Johni Broome to Walker Kessler: Ranking the best Auburn transfers of the Bruce Pearl era

AUBURN — The transfer portal has helped Auburn basketball — the Tigers have added eight players since 2021, and each has helped hang a banner — but it's also done damage — coach Bruce Pearl had to watch former four-star recruit Davion Mitchell leave for Baylor in 2018 and win a national title two seasons later.

But that's the name of the game, especially in the modern era. Auburn has already been active in the current portal cycle, landing a signature from former Furman point guard JP Pegues on Friday. Pegues spent the last three years with the Paladins, and he averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds as a junior.

With one year of eligibility remaining, it'll be tough for Pegues to etch his name into the pantheon of Auburn legends, particularly those who joined the Tigers through the portal. It's not impossible, though, as Tennessee star Dalton Knecht proved this past season.

With more roster tinkering expected this offseason, here's who we view as the five best transfers Auburn has landed with Pearl at the helm. Everything is taken into account, from talent and production to accolades and winning. For clarity's sake, players who came over from junior college have been omitted.

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5. Wendell Green Jr. (Eastern Kentucky)

There's no denying Wendell Green Jr. had his faults as a basketball player. The efficiency wasn't always there — he finished his Auburn career with a 36.4% rate from the field. But a couple of things that can't be taken from him: He assisted the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances and helped them win the regular-season SEC title in 2022.

Green appeared in 68 games at Auburn, starting 39 of them and averaging 12.9 points, 4.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 27.3 minutes per game. He narrowly edged out a few honorable mentions in Denver Jones (Florida International), Desean Murray (Presbyterian College) and Kareem Canty (Marshall).

4. KD Johnson (Georgia)

Another player who certainly had his warts and wasn't perfect, KD Johnson was an integral member of one of the winningest three-year runs in Auburn history. The Tigers have secured 76 victories since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, which is second only to the stretch Auburn went on from 2017-20 (81 wins).

Johnson leaves this offseason after playing in 102 games with the Tigers. He averaged 9.4 points and 1.4 assists, but his most meaningful contributions came with him being an agent of chaos on the defensive end, causing havoc and disarray for opponents.

3. Walker Kessler (North Carolina)

In terms of pure talent, Walker Kessler should be at the top of the list. The effective shot-blocker is a defensive anomaly — his block percentage of 19.1% during the 2021-22 season is the highest any player has achieved since College Basketball Analytics began tracking the stat in 2018 — and there's a reason he went No. 22 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Kessler was spectacular in his one season under Pearl, serving as the second-most important player on a roster that reached the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history and secured a regular-season conference title. Kessler's averages at Auburn: 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and 1.1 steals in 25.6 minutes per game.

2. Samir Doughty (VCU)

Starting 27 games on a team that reached the Final Four will certainly boost one's stock. That's one reason why Samir Doughty comes in at No. 2. Another big factor, though, is what he was able to do in his second year with the Tigers: 16.7 points per game on a team that won 28 contests.

That production came after Doughty fouled Virginia's Kyle Guy in the national semifinal, opening the door for Guy to knock down three free throws and end the deepest postseason run the Tigers have ever been on. Doughty could've folded after that. He didn't.

1. Johni Broome (Morehead State)

There have only been two consensus All-Americans in Auburn history. One is Jabari Smith, who earned the honor in 2022 before he was drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 2022 NBA Draft. The other is former Morehead State big man Johni Broome.

Broome's legacy is already cemented, guiding the Tigers to back-to-back appearances in March Madness and winning the SEC Tournament this past March. He'll have a chance to add to it next season, as he announced Wednesday that he'd be returning for a third year with the program.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: Ranking 5 best transfers of Bruce Pearl era