Auburn Basketball: Impact of landing former Georgia transfer guard KD Johnson
By Matt Melton
Auburn Basketball is quietly having one of the better off-seasons of any team in college basketball over the past 1-2 months. A big reason for this is the Tigers continued success so far through the NCAA Transfer Portal.
After landing talented transfers so far this offseason headlined by a former 5-star recruit in North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler, Auburn Basketball is at it again. This time, however, you could make the argument that this may be the biggest immediate impact addition of them all.
Yes, Auburn you could argue once again lost a top prospect to the G-League this year in Scoota Henderson, but the Tigers have bounced back well by landing a commitment from Georgia transfer guard KD Johnson. While this might not sound like the most eye-popping transfer move of the offseason, it has the potential to be one of the biggest.
Johnson is coming off of a phenomenal 2020-21 season at Georgia where he was one of the top freshmen in the SEC. The former 4-star recruit was a Top 100 player in the Class of 2019 but ended up turning some heads during his freshman season.
Despite not starting in any of the 16 games he played in, Johnson averaged 13.5 PPG ranking second on the Bulldogs roster. Scoring in double-figures in twelve of those games, Johnson also shot the ball at a 44.4% rate from the field, as well as 38.7% from three.
Johnson does numerous things well on the court including not only scoring but is a quality defender with speed and strength on both ends. Of course, there are areas to improve in, most notable shooting 61.5% from the free-throw line, but the potential is there for Johnson is become a potential All-SEC caliber player down the road.
So, will Johnson start at Auburn next season? That remains to be seen, but the 6’1 guard will 100% feature a prominent role for Bruce Pearl’s Tigers on the hardwood in 2021-22.
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Auburn will be one of the most talented teams in the SEC next season, and adding Johnson gives the Tigers exactly what they needed in a talented and versatile guard. With the offseason transfer additions of Kessler, Desi Sills, and more, now combined with the addition of Johnson, is Auburn setting up to have a big 2021-22 season?