Updating the status of departing and incoming Auburn athletes
Johni Broome
The most important athlete on the plains made his decision. Johni Broome is returning for his final season of college basketball at Auburn. Best player Bruce and company could have gotten on the roster. Instantly makes the Tigers one of the top teams in the county heading into next season.
Taliah Scott
Coach Johnie Harris has been quietly turning the Tigers into a SEC contender. Landing former five star Razorback Taliah Scott in the portal, raises the visibility of a very solid Women’s Basketball program. A true bucket getter, with excellent court vision. Scott will be a fan favorite in no time.
JP Pegues
After lackluster guard play resulted in Auburn getting bounced by future accountants, Bruce went to portal for a point guard. The former Paladins guard is a great shooter with a clutch gene that is required to win in March. Pick and roll and pick and pop sets with JP will be a thing of beauty.
Tre Donaldson
While not expected it is in the best interest of both parties to move on. Auburn needed a reset at the point guard position, and Tre wants to start. Reportedly NIL played a factor in Tre’s decision; however, if Bruce wanted him back, money wouldn’t have been an issue.
KD Johnson
It’s sad to see such a great person leave, though I’m happy for KD. The former Georgia Bulldog and Auburn Tiger recently commuted to George Mason. Simply put there are not enough minutes in the rotation to satisfy him, and he wants a chance to showcase his talent.
Dylan Cardwell
The Jumbotron man is back in the building for his final season. His presence along Johni makes up what will be one of the best front courts in college basketball this season. Never hurts to have a defensive minded 7 footer.
Aden Holloway
Aden is a very talented young man, who had great trouble his freshman season. Many wish it could have worked out, yet it didn’t. Bruce Pearl is not to blame for it not working out though, no amount of coaching can make a player hit shots. No amount of coaching can make a player make layups in a march madness game. No amount of coaching can make a player want to stay and compete for a spot. We’ll see you in Neville, Aden. Hope you play with confidence in that building this time around, because you’ll need a lot of it.
“At Auburn, I kind of got sold a dream by my coach. The season started out good for me individually and as a team, and then he kind of went in a different direction (with) the offense.”
-Aden Holloway
Shame on Bruce if he did mislead Aden and his family on the role he would play. Volume shooters can have a hard time shooting their way out of slumps the way he was used. However, promises are two way streets.
Aden, was third on the team in shot attempts per game, second in usage percentage, first in three point attempts. Yet, he was eleventh on the team in field goal percentage, the dream was a nightmare possibly because of him.
Jay Fair
The best wide receiver on the roster from the past two seasons is out. Not surprising, was painfully under utilized, through no fault of his own. Also makes sense to get a fresh start with the Freeze four enrolling and the addition of Robert Lewis. Will be an impact player for someone’s offense.
You can listen to this conversation and more on the The War Rapport’s YouTube channel.
