Rednilla

I could see him leaving if he grades out extremely well, and I suppose that given his background, he might just want to get to the pros and make money as fast as he can (which is understandable), but I've never really thought he was leaving. As for Kessler, I'd love to have him, but I thought he was leaning toward Gonzaga?

Really? So 95+% of those who transfer not only won't get an education from their new school, they won't EVER get ANY kind of job? I mean, professional means you get paid for it. Working as a carpenter? You're a professional carpenter. Working as an engineer? You're a professional engineer. Working at McDonald's flipping burgers? You're a professional cook. Furthermore, there are a lot of professional leagues around the world. Basketball isn't like football, where there's only like 2 professional leagues in existence. Every player that left Auburn's team after the 2018-2019 season is playing basketball professionally...

You're right, I am. Dang it.

Anything new about whether Scoot's HS is going to let him graduate early?

I feel pretty confident that if they got the scholly offer based purely on those numbers, then the offer is not a committable one, but rather a jumping off point for a potential recruit that will be thoroughly examined on film by the staff before we would accept their commitment...and, in fact, thinking about it, that makes a lot of sense, considering we're in limbo about Coop's status (I'm still hoping he stays, but most everyone around here at least seems pretty convinced he's gone). If he leaves, we'll need another ball handler, so we're shaking the limbs a little bit to see what fruit there might be to pick, should it become necessary.

I don't think I like that trade off, quite frankly. I guess maybe Kessler is going to UGA then...

J-Boy reported Kessler's leaving on Facebook and seemed to be hinting he might be leaning toward Auburn. We don't exactly need big men, but if he wants to come here then you can't say no.

When I first saw the name, I thought it was his little brother...

I'm going to guess that he does. But most of that is me hoping he does, and of course that he comes to Auburn, because that means we'll get him for 2 whole seasons due to his age.

Alabama's current US senator says yes.

The class was never going to be a waste. If nothing else, we had already signed several high potential guys, including one transfer with FBS experience and 3 years to play (he also has 2 degrees already, which boggles my mind)...

Highlight films often do...but he's certainly someone we need, given the attrition. We'll have to wait and see how much of an impact he makes, but I suspect he's going to have better blocking than recent AU backs have had.

Ah, I suppose that makes sense. I'm just used to the 5'10 type of guys being DBs more than WRs. Whatever. As long as he can help out, and everything suggests he will be able to, I'm happy.

Just reading the scouting report on Dawson makes me think he'd be better at corner, given his height and his apparent ability to flip his hips in coverage, but I'm certainly not going to complain about a speedy receiver coming on board, either.

Am I wrong to think it's getting a little silly to expect recruits to reclassify so that they'll get here more quickly even after Thor was able to do it? I mean, he was a pretty special case, after all. And besides, I wouldn't be surprised if Henderson was one and done. If that's the case, I think it'd be better for us to have him to pick up the slack when Coop moves on, should it be after the 21-22 season.

You don't predict Jabari Smith to be one and done?

Coop was not in the projection. I was diligent about checking that. Flanigan is the only AU player in that mock draft. And, honestly, we'd miss him if he went early, but not nearly as much as we'd miss Coop.

Yeah, I suppose grad transfer would be more logical, just to have a true point for a single year to bridge between Coop and Scoot.

I did not know that. So even if Sharife does get crazy and go early, we'll still have Powell and Alexander to run point without getting a JUCO. Good to know.

As of yesterday, Allen Flanigan is projected 16th overall by https://www.nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/. And if he's projected that high at the end of the season, he would be a fool not to go early.

If you say so. He hasn't impressed me as being near where Okoro was defensively last season. But again, I really don't know much about the ins and outs of basketball. Seriously, I used to think I knew something about it...then I played in the Seniors vs. Faculty basketball game in high school, and my friend Marcus educated me a little bit on how to play post defense. I got an idea that day about how much I really didn't know. LOL. As to Flanigan, I'd hate to see him go from the standpoint of how special we can be next season with him...but if he's projected to get drafted, he might be wise to go on after this season. And of course, putting another guy in the draft, especially one who probably wasn't projected there by anybody who matters coming out of high school, looks great for Auburn.

By then, is it a fairly foregone conclusion that Coop will be moving on? I mean, that's certainly the way it seems to be setting up if Scoot is serious about coming here, because I can't imagine him being willing to split time at the point with someone of Sharife's caliber and, by then, experience.

That's exactly how I feel about it. The 90s Bulls are about the only NBA team I've ever watched at all, and when I first saw the comparison between Cardwell and Rodman, I didn't take the time to figure out how to explain that it's different, but that's spot on. I actually like Cardwell.

Uh.....huh? Am I crazy, or does the notion that Flanigan would actually get picked before Coop or Thor seem laughable? Don't get me wrong, I love Allen, and I get that he's more physically ready for the pros than either of the aforementioned freshmen, but I haven't seen anything about him that screams NBA star to me. I certainly hope he makes it to that league, but there are a lot of good college players who barely sniff the NBA. Then again, I don't know basketball nearly as well as football or baseball, so maybe I'm just not seeing it.

The Auburn beat writers are journalists. JMR is a coach. Therein lies the difference.