Auburn Tigers’ Bruce Pearl has expertly navigated the transfer portal.
More than anybody else in the nation, Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers have successfully adjusted to the new world of collegiate basketball.
To suggest that more has changed off the court in collegiate sports over the last five years than it has in the previous 100 would not be absurd.
The installation of the transfer portal (and NIL) has been one of the main causes of this. If we go back less than 15 years, the majority of college coaches traveled the whole offseason in search of high school players from throughout the nation.
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Bruce Pearl, the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, is a shining example of someone who demonstrates the importance of the transfer portal in addition to high school recruiting. The Tiger team as it is now demonstrates this. Three-star recruit Johni Broome committed to Morehead State. After four years, Broome is among the top returning players in the SEC and a highly sought-after draft prospect.
Former UNC backup Walker Kessler then transferred to Auburn, where he won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year award. Kessler is currently the Utah Jazz’s standout center.
In actuality, Coach Pearl has taken the lead in both developing a culture that fosters development both on and off the court, as well as in identifying and acquiring talent through the transfer portal.
“The children of Auburn want to stay at Auburn, just as our children do. Compared to other colleges, we don’t have as many guys departing,” Pearl stated during his news conference last week.
Pearl discussed the significance of the gateway in addition to the team’s prospects for this season.
“There are many factors, and sometimes the coach and I have to go look at a high school player. You also have to assess the competition.” Once they exit the portal, you can see them up against some pretty formidable
Pearl added a second transfer class that was loaded with talent. It included guards Miles Kelly (Georgia Tech) and JP Pegues (Furman), as well as big man Ja’Heim Hudson (SMU).
Pegues is anticipated to start as the starting point guard because of how nicely he fits into the team. At Furman, he averaged over five assists and 18 points per game with remarkable consistency. Not to add, he had an 88% free throw shooting percentage.
Kelly has the potential to be a player on this squad that draws a lot of attention and will compete for starter minutes. Miles has the potential to be one of our league’s finest shooters, according to Pearl, who attributes this to his ability to make shots.
Hudson
Auburn has a reputation for being a club that can roll with the punches of rotating teams year and consistently produces a high-caliber product, even with the inclusion of an entirely new facet of the game.
Since this has been open, we have improved our squad every year and the transfer portal has benefited every year. I believe the underlying denominator is that we are still bringing in a lot of talented young players.
