Auburn Basketball: What Zep Jasper adds to the Tigers for 2021-22 season
By Matt Melton
If there was one thing that Auburn basketball needed to start their offseason, it was some good news. Well, Auburn received that news this past week.
The Tigers had a rough year as they self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2020-2021 season to pair with a disappointing season in which Auburn finished 13-14 overall and 7-11 in the SEC. This was the Tigers’ worst season since the 2015-2016 season, year two of the Bruce Pearl era. While Auburn had a rough season, the Tigers’ offseason is off to a rough start as well due to the uncertainty of the roster.
Auburn’s roster could certainly look very different next season, in particular the guard position. It is possible that the Tigers will lose their top four guards on the roster as star freshman Sharife Cooper is a projected NBA Lottery Pick, freshman Justin Powell, and junior Jamal Johnson have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, and Allen Flanigan has a decision looming as he is projected in the First Round in recent NBA Mock Drafts. These four are also four of Auburn’s Top 5 scorers from this past season’s team.
That is where the good news comes in however as the Tigers secured a commitment from College of Charleston transfer guard Zep Jasper. Jasper led the Cougars in scoring with 15.6 PPG during the 2020-2021 season on 43.7% shooting, while also averaging career-highs with 3.7 RPG and 2.6 APG. Jasper is also an elite free-throw shooter making 87.5% of his shots from the charity stripe.
Jasper gives Auburn next year not only an experienced guard but a consistent scorer as well. The 6’1 junior has played in 83 games during his college career and is a career 9.5 PPG scorer. Jasper however took the next step with his game during the 2020-2021 season where he scored in double-digits in 16 of Charleston’s 19 games, which included a career-high 38 points.
While it is currently unknown what Auburn’s roster will look like next season, Jasper will be a big part of the Tigers’ rotation. We do know however that Auburn will have talent next season headlined by incoming freshman and top 5 player nationally Jabari Smith.
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While he will not be the type of impact player that Sharife Cooper was for the Tigers, Zep Jasper has all the talent and production needed to be one of the top incoming transfers in the SEC next season.