Auburn men’s basketball all-time roster: Tiger Legends
As conference tournaments begin and the NCAA tournament field starts to take shape… we can officially say that it is March.
The Auburn Tigers began the season with high expectations following an SEC regular season championship. However, with the loss of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler to the NBA Draft, the Tigers have needed time to get back to their winning ways.
Auburn basketball has won over 1,400 games in its 117-year history and has had many great athletes contribute to that total, with ten going on to be first-round picks in the NBA Draft.
Who are the best of the best when it comes to Auburn basketball’s history?
Auburn Wire has chosen three coaches, five starters, and five reserves to be a part of the all-time roster for Auburn. Here’s a look at the time, with Auburn basketball’s winningest coach starting us off.
Head coach: Joel Eaves (1949-63)
Photo: Auburn Glomerata
[autotag]Joel Eaves[/autotag] continues to keep the top spot on the all-time winningest coach list at Auburn after he led to 213 wins during his 14-year tenure, and went 124-75 in SEC play from 1949-63. He led Auburn to its first-ever SEC Championship in 1960 and was elected into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1978.
He played football and basketball at Auburn from 1934-37. During his basketball career on the Plains, he was led by a fellow legendary Auburn coach in Shug Jordan. Auburn’s previous home, Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, was named after Eaves.
Assistant Coach: Cliff Ellis (1994-04)
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
[autotag]Cliff Ellis[/autotag] is second on Auburn’s all-time wins list after he built 186 victories from 1994-2004. During Ellis’ tenure, Auburn participated in three NCAA Tournaments with two Sweet Sixteen appearances. During the 1998-99 season, Auburn entered the tournament as a No. 1 seed and made it as far as the regional semi-finals before falling to Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen.
Earlier this season, Ellis eclipsed the 900-win mark when he led his current team, Coastal Carolina, to a 102-39 win over Regent University. He joins Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and West Virginia’s Bob Huggins as the only active coaches to win 900-or-more games.
Assistant Coach: Bruce Pearl (2014-pres.)
Michael Chang/Getty Images
Auburn basketball’s current leader, [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag], has won 185 games in nine years on the Plains and is ten wins away from moving to second all-time.
Pearl has taken Auburn to three NCAA Tournaments but has also taken the program to new heights. Six players have been drafted by NBA franchises since 2019, and the program reached the Final Four for the first time in history during the 2018-19 season.
Pearl has the ability to become Auburn’s best head coach in history in more ways than one.
Starting Guard: Marquis Daniels (1999-03)
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
Auburn legend [autotag]Marquis Daniels[/autotag] was a two-time All-SEC selection during his time on the Plains from 1999-2003 and was named SEC Player of the Year in 2003 by the Birmingham News.
He is tied for the Auburn record of double-digit scoring games in a single season with 34 and is 11th all-time in scoring with 1,532 career points.
After a 10-year NBA career, Daniels returned to the Plains in 2018 to serve as director of player development for Bruce Pearl’s staff, a title that he still holds today.
Starting Guard: John Mengelt (1968-71)
Shanna Lockwood/ AU Athletics
Before John Mengelt logged 631 games in the NBA, Mengelt was a scoring threat at Auburn.
Mengelt scored 24.9 points per game during his career that spanned from 1968-71, which remains the highest in Auburn basketball history. During his senior season in 1970-71, he averaged 28.4 points per game.
His most amazing game in a Tiger uniform took place on Valentine’s Day in 1970 when Auburn defeated Alabama, 121-78, where he dropped 60 points. He went 23-of-38 from the field and connected on 14-of-15 free throws all without the help of the three-point line.
Starting Forward: Charles Barkley (1981-84)
The Tennessean
Auburn’s most famous basketball alum, [autotag]Charles Barkley[/autotag], played three seasons at Auburn for Coach Sonny Smith from 1981-84. As a Tiger, Barkley was close to averaging a double-double in every game by scoring 14.1 points and hauling in 9.6 rebounds per game.
He would ultimately achieve the feat of averaging a double-double every game during his 16-year NBA career by scoring 22.1 points per game and pulling down 11.7 rebounds per contest. He still remains a polarizing figure today as he is a member of TNT’s NBA crew.
