NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of 5-star Dylan Harper’s top 5 teams

Auburn Tigers

Pros

Coach Bruce Pearl has a nice history of developing his guards, dating back to his days at Tennessee. He also lets the guards have a green light on offense, which at times, has created some criticism when it doesn’t work. Of course, having someone like Harper run the offense is completely different.

Right now, center Johni Broome is the focal point of the offense. However, he’s going to be gone after this year, along with a couple of other veteran scorers. That’ll allow Harper to come right in and allow the perimeter to be the focal point offensively and he’d easily be the No. 1 option.

Cons

What’s interesting about the current construction is that technically, Auburn could bring back all of its guards. That includes KD Johnson, who still has the covid year available. Five-star freshman Aden Holloway is second on the team with 10.6 ppg and 3.3 apg but is shooting just 31% from the field and may not be a guaranteed “one and done” NBA Draft prospect.

Plus, the Tigers already are adding another five-star guard from the 2024 class in Tahaad Pettiford. I certainly wouldn’t say that the SEC team doesn’t need Harper but it’s a situation where he may not have the ball as much as he’d want and could play the three-spot since he has the size.

What happens with Holloway would be a factor to consider here.