Bruce Pearl doesn’t try to hide his preferences, at least when it comes to his point guards.
During his time as Auburn’s head coach, Pearl has always gravitated toward a certain type of player to run his typically up-tempo offense, as the Tigers’ point guards have usually checked off three boxes — they’re small, they’re fast, and they’re quick.
That was the case with Tahj Shamsid-Deen during Pearl’s first year on the Plains. It was the case with Jared Harper during his three seasons running Auburn’s offense, and with J’Von McCormick during his two-year tenure with the Tigers. Then, this past season, standout freshman Sharife Cooper fit into that mold as well.
“I like to think we’re carving out a little niche at Auburn for fast, small, quick point guards,” Pearl said in January. “… It’s been a position where guys have done well. I put the ball in my point guard’s hands and let them go play.”
Now with Cooper off to the NBA and hiring an agent, closing the door on a potential return for a second season, Pearl has reeled in another point guard — via the transfer market — who checks those same boxes to potentially take over as the Tigers’ floor general next season. On Friday afternoon, Auburn picked up a commitment from Eastern Kentucky transfer Wendell Green Jr., a 5-foot-11 point guard who hails from Detroit.
Green is the second pickup for Pearl’s program on the transfer market this offseason as Auburn retools its backcourt following the departures of Cooper, Jamal Johnson (UAB) and Justin Powell (Tennessee) — not to mention the early-season transfer of Tyrell Jones (South Alabama).
The Tigers last month received a commitment from College of Charleston guard Zep Jasper, who has two years of eligibility remaining and the ability to play either guard position. Green, meanwhile comes to Auburn with four years of eligibility remaining after an impressive freshman campaign at EKU, where he appeared in all 29 games and made 25 starts for the Colonels last season.
The former three-star prospect averaged 15.8 points per game on 39.6 percent shooting, including a 36.4 percent clip from 3-point range. He also grabbed 3.4 rebounds per game while dishing out five assists per contest (finishing top-50 nationally) while totaling 146 dimes on the year — which ranked 15th nationally among all Division I players and first among freshmen nationwide.
Green, who earned All-OVC first-team honors during his first college season, finished the year with an assist rate of 29.5 percent — which is higher than McCormick’s during the 2019-20 season (28.3 percent) and a shade below Harper’s 29.9 percent during his three seasons running Auburn’s offense, though well short of Cooper’s impressive 51.9 percent clip, which would have led the nation had he appeared in enough games. Green’s turnover rate of just 14.9 percent was also lower than Cooper’s this season (17.7 percent) and McCormick’s the year prior (16.1 percent) while being just behind Harper’s career mark of 14.3 percent.
While Green did all that in the OVC, which isn’t quite the SEC when it comes to basketball, he accomplished it while running the nation’s No. 2 offense in terms of adjusted tempo (74.8 possessions per 40 minutes, according to KenPom.com) and posting a usage rate of 28 percent — below Cooper’s 33.1 percent but well above those of McCormick and Harper in any of their seasons at Auburn.
Though Auburn may not be done bolstering its backcourt depth this offseason, the addition of Green at least softens the blow of Cooper’s departure while providing a seemingly ideal fit to run Pearl’s offense.
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
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