AU hoops makes move

AUBURN | Douglas County (Ga.) Rivals150 junior shooting guard Brandon Robinson was in Auburn on Saturday for an unofficial visit. It was the first time the No. 73 overall prospect in the 2016 class had been to the Plains.

But it won't be his last time. Not after the experience he had.

"It was great," Robinson said. "Everything went really good. It was a great experience and made me want to go back a lot more."

Robinson, 6-foot-5 and 175 pounds, got the visit started Saturday morning by meeting with the Auburn coaches. The four-star prospect spoke with head coach Bruce Pearl and assistants Tony Jones, Harris Adler and Chuck Person.

"They have a great coaching staff," Robinson said. "Coach Jones is recruiting me, and I got to talk and spend a lot of time with him. I also got to talk to Coach Pearl and I really enjoyed that."

Pearl and his up-tempo style of play are two reasons Robinson has an early eye on Auburn. Robinson got to see the Tigers' fast-paced style when he watched an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

"I like Coach Pearl. He is a great guy and a great coach," Robinson said. "I like his coaching style, how he's on you and wants you to play defense and then rewards you by letting you play your game on the other end.

"I think that is a great way of coaching. I just like his style. I like that they play up-tempo and that they are aggressive."

Robinson believes Pearl and his aggressive, fast-paced style will turn the Auburn basketball program around. Pearl just needs more talent. During Robinson's visit, he noticed that might not be a problem. Not for long.

Robinson was one of many nationally-ranked recruits visiting Auburn on Saturday. He was joined by prospects like 2017 five-star forward Austin Wiley and 2016 Rivals150/four-star guard Chris Lewis.

"You could just tell from the type of recruits that were visiting that Coach Pearl and his staff definitely have the program going in the right direction," Robinson said. "I believe they are going to get the program back to winning soon."

Following his visit, which also included attending Auburn's football team's 42-35 win over South Carolina, Robinson has the Tigers among his top schools.

"Auburn is definitely in there," he said. "I'm looking at a lot of schools right now like Texas, Creighton, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Florida State, Maryland and some others, but I really liked it at Auburn. I will definitely go back."

Although Robinson has a list of schools he's currently interested in, he stopped short of naming any leaders. He has plenty of time left for that.

"I'm interested in all of the schools that are recruiting me right now," he said. "I'm just taking my time through the process. I'm not in any rush to commit. If I'm ready, I'd like to make my decision next year before basketball season starts. I'd like to get it out of the way so I can focus on the season."