After an all-time great season, Auburn men's basketball is looking to reload this offseason after losing almost every scholarship player from the Final Four team except potentially Tahaad Pettiford.
The Tigers have already added forward Keyshawn Hall from UCF and JUCO guard Abdul Bashir from the portal early on as well as incoming freshmen guards Kaden Magwood and Simon Walker as well as forward Sebastian Williams-Adams.
Within the last few days as the transfer portal has heated up Auburn has made some big moves that will be key contributors to next year's roster.
To start with the void at center left from Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell, the Tigers have added two players. First a familiar face to Auburn fans in 6-foot-10 big man Keshawn Murphy who spent the last three years at Mississippi State.
Murphy improved this past season averaging 11.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks along with a steal a game. Murphy shot 55.6% from the field and 14.8% from three on just under one attempt per game. Murphy's offensive game is deep; a pick and roll player and lob threat down low. He is athletic and can also take people off the dribble by using his quickness against other bigs to get to the rim while also being an underrated passer.
Defensively Murphy is extremely versatile and can keep up with guards and defend the paint well with his length and physicality.
“I am really proud of the track record we’ve had of developing big men in the line of Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell, Walker Kessler and Austin Wiley,” head coach Bruce Pearl said.
Continuing to address the Center position, Pearl went out and got coveted JUCO transfer Emeka Opurum out of Butler Community College where he won defensive player of the year and was first team all-conference. Opurum is a 7-foot center who should have all four years of eligibility left with the recent JUCO rule change.
He averaged 9.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 67.2% from the field.
“Emeka has great upside. He is a legit seven-footer", said Bruce Pearl. "He has a great wingspan, great timing defensively and has the ability to move his feet".
Lastly, late Thursday afternoon Auburn received a commitment from Sophomore guard Kevin Overton who transferred from Texas Tech. The lefty Overton came off the bench for Tech last year but played 22 minutes per game.
Overton previously made All-MVC freshmen team for Drake two years ago before transferring to Tech. He averaged 7.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1 assist per game while shooting 42.2% from the field and 33.1% from three. Overton is a strong guard at 6-foot-5 who can handle the ball as well as play-off ball. He is a streaky shooter who is a strong downhill driver but also has a crafty array of finishes at the rim.
Overall, Auburn has had a good start to the transfer portal after having its roster depleted. There is still work to do for Pearl and his staff but with the transfer portal entry deadline coming up on April 22nd, there will be more clarity for what the future holds for Auburn men's basketball.
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Jack is a sophomore majoring in sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
