Auburn basketball Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Auburn basketball was a long shot to land Nolan Hickman, and on Saturday, he made a long-expected decision to join Gonzaga as yet another marquee signing for the 2021 March Madness runner-ups.
Bruce Pearl has already had one of the better off-seasons in college basketball after limping through a season the Tigers were ineligible for the postseason due to a recruiting infraction involving 2021 NBA Draft hopeful Sharife Cooper. In addition to the 11 games he missed to begin the year, fellow (although they never shared the court in 2020-21) backcourt mate Justin Powell didn’t play a single second after Auburn’s 1/2 loss to Texas A&M.