Starting Forward: Chris Porter (1998-00)
AP Photo/Dave Martin
It took Auburn five seasons under Cliff Ellis to reach the NCAA Tournament, and Chris Porter was a key piece to that machine. During the 1998-99 season, Auburn had four players average double-figures throughout the season, with Porter leading the pack with 16.0.
In two seasons with the Tigers, he averaged 15.3 points per game and 8.0 rebounds. He would go on to be drafted 55th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 2000 NBA Draft and would play one NBA season before playing many years in smaller professional leagues across the United States and overseas. His final season was in 2016 when he played for the Hawke’s Bay Hawks of Napier, New Zealand.
Starting Center: Walker Kessler (2021-22)
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
If you’re reading this, then you just got blocked by Walker Kessler.
Kessler played his freshman season at North Carolina before transferring to Auburn for his sophomore campaign, which turned out to be a great decision as it propelled him to a first-round NBA Draft selection in 2022.
He started all 34 games during his lone season at Auburn, averaging 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks per game.
Kessler was drafted 22nd overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2022 NBA Draft. He was traded twice over a ten-day span before he settled with the Utah Jazz, where he was named an NBA All-Start and competed in the NBA All-Star skills challenge and the rising stars game.
Reserve Guard: Wesley Person (1990-94)
ANDREW CUTRARO/AFP via Getty Images
Wesley Person is one of six players to have their jersey retired at Auburn. He joined his brother, Chuck, by having his No. 11 retired in 2006. Nearly 20 years later, Person still holds the Auburn record in shooting percentage (.608), three-point percentage (.441), and minutes played per game (35.0).
Person would go on to have a solid NBA career by averaging 11.2 points per game in 16 seasons.
Reserve Guard: Wes Flanigan (1994-97)
6 Mar 1997: Guard Wes Flanigan of the Auburn Tigers drives ball to the basket as center Charles Hathaway of the Tennessee Volunteers goes for the block during a playoff game at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. Auburn won the game 67 – 54. USA TODAY Sports
Wes Flanigan was the start of the early days of Cliff Ellis. Playing at Auburn from 1993-97, Flanigan played in 120 games and averaged 10.1 points per game, but was known more for setting up his teammates to score by posting 573 assists, which is second-best all-time in Auburn history.
His most productive season was in 1995-96, where he scored 13.1 points per game and averaged 6.7 boards. Following his playing career, Flanigan dipped into the world of coaching. He has spent the last five seasons as an assistant under Bruce Pearl on Auburn’s staff and has coached his son, Allen, during that time.
Reserve Forward: Mike Mitchell (1974-78)
Auburn Athletics
Mike Mitchell was a staple of 1970s basketball in Auburn. From 1974-78, Mitchell scored 20.4 points per game and averaged 9.6 rebounds. In four seasons, he totaled 996 rebounds, which is the program’s leader by 46 rebounds.
Mitchell was a first-round pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1978 and would play 11 NBA seasons with the Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs before closing his career by playing 11 seasons in Italy.
His No. 30 was retired by Auburn in 2013 posthumously, as he passed away two years prior.
Reserve Forward: Jabari Smith (2021-22)
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Jabari Smith is Auburn’s top signee of all time, and he provided a solid return on investment. In his lone season at Auburn, he averaged 16.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
He was regarded as one of the best prospects of the 2022 NBA Draft class and was seen as a top pick by most NBA mock drafts. He was ultimately picked third overall by the Houston Rockets and became an All-Star in his first season as a professional.
Reserve Center: Mamadou N'Diyae (1996-2000)
AL.com file photo
Mamadou N’Diyae played the center position well while at Auburn.
While at Auburn, he broke the program record for blocks that was previously held by another famous Tiger to wear No. 34, Charles Barkley. He has since been jumped by Kyle Davis, but still stands in second place with 241 blocks.
From 1996-2000, N’Diyae averaged 6.8 points and 1.9 blocks per game. He was drafted 26th overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2000 NBA Draft, and he would play 68 games over six seasons before entering the coaching profession. He is currently an assistant coach at UCF.
