is his best choice to get drafted. 

If Dillon joins, then the depth chart would look something like this. If Pettiford and Jones could both play the 1 at times, then perhaps CBP is good with what we have. In other words, he may not force filling the backup PG slot, although it would be great to have someone like J'Von McCormick to get easy buckets/ break down the defense at times. 

PG:  JP Pegues, Pettiford, TBD 

SG: Denver Jones, Tahaad Pettiford, 

SF: CBM, Jakhi Howard

PF: Dillon Mitchell, Chaney Johnson

Center: Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell

P.S. I am really excited about Jakhi Howard and think he could end up being a force at the 3. 

I like this roster a lot if we can add someone like Mitchell and another quality guard. Right now, Pegues is the only legit point guard we have and if he gets hurt, we’re screwed. Also, CMo is going be the backup for CBM unless Jakhi impresses really early on. I would like us to have Broome at the 4 and have Cardwell out there as well at times to create some mismatches. 

[NoALtiger 3,873]

Need a 4th guard badly imo. 

[AUSCalum87 365]

Dillon Mitchell visited yesterday. I’m going to just paraphrase what I saw online. He basically enjoyed his visit, likes Pearl and likes that Pearl has put multiple big guys in NBA. Just some really generic stuff, nothing groundbreaking. Reading between the lines, looks like we more than likely whiffed on another quality big guy. I also read that Cincinnati apparently is the leader for him. Oh well. Don’t know who else is on Auburn’s radar. As I said before, it’s really tough being an Auburn basketball fan at times, especially when you see other rivals get who they want in the portal and we’re losing guys to the likes of UCF and Cincinnati.

[HAPvsOA 339]

23 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I also don’t know if the offensive part matters all that much. If he starts, he’ll be with 3 other very good offensive players (Pegues if his game translates, CBM, Broome). A defensive menace could provide offensive value by just being a steals + blocks machine and allowing that unit to get in transition more often

Agreed, after watching Castle do that for UConn in the tourney, it made me wonder how he would have looked on our team last year since I think we ended up in the top 2 or 3 for him.

Having guards and a 5 that can score with a defensive stopper of Mitchell's size would be killer, especially after seeing how well Mitchell did guarding Knecht last year. 

[HAPvsOA 339]

16 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

I like this roster a lot if we can add someone like Mitchell and another quality guard. Right now, Pegues is the only legit point guard we have and if he gets hurt, we’re screwed. Also, CMo is going be the backup for CBM unless Jakhi impresses really early on. I would like us to have Broome at the 4 and have Cardwell out there as well at times to create some mismatches. 

Oh yeah, got to add CMo back in. I know he kind of got lost last year, but he's underrated and I'm hoping he's healthy. 

Yeah, another true point would be helpful, but unless they can get into the paint and to the hoop like McCormick, Harper, Cooper, etc, I am not sure they are so important in Bruce's offense besides getting the ball over half court. I agree that we need another PG in case Pegues gets hurt but otherwise I think Pettiford and Denver would be fine as backups as long as we have 1 true PG that can get into the paint.  

And I think it's going to be hard keeping Jakhi off the floor. I wouldn't be surprised if we had Pettiford at the 1 and Jakhi at the 2 at times. 

[AUSCalum87 365]

7 minutes ago, HAPvsOA said:

Oh yeah, got to add CMo back in. I know he kind of got lost last year, but he's underrated and I'm hoping he's healthy. 

Yeah, another true point would be helpful, but unless they can get into the paint and to the hoop like McCormick, Harper, Cooper, etc, I am not sure they are so important in Bruce's offense besides getting the ball over half court. I agree that we need another PG in case Pegues gets hurt but otherwise I think Pettiford and Denver would be fine as backups as long as we have 1 true PG that can get into the paint.  

And I think it's going to be hard keeping Jakhi off the floor. I wouldn't be surprised if we had Pettiford at the 1 and Jakhi at the 2 at times. 

Yea, CMo does a lot of dirty work that goes unnoticed. He’s a big liability on offense though, which is why I would give him like 5-7 minutes a game. But he’s also a big presence in the locker room, so you need his leadership skills as well. 

And I still think getting another point guard would be ideal or we will see the same thing we have been seeing in the past 3 years. Denver and Taj are shooting guards and would be limited in utilizing their skill set running point. It’s just my personal opinion that nowadays you need at least 4 guards in order to maximize your team’s potential.

As for Jakhi, I think he will be given low minute usage in the beginning to get acclimated to the college game and then if he begins to show out, he will overtake CMo and get regular minutes. I’m very excited to watching him play, as well as Pettiford! I think they both have the athleticism and skills to make a significant contribution to the team.

