Auburn basketball has been off to an electrifying start this year, and next year looks like it will follow suit.
The signees for the 2019-20 season marks Bruce Pearl’s first top-10 class at Auburn, as the current high school seniors were officially signed Monday afternoon.
"For me, the common denominator for all five of these kids are pretty high character, hungry, humble, not entitled," said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl of the 2019 class. "They’ve got a level of toughness to them. You put them all together and they’re highly ranked, but I don’t think any one of them is all that much concerned with their own ranking."
The signees are highlighted by 4-star forward Isaac Okoro, who averaged 20.3 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game in his junior year, and is ranked 44th in ESPN’s top 100.
Pearl says future teams will lean on the talent of Okoro like past teams did with 5-star prospects Mustapha Heron and Austin Wiley.
"I’m not even sure there are 15 players better than Isaac Okoro in the country," Pearl said. "He’s got great versatility, great toughness, really attacks the rim, can cover anybody, can cover point guards, can cover centers. He’ll be one of the most versatile defenders that I’ve ever had."
Okoro’s teammate and fellow 4-star recruit Babatunde Akingbola will be joining him next year as well. The center averaged 6.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and three blocks during his junior season.
"Babatunde just does a great job of being communicative, aggressive," Pearl said. "He defines himself by his ability to protect the rim and rebound the basketball. That’s who he is. He’s better offensively than he gives himself credit for, but that’s not how he defines his game."
The Tigers are also gaining a great shooter in 4-star guard Tyrell Jones. Jones averaged 17.2 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game during his junior year, and holds his school record for made threes in a game with 12.
"A scoring point guard," Pearl said of Jones. "He can pull it, has great range, he can get in the lane and score, he’s a willing passer."
Another highlight of this class is forward and 4-star recruit Allen Flanigan. Flanigan is the son of Auburn assistant coach and former Tiger Wes Flanigan. He averaged 13.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game as a junior and is the No. 1 player in the state of Arkansas.
"Great upside," Pearl said. "Allen is a terrific athlete. I think he’s going to be a really good shooter, can guard lots of different positions, gets off the floor quickly with ease. He’s the youngest of the players that we’ve recruited from the standpoint of his age and his development. His best basketball is ahead of him. He’s improved a great deal."
The final signee for this class is forward Jaylin Williams. Williams is also a 4-star recruit and is capable of scoring in bunches. He dropped 44 points in consecutive games during his junior year. Williams followed up those games with a 51-point and 10-rebound double-double while also adding six blocks to his stat line.
"I think Jaylin and Isaac can both play 3 and 4 depending upon the matchups and things like that," Pearl said. "I think they’re versatile. Depending upon how much bigger, stronger, faster, quicker they evolve because they’re all freshmen, it will give us some flexibility."
Pearl noted that the five signees go 1-2-3-4-5, meaning they could theoretically round out a starting lineup of their own.
Pearl's class ranks No. 10 nationally and third in the SEC.
"Certainly this was a year where we felt the quality of the footprint of high school basketball was very strong, very deep," Pearl said. "We’ve been working for several years to try to take advantage of that deep class. Really pleased with each one of them.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
