NCAAM News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Image credit: ClutchPoints

Top 3 transfer portal targets for Bruce Pearl, Auburn basketball

Originally posted on NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints
By Scotty White | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 1:31 PM ET

The Auburn basketball season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday in the Final Four. The Tigers were the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they lost to fellow one-seed Florida with a spot in the national championship game on the line. Auburn was in control of the game when the second half started, but the Gators fought their way back in it and earned the win. Now, the season is over for the Tigers, but the future is bright for Bruce Pearl and his program. They are getting some good talent back next year, and they are looking in to bring in some guys from the college basketball transfer portal as well.

Auburn has had a lot of success in the transfer portal in recent years, and that had led to success on the basketball court. There are some teams that can’t quite figure out how to get a roster full of transfers to gel together, but Bruce Pearl has not had that problem. Most of this Auburn team played elsewhere before joining the Tigers, but they all bought-in.

The Tigers had an outstanding season, and even though it didn’t end the way that they wanted it to, it is still one that should be celebrated. Auburn had the best season in the best conference this year, and they made it all the way to the Final Four. That’s not easy to do.

Auburn didn’t win it all this year, but the future is still incredibly bright for this program. Bruce Pearl has done a great job during the transfer portal era, and that is a great sign for what’s to come down the road. Now, another offseason is here, and Pearl will once again look to do damage in the portal.

Who Auburn has already landed

So far, the Auburn basketball program has landed one player from the transfer portal. That player is UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall. Hall is a 6’7″ guard who can score in a lot of different ways. He can get to the rim, but Hall also isn’t afraid to shoot the deep ball as he averaged around four three-point attempts per game last season, and he shot 35.4% from three.

Hall averaged just under 19 points per game last season, so he should be a valuable addition to next year’s Auburn team. Remember, this current Tigers team is built on elite transfers, and Hall fits the mold.

Keyshawn Hall should be a great addition to the team, but there are more transfer portal targets out there for the Auburn basketball team. Here are a few of them:

Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston State, G

Sam Houston State Bearkats guard Lamar Wilkerson (3) dribbles the ball while Indiana Hoosiers forward Luke Goode (10) defends in the second half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. © Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Lamar Wilkerson is a big name in the transfer portal as the 6’5″ guard from Sam Houston State can score. Flat out. Wilkerson averaged over 20 PPG this past season, and he was also a lethal three-point shooter. Wilkerson shot 44.5% from three this season. It’s hard to find a better shooter in country.

Wilkerson has received a lot of attention from big programs across the country, so Auburn has some stiff competition here. The team that lands Wilkerson is going to be a lucky one.

Honor Huff, Chattanooga, G

Another player that the Auburn basketball team has expressed interest in is Chattanooga transfer Honor Huff. Huff has had two big years with the Mocs as he has averaged over 15 PPG in each of the last two seasons. Huff is another player that shot over 40% from three this past season, so he can fill up the box score in a lot of different ways. It will be interesting to see how his play translates to the power five level if he does decide to go that route.

Bryce Lindsay, James Madison, G

Are you noticing a theme here? The Auburn basketball team is interested in bringing in guards, and these three players all have similar strengths. The biggest one is three-point shooting. The other two players that we talked about can light it up from deep, and so can James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay. He also shot over 40% from three last year, and he ended up averaging 13.4 PPG. He is a big-time scorer that should be able to make a significant impact at the power five level.

Transfer portal overview

The college basketball transfer portal opened up on March 24th, and it will be open for about a month as it closes on April 22nd. The final game of the season took place on April 7th, and the portal opening up before then does create issues for teams that are still dancing.

First of all, players that want to transfer have to make a difficult decision. They can either finish up their season with their current team and miss out on potential opportunities, or they can skip the NCAA Tournament so they can find their next home. We saw this happen already as Michigan freshman Justin Pippen left the program before the Sweet 16.

This also creates an issue for coaches as they are trying to devote 100% of their time to tournament preparation. A lot of coaches want to wait until their season is over before they explore the transfer portal. All in all, the opening date creates some issues.

The college basketball transfer portal is only open during this initial window, unlike football, which has two different windows. From now until the portal closes in late April, there will be a lot of transfer portal news in the college basketball world.

This article first appeared on NCAA Basketball on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: