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Auburn Basketball: E.J. Montgomery has decided to leave the Tigers

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts against the Boston College Eagles in the second half of the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 12: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts against the Boston College Eagles in the second half of the Under Armour Reunion at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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There’s a chance Bruce Pearl will not be the head of Auburn basketball much longer. Now it’s starting to have an effect on the future of the program.

In just the first few days after the news broke out of the FBI investigation, we’ve already had tremendous fallout. First, interim President at Louisville Greg Postel has all but effectively fired head coach Rick Pitino and Athletic Director Tom Jurich.

Legally, they’re on unpaid leave but that’s more or less to prevent future lawsuits for the time being. An unidentified player has been held out of team activities as well, likely freshman Brian Bowen.

The other news breaking out has more to do with the future of college basketball, as Auburn basketball lost the commitment of E.J. Montgomery, a 6’10”, 200-pound highly-skilled power forward. The No. 25 ranked player by 247sports is considered a high four/five-star prospect by various recruiting sites.

This wasn’t unexpected, as Auburn figures heavily in this basketball scandal. One of the four basketball assistants arrested was Auburn’s Chuck Person. He’s currently facing up to 80 years in jail if guilty on all charges. Considering that the head coach at Auburn, Bruce Pearl, has a history of recruiting violations himself and not nearly the resume as Pitino, then his days are likely numbered.

Montgomery was the only recruit committed to the Tigers for 2018, but the school had a number of highly touted players considering the school as well. With him gone and the likelihood of current players losing eligibility, then Auburn is possibly heading for a steep fall.

As for the kid, during the time of the commitment, Auburn beat out North Carolina, Miami, and UCLA for his services. Miami has been named as another team involved in this investigation, and North Carolina is in the midst of their own investigation. With this being said, the Bruins might be the heavy favorites to pick him up.

This is the first but certainly won’t be the last player to jump off the proverbial sinking ship that has come out of this investigation. Louisville has lost a couple of top-50 players and is without a  head coach. USC and Arizona are sweating bullets with their top players as well.

Next: What we know of investigation so far

Each day there’s going to be big-time news coming out dealing with all of college basketball, so make sure to keep checking out Busting Brackets for all the latest news, details and opinions regarding a scandal that’s growing legs each day.

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