Auburn basketball fans can only wonder what might have been had star players Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley been eligible this past season.
After Wiley was cleared to play next season in January, the Tigers got more good news Tuesday as Danjel Purifoy will be cleared to return in 2018-19 once he serves a suspension that amounts to 30 percent of the season.
That percentage means Purifoy will miss about nine games, but he will likely be available for the entire SEC schedule.
"We worked diligently with the NCAA on behalf of both our student-athletes who were ineligible this season,” Auburn University president Steven Leath said in a statement. “The process was arduous, but it was important that we do everything we could to put Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley in the best position to resume their Auburn basketball careers. We're happy for them and their teammates and coaches."
Watch this bounce back✊
— Thedanjelpurifoy3 (@DanjelKevon3) March 21, 2018
Purifoy did not play a single game for the SEC regular season champions due to his connection to the FBI investigation that resulted in the firing of former assistant coach Chuck Person.
After redshirting the entire 2015-16 season, Purifoy averaged 11.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25 games as a freshman in 2016-17. The Centreville, Alabama native was ranked the No. 1 recruit in Alabama by 247 sports in 2015.
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