Auburn Hoops Season Of Misery Continues As Top Player Enters The Portal

Auburn basketball’s 2020-21 season has been unforgettable, for all the wrong reasons.

The team self-imposed a postseason ban as part of an investigation into bribery charges brought against former assistant coach Chuck Person, ESPN reports.

Alabama won the SEC regular-season title and is looking like a possible No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

And now, key playmaker Justin Powell, who suffered a head injury in January after just ten games in a Tigers uniform, has now entered the transfer portal.

BREAKING: Auburn’s Justin Powell is expected to enter the transfer portal this week, a source told @Stockrisers. Powell, averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 boards, and 4.7 assists in 10 games.

Instantly becomes one of the top-available transfers when he hits the portal.

— Jake (@jakeweingarten) March 9, 2021

Powell, who is originally from Louisville, KY, was one of the nation’s standout freshmen early in the season, ESPN reports. He scored 26 points in back-to-back games against South Alabama and Memphis and was shooting 44.2% from 3-point range.

Through 10 games, he averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Auburn basketball fans never got a chance to see their three top-100 recruits — Powell, Sharfie Cooper, J.T. Thor — on the floor together at the same time, Fansided reports.

Cooper was cleared to play with the Tigers on Jan. 9, just a week after Powell sustained his injury on Jan. 2 during the game against Texas A&M.

In 12 games, Cooper averaged a team-best 20.2 points and 8.1 assists per game in addition to his 4.3 rebounds per tilt. The Auburn point guard was selected to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team this week.

Powell was an ESPN 100 prospect in the 2020 class and will be a sought-after transfer once he enters the portal. The article details that the freshman wants to move closer to home.