Achor Achor schedules official visit to Auburn

[aubiefifty 16,920]

auburnwire.usatoday.com

Samford transfer Achor Achor schedules official visit to Auburn

Taylor Jones

~2 minutes

Auburn basketball made a splash by landing All-SoCon guard JP Pegues from the transfer portal to fill its need for a guard. Bruce Pearl and his staff are now trying to add the SoCon’s top forward.

The Samford Bulldogs enjoyed a special 2023-24 season with a perfect 18-0 home record, a SoCon championship, and a first-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament that resulted in a controversial loss to Kansas.

Forward Achor Achor was a key reason for the Bulldogs’ success last season by leading the team with 16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. His season performance landed him on the All-SoCon team alongside Auburn transfer JP Pegues. Following the season, Achor entered the transfer portal and has garnered interest from several schools including Auburn. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Achor will be on campus this week for an official visit.

Auburn continues its hunt to find a suitable replacement for Jaylin Williams after striking out on two targets last week. Former Clemson forward RJ Godfrey was supposed to visit last week but canceled in favor of committing to Georgia. Montgomery native Duke Miles did show up for an official visit to Auburn last week, but the former High Point product ultimately chose Oklahoma over the Tigers.

Achor would be a solid addition to Auburn’s rotation due to his experience and size. His 6-9 stature, mixing in his knowledge with players such as Johni Broome and Chris Moore will aid the development of newcomers Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard.

As a transfer, Achor is ranked as a four-star forward by 247Sports and is the No. 36 overall power forward in the transfer portal.

[TAYLORKEETON 807]

Does it ever say when this week?

[NoALtiger 3,873]

Oh wow, would love to get this guy. 

[AUSCalum87 194]

So does anyone know what Hokanson posted on On3 Auburn a couple of hours ago talking about Achor Achor? I still haven’t seen any specific date on when he will be visiting this week. 

[AUSCalum87 194]

1 minute ago, AUSCalum87 said:

So does anyone know what Hokanson posted on On3 Auburn a couple of hours ago talking about Achor Achor? I still haven’t seen any specific date on when he will be visiting this week. 

Whoops, misread that it was a Monday note, not from today. My apologies! But still, if anyone knows what he said it would be greatly appreciated!

[AURex 2,033]

Not surprising that CBP is once again looking to lower-division players hoping for a gem in the very deep portal trough. Achor seems to have done well at Samford. Those guys are always (according to CBP) hungry and that's why CBP likes them. I hope he is a Cheney and not a Travore. And if he is anything like Williams, I'll gladly eat a whole flock of crows, bc my man Williams was a true Auburn stud.

Okay, not intending to be negative. He is a good player. And CBP wants him, I want him!

 

 

[AUSCalum87 194]

11 hours ago, AURex said:

Not surprising that CBP is once again looking to lower-division players hoping for a gem in the very deep portal trough. Achor seems to have done well at Samford. Those guys are always (according to CBP) hungry and that's why CBP likes them. I hope he is a Cheney and not a Travore. And if he is anything like Williams, I'll gladly eat a whole flock of crows, bc my man Williams was a true Auburn stud.

Okay, not intending to be negative. He is a good player. And CBP wants him, I want him!

 

 

I disagree with this take. Achor Achor is one of the top players in portal. He would immediately make Auburn a preseason top 5 team.

[AUSCalum87 194]

So word is that Achor Achor is visiting today. Can anyone confirm this?

[NoALtiger 3,873]

17 hours ago, AURex said:

Not surprising that CBP is once again looking to lower-division players hoping for a gem in the very deep portal trough. Achor seems to have done well at Samford. Those guys are always (according to CBP) hungry and that's why CBP likes them. I hope he is a Cheney and not a Travore. And if he is anything like Williams, I'll gladly eat a whole flock of crows, bc my man Williams was a true Auburn stud.

Okay, not intending to be negative. He is a good player. And CBP wants him, I want him!

 

 

I mean Travore was an unproven kid. Achor is the opposite. You see what he did to Kansas in the tournament game?

[AUSCalum87 194]

Reading on other boards that Achor Achor has some grade issues so looks like he’s a no go as well. Between this and Jordan Ivy-Curry committing to UCF along with last week’s disappointments, it’s really frustrating right now being an Auburn basketball fan.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,762]

18 minutes ago, AUSCalum87 said:

Reading on other boards that Achor Achor has some grade issues so looks like he’s a no go as well. Between this and Jordan Ivy-Curry committing to UCF along with last week’s disappointments, it’s really frustrating right now being an Auburn basketball fan.

May be time to adjust expectations accordingly my guy 

Still a top 15-25 roster

[AUSCalum87 194]

2 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

May be time to adjust expectations accordingly my guy 

Still a top 15-25 roster

Oh yea, as I said in my previous posts, unless we get some surprises, this now changes the narrative. I was projecting Auburn would get some quality backups but now seems like we are either going to stick with the team we have and have walk ons as backups or have JUCO or D2 guys as backups. The PF position becomes a glaring weakness. And we only have 2 guards with experience and a true freshmen. Then you have Moore who will be getting significant minutes. This went downhill real fast for Auburn unfortunately.

[TAYLORKEETON 807]

Read that he would already be ours, but his grades are an issue? Is this valid?

[bigbird 60,580]

7 minutes ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Read that he would already be ours, but his grades are an issue? Is this valid?

