The departure of Jared Harper, Mustapha Heron and Austin Wiley shouldn't have shocked Auburn basketball fans.
With new NCAA rules for agent-less NBA Draft entrants, there's not much to lose, as players can test their draft stock while remaining eligible to return to their school. Prospects can go through the draft combine and hold one NBA tryout before the withdrawal date of June 11.
In the case of Desean Murray, it's understandable to be taken aback.
The junior forward announced Tuesday evening that he will leave the Auburn basketball program after graduating from the University in the spring. The former Presbyterian transfer has "not decided" whether he will transfer to another school or submit his name into the draft.
— Debo13 (@desean_murray) April 10, 2018
Murray, Auburn's starting power forward in its 2017-18 SEC Championship season, averaged 10 points and 7 boards in his lone year on The Plains after sitting out 2016-17 because of transfer rules.
The Stanley, North Carolina native is the fifth Tiger to announce any intentions of leaving the team. Backup point guard Davion Mitchell announced his intent to transfer from the program March 29, followed by Heron, Harper and Wiley's decisions in the following weeks.
Heron is the only player with reported intentions of hiring an agent, which restricts the guard from returning to school if his NBA stock isn't up to his expectations.
Forward Danjel Purifoy, who has been ruled eligible for the 2018-19 season and has reiterated that he intends to return to The Plains for his junior year, was expected to start at the three spot after Heron's departure. The junior may need to take on more of a big man role with Murray and Wiley's decisions.
MORE: Austin Wiley becomes third Tiger to declare for 2018 NBA Draft
He and Wiley sat out all of last year thanks to the FBI investigation.
Head coach Bruce Pearl's team now has four available scholarships with the exits of Murray, Heron, Mitchell and senior Patrick Keim.
On the recruiting trail, Auburn boasts just one commitment, that of 2019 four-star power forward Babatunde Akingbola. The Power Springs, Georgia product could provide depth down low earlier however, if he is able to reclassify to 2018.
When Auburn was ranked in the top 5 of multiple media outlets after the national championship game, the assumption was that the roster would look almost identical to its SEC regular season champion version.
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