[Tiger720 95]

4 hours ago, AUSCalum87 said:

Dillon Mitchell visited yesterday. I’m going to just paraphrase what I saw online. He basically enjoyed his visit, likes Pearl and likes that Pearl has put multiple big guys in NBA. Just some really generic stuff, nothing groundbreaking. Reading between the lines, looks like we more than likely whiffed on another quality big guy. I also read that Cincinnati apparently is the leader for him. Oh well. Don’t know who else is on Auburn’s radar. As I said before, it’s really tough being an Auburn basketball fan at times, especially when you see other rivals get who they want in the portal and we’re losing guys to the likes of UCF and Cincinnati.

UCF and Cincinnati must have more NIL money than Auburn. Auburn has to find another PG and PF. We got to have more offensive firepower. No disrespect, but Chris Moore is not the answer. Is there any update on Dior Johnson?

[AUSCalum87 365]

So reading some more information about Mitchell and his visit. He has a top 3 and Auburn and Cincinnati or 2 of the 3 I know, but I believe it’s between those two schools. Pearl also retweeted a stat that came out today that had Auburn as the number 4 program in the nation that gets the most production out of transfers, which I think was a subtle nod to Mitchell letting him know that Auburn has a lot of success with transfers. Honestly, even more so than with the last few we have missed, at least there was some kind of legit reason why they wouldn’t come, Mitchell not committing to Auburn would leave me dumbfounded and thinking something has to be going on with the basketball program. There’s literally no reason not to pick Auburn when you are guaranteed to start for us.

[AUSCalum87 365]

6 minutes ago, Tiger720 said:

UCF and Cincinnati must have more NIL money than Auburn. Auburn has to find another PG and PF. We got to have more offensive firepower. No disrespect, but Chris Moore is not the answer. Is there any update on Dior Johnson?

With Ivy-Curry, I see a legit reason why he picked UCF. He was guaranteed to be a starter compared to being a backup here, many quality college players don’t want to transfer just to be backups. But yes, I agree that Auburn needs a PF and another PG. Hopefully we get Mitchell and then another decent backup PG and we will have a pretty stout roster.

As for CMo, I agree, he brings really nothing to the table on offense but he does do a lot of the dirty work that isn’t seen on the stat sheet and plays good defense. But as I said in an earlier post, Pearl loves CMo and unless Jakhi overtakes him then he will be seeing the floor because of his leadership.

And no update on Dior that I know of. Just guessing but it seems that Auburn is using him as a last resort type if they can’t find anyone else because of the baggage he has. I have read that the Auburn staff has been talking with former coaches of Dior, but other than that, not much has been talked about with the backup point guard position.

Edited May 15 by AUSCalum87

[HAPvsOA 339]

14 minutes ago, Tiger720 said:

UCF and Cincinnati must have more NIL money than Auburn. Auburn has to find another PG and PF. We got to have more offensive firepower. No disrespect, but Chris Moore is not the answer. Is there any update on Dior Johnson?

Sounds like it's not over. He has us, Miami and Cincinnati. It looks like he'd get the starring role at Cincy but he mentions Okoro and AU's recent history of getting big's into the league.

https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/2024/05/15/auburn-basketball-transfer-portal-dillon-mitchell-top-three-bruce-pearl/

So I am guessing if NIL ends up being roughly equal that he's weighing his chances of being the star at Cincy vs. being a D stopper and all around player at AU or Miami to determine which would be better for his draft stock. I'm don't think Miami has had the best track record in terms of wings getting drafted in the lottery, but they have that swarming defense that we know all too well.  

He didn't seem utilized well at UT so I see why being the top option at Cincy would be attractive. 

Players like Okoro, Okeke, and hopefully Mitchell seem to really thrive in Pearl's system, so here's hoping seeing Okoro drafted so high will be the deciding factor. 

 

Edited May 15 by HAPvsOA

[AUSCalum87 365]

4 minutes ago, HAPvsOA said:

Sounds like it's not over. He has us, Miami and Cincinnati. It looks like he'd get the starring role at Cincy but he mentions Okoro and AU's recent history of getting big's into the league.

https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/2024/05/15/auburn-basketball-transfer-portal-dillon-mitchell-top-three-bruce-pearl/

So I am guessing if NIL ends up being roughly equal that he's weighing his chances of being the star at Cincy vs. being a D stopper and all around player at AU or Miami to determine which would be better for his draft stock. I'm don't think Miami has had the best track record in terms of wings getting drafted in the lottery, but they have that swarming defense that we know all too well.  