I'm told School is an issue.  I'm not sure if it's in regards to grades or Major.

[AUSCalum87 194]

17 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I'm told School is an issue.  I'm not sure if it's in regards to grades or Major.

I just saw someone post that there is still a chance Auburn can get him in. Have you heard anything like that?

[Auburn93 563]

4 minutes ago, AUSCalum87 said:

I just saw someone post that there is still a chance Auburn can get him in. Have you heard anything like that?

We probably would have gone to him earlier if grades were not an issue. Because of limited funds, we are looking at players with grade issues and past accusations. I'm not against Bruce trying everything to build a competitive team. My guess is the lack of funds will lead Bruce into retirement quicker. He is not going to sit around and get his brains beat in by teams like Alabama with superior talent. 

[AUSCalum87 194]

2 minutes ago, Auburn93 said:

We probably would have gone to him earlier if grades were not an issue. Because of limited funds, we are looking at players with grade issues and past accusations. I'm not against Bruce trying everything to build a competitive team. My guess is the lack of funds will lead Bruce into retirement quicker. He is not going to sit around and get his brains beat in by teams like Alabama with superior talent. 

I mean, I don’t understand how you don’t get before even giving visits to guys who have baggage or can’t make their grades, just a waste of time. And yea, he’s got his hands tied and wouldn’t be surprised if he’s here for about 3-4 more years, if that. Can’t compete with other rivals when you have to play CMo significant minutes and other teams are trotting out 5 star players or top portal players as backups.

[TAYLORKEETON 807]

It's turning into quite the dilemma to fill these last 2 spots.. 

[AUSCalum87 194]

This is also the second time we’ve had where a quality player was going to commit to us but couldn’t get in because of grade issues. Happened to Desi Sills as well. It’s just really frustrating being an Auburn basketball fan. When you think we were going to be a legit contender to where we might be middle of the pack now is sobering.

[keeperoftheplains 141]

Why does anyone even care about this farce of academia anymore?  Do you think all these players in the portal are concerned whether their credits will transfer when they toss their name back in the hat?  I will always love AU because of the four years I spent there but I'm just about done with the athletic program.  D1 college basketball is now just a vastly inferior pro league.

[AUSCalum87 194]

41 minutes ago, keeperoftheplains said:

Why does anyone even care about this farce of academia anymore?  Do you think all these players in the portal are concerned whether their credits will transfer when they toss their name back in the hat?  I will always love AU because of the four years I spent there but I'm just about done with the athletic program.  D1 college basketball is now just a vastly inferior pro league.

I mean, being honest, outside of Pearl, look at all of the mediocre coaches Auburn has hired and then how are facilities don’t compare to the top teams. For a big SEC program like Auburn, the ROI is pretty much nil since there is really no investment in the programs. Auburn expects championships but we hire coaches and invest like we are Vanderbilt. It’s a paradox. We as fans think we should be competitive year in and year out in most of the major sports but then forget that in order to do that you have to hire the best coaches and pay the best players and have the best facilities and Auburn hasn’t really done that. I mean, the best coach, in any of the major sports at Auburn with Pearl is hand tied with NIL and can’t get many quality players on top of asking yearly for a men’s only basketball facility instead of having to share the gym with multiple other programs. You look at it objectively and you can see why Auburn has been so inconsistent in any sport in the last 20-30 years.

[TAYLORKEETON 807]

1 hour ago, AUSCalum87 said:

This is also the second time we’ve had where a quality player was going to commit to us but couldn’t get in because of grade issues. Happened to Desi Sills as well. It’s just really frustrating being an Auburn basketball fan. When you think we were going to be a legit contender to where we might be middle of the pack now is sobering.

Just our luck 

[JuscAUse! 1,464]

21 minutes ago, AUSCalum87 said:

I mean, being honest, outside of Pearl, look at all of the mediocre coaches Auburn has hired and then how are facilities don’t compare to the top teams. For a big SEC program like Auburn, the ROI is pretty much nil since there is really no investment in the programs. Auburn expects championships but we hire coaches and invest like we are Vanderbilt. It’s a paradox. We as fans think we should be competitive year in and year out in most of the major sports but then forget that in order to do that you have to hire the best coaches and pay the best players and have the best facilities and Auburn hasn’t really done that. I mean, the best coach, in any of the major sports at Auburn with Pearl is hand tied with NIL and can’t get many quality players on top of asking yearly for a men’s only basketball facility instead of having to share the gym with multiple other programs. You look at it objectively and you can see why Auburn has been so inconsistent in any sport in the last 20-30 years.

It's weird, because I start out agreeing with you and I know that you have to have tons of talent to win in college basketball. But then I think of Kentucky , Kansas, and other blue bloods and if that was all that mattered, we could pretty much fill in the final four every year. 

This year was different in the dance, as it was pretty much chalk with only a few upsets after the first two days. But Kentucky has, or in Calipari's case, had everything we agree we need at AU, and doesn't have much more to show for it than other teams in the SEC the last few years. So there's always hope, I guess. 

[ellitor 33,114]

5 hours ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

It's turning into quite the dilemma to fill these last 2 spots.. 

@TAYLORKEETONWe have 4 spots left & likely want to fill 3 of them.

[TAYLORKEETON 807]

15 minutes ago, ellitor said:

@TAYLORKEETONWe have 4 spots left & likely want to fill 3 of them.

My bad then, 4* spots