Auburn had arguably the best frontcourt in the country last season. Funny enough, despite losing two first-rounders there, Bruce Pearl’s rebuilt frontcourt this season may be one of the best in the country yet again. If the Tigers can just get more consistent guard play, then they could win the SEC and contend for a title.
Check out the previous team in my rankings here.
Preseason College Basketball Rankings: #16 Auburn Tigers
The entire backcourt returns this year for the Tigers. K.D. Johnson is the leading returning scorer for them. Wendell Green Jr. was third in the SEC in assists last season despite most coming off the bench; he only started 5 of 34 games. But he played pretty well and should move into the starting point guard spot this year. Losing Allen Flanigan to injury killed Auburn late in the year. His return will be a major help. Other guys like guard Zep Jasper and multiple roleplayers in the frontcourt return too.
In addition to all of the returning talent, Auburn also has the 15th-ranked recruiting class. The highlight of the class is in five-star Yohan Traore. Traore was originally committed to LSU, but Auburn was able to snag him away from there in late March. He is a skilled, efficient big man that has a nice shooting touch and is very mobile with a high motor. Top 40 four-star Chance Westry is also a part of this class. He has been earning rave reviews and will probably be a starter.
Auburn was also able to bring in one of the nation’s top transfer in Morehead State’s Johni Broome. Broome is a two-time All-OVC selection. He was great in his two seasons with the eagles, and even averaged a double-double last season for them and was the OVC tournament MVP in 2021 as a freshman. He also averaged a whopping 3.9 blocks per game last season, up by two from the previous season and good enough for third-best in the country (Auburn’s Walker Kessler was one of the guys ahead of him.).
Projected Lineup:
C/F – Johni Broome (16.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 3.9 BPG)
C/F – Yohan Traore (#26 overall recruit on 247 Sports)
SF – Chance Westry (#38 overall recruit on 247 Sports)
SG – K.D. Johnson (12.3 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.1 BPG)
PG – Wendell Green Jr. (12.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.0 BPG)
