NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing five-star F Jonathan Kuminga’s top 5 teams

Auburn Tigers

Bruce Pearl has successfully turned Auburn basketball into a national presence with their Final Four run in 2019 and continued success this past season, and he has already parlayed that into success on the recruiting trail.

The incoming 2020 recruiting class ranks No. 7 nationally and includes a pair of potential stars in Sharife Cooper and JT Thor, both of whom would mesh perfectly with someone of Kuminga’s skill set.

That said, Kuminga would be the highest-rated prospect in school history and instantly become the face of the entire program. Outside of Charles Barkley, Kuminga would be their signature player in the college basketball landscape. He wouldn’t be starting something at Auburn, but he would be looked at as the guy who could take the program over the top and could take pride in being that guy for a program, as opposed to another one-and-done star at Duke or Kentucky.

Kuminga’s skill set would also fit in well with Pearl’s fast-paced system. Along with being incredibly fun to play in because of the up-tempo style, it naturally plays to the strengths of Kuminga’s physical tools and athleticism, putting him in more advantageous positions to utilize what he does well.

There aren’t currently any commits in the 2021 class for Auburn but they are heavily involved with many other top-50 prospects. Kuminga could assuredly get a number of them to join him on the Plains as well.