Auburn 'like home' for 4-star forward
AUBURN | Auburn on Sunday made a big move for four-star forward Landers Nolley.
Nolley, who is ranked the No. 61 overall player in the 2018 class, participated in the Chuck Person Shooting Camp and left with a different perspective of Auburn, as did his mother, thanks in large part to Person and Bruce Pearl.
“It was great, a great visit,” Nolley said. “My mom loved it. Coach Pearl really opened up our eyes, and we will be looking at the situation totally different now. Auburn sits at the top, always in my top. They have a great shot with me.”
Nolley had visited Auburn before and had talked to the coaches, but Sunday was different. So was Pearl’s message to him.
“Coach Pearl is a great guy, and he told me some stuff that I didn’t expect to hear from him,” Nolley said. “It really opened my eyes. I see him in a great way. He told me a lot of things, but he said I deserved an offer from Kentucky. That’s one of their rivals, so hearing that come out of his mouth is amazing.”
Nolley also spent time learning from Person, who is Pearl’s associate head coach and one of the most respected shooters in NBA history.
“Coach Person is a great guy, a great shooter, a great teacher and a great mentor,” Nolley said. “He’s just a great guy to have on the staff.”
Nolley also had the opportunity to see Auburn’s campus, something he hadn’t done in previous visits.
“It was great to see the coaches again and to finally see the campus, which is amazing,” Nolley said. “It’s really nice. The campus is close-knit, everything is really tight. There aren’t