He didn't seem utilized well at UT so I see why being the top option at Cincy would be attractive. 

Players like Okoro, Okeke, and hopefully Mitchell seem to really thrive in Pearl's system, so here's hoping seeing Okoro drafted so high will be the deciding factor. 

 

I stated in the post above you but honestly wouldn’t make any sense of him not picking Auburn out of those 3 schools. He would be the starter day 1 when he commits. I like Chaney Johnson but he’s not a starter in the SEC. He’s a good and solid backup but no, Mitchell would immediately be starter for us. And as you stated as well, Pearl has had way more success with big men than those coaches have had. That’s why I’m saying there’s literally no legit reason why he would not pick Auburn. He even said NIL is not that important. Again, if he’s thinking logically, Auburn is the perfect fit for him. 

[GwillMac6 20,791]

1 hour ago, AUSCalum87 said:

So reading some more information about Mitchell and his visit. He has a top 3 and Auburn and Cincinnati or 2 of the 3 I know, but I believe it’s between those two schools. Pearl also retweeted a stat that came out today that had Auburn as the number 4 program in the nation that gets the most production out of transfers, which I think was a subtle nod to Mitchell letting him know that Auburn has a lot of success with transfers. Honestly, even more so than with the last few we have missed, at least there was some kind of legit reason why they wouldn’t come, Mitchell not committing to Auburn would leave me dumbfounded and thinking something has to be going on with the basketball program. There’s literally no reason not to pick Auburn when you are guaranteed to start for us.

💰🤑💵 there’s nothing going on besides that. We don’t have the deep nil pockets as other schools. It’s really as black and white and cut and dry as that.

[gr82be 14,507]

8 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

💰🤑💵 there’s nothing going on besides that. We don’t have the deep nil pockets as other schools. It’s really as black and white and cut and dry as that.

Cincinnati would probably have more to spend on basketball because I doubt they need to spend more for less on football talent. Also Bruce might think he’s a starter and Mitchell might think he’s a starter but Bruce won’t guarantee it or at least I don’t think he would. 

[AUSCalum87 365]

9 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

💰🤑💵 there’s nothing going on besides that. We don’t have the deep nil pockets as other schools. It’s really as black and white and cut and dry as that.

Like I said before, I understand some of the ones we have missed out. The guard we lost to Oklahoma, wanted a guaranteed starting position and more NIL and Auburn didn’t think he was worth it. Achor Achor isn’t here because of grades. Ivy-Curry wanted a starting position and went to UCF. This is the first portal player where NIL isn’t a factor and we can guarantee a starting spot for him. That’s why I’m saying it would make no sense if we lost out to those two schools. They literally have nothing on Auburn.

[AUSCalum87 365]

Just now, gr82be said:

Cincinnati would probably have more to spend on basketball because I doubt they need to spend more for less on football talent. Also Bruce might think he’s a starter and Mitchell might think he’s a starter but Bruce won’t guarantee it or at least I don’t think he would. 

He stated after his visit that NIL isn’t that important to him. Now, is he being truthful or not, no idea but I am going to just trust him on his word. And yes, I think Pearl has told him he’s a starter. No way Mitchell even looks at us if he is coming in to be a role player. PF is the only position in the starting 5 that’s a weakness and not guaranteed starting spot from last year’s team. Chaney is a solid backup but is not an SEC starter and Pearl knows this, it’s why we have gone after some quality forwards.

[HAPvsOA 339]

29 minutes ago, AUSCalum87 said:

He stated after his visit that NIL isn’t that important to him. Now, is he being truthful or not, no idea but I am going to just trust him on his word. And yes, I think Pearl has told him he’s a starter. No way Mitchell even looks at us if he is coming in to be a role player. PF is the only position in the starting 5 that’s a weakness and not guaranteed starting spot from last year’s team. Chaney is a solid backup but is not an SEC starter and Pearl knows this, it’s why we have gone after some quality forwards.

Agreed. I really like Chaney also. But like Cardwell, he's good and you really want to keep him, but not quite at the level where you don't recruit above him.   

I'd be shocked if Pearl didn't guarantee Mitchell a starting spot like he did with Jabari. It's likely Mitchell has the talent to be with us only 1 year and then get drafted anyways (assuming he gets utilized correctly and can develop like Okeke in his 2nd year). If Chaney can develop into a starter for next year then that would be fantastic, but I'm not holding my breath that he'll be that good. 

Edited May 15 by HAPvsOA