Following the graduation of star center Tra’Cee Tanner, depth in the post became an issue for the Auburn Tigers. Yesterday, Auburn signed three players that will immediately address the problem.
Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy announced the signing of three frontcourt players, all 6-foot-2 inches or taller, Thursday as part of the early signing period for women’s basketball.
The Tigers will welcome 6-3 forward Abigayle Jackson (Little Rock, Ark./Little Rock Central HS), 6-3 forward Unique Thompson (Theodore, Ala./Faith Academy) and 6-2 forward Kiyae' White (Plainfield, N.J./Emmaus (Pa.) HS) to the Auburn Family for the 2017-18 basketball season.
“I thought we did a great job this year signing exactly what we needed," Williams-Flournoy said. "We needed post players. My coaches did a great job identifying the talent out there for us and getting the post players that we needed. We like for our post players to be long, lanky, athletic, and agile, and all three of these definitely fit that category."
Jackson is ranked as the No. 1 player in Arkansas in the class of 2017. She is rated the No. 20 forward and No. 106 player in the country by Prospects Nation.
“Abigayle is going to me more like a stretch-four type for us,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She can shoot the ball, she’s a rebounder, and she fits into our style of play.”
Jackson led Little Rock Central to a 24-2 season last year and a berth in the Arkansas final four.
Unique Thompson, the most decorated of the three signees, is ranked as the No. 74 overall player and No. 15 forward in the country by ESPN. She was a finalist for Alabama Class 5A Player of the Year last season, and was named the MVP in the All-Star North-South game.
“I chose Auburn because I wanted a home away from home,” Thompson said. “I am very family-oriented, and after spending time with the coaches and the team, they instantly became my family. I also chose Auburn because they offered my major, and that was important to me."
The Theodore, Alabama native was invited to the 2015 Team USA under-16 tryouts and was a nominee for a McDonald’s All-American. She also won a Class 5A state championship in 2013.
“It's always good to keep your in-state recruits at home,” Williams-Flournoy said. “She's going to be very good for us. She's one of the post players that we need for next year. She runs the floor, she's an athletic post, and she's definitely going to help us at a needed position.”
The 2017 recruiting class is rounded out by Plainfield, New Jersey native Kiyae’ White. She is ranked as the No. 20 forward in the country by ESPN.
“Auburn feels like a home away from home,” White said. “Taking the official visit to Auburn confirmed something I had already suspected, seeing how serious the coaches were about basketball and academics influenced me greatly. Everyone is family, and everyone has fun with each other until it's time to step on the court. Then, it's all about basketball, which I love."
“Kiyae’ is a rebounding machine,” Auburn’s fifth-year head coach said. “She crashes the boards hard, and she works extremely hard. She can play a little bit outside, and she'll be another stretch-four. She's also physical enough to go inside if we need her to do that.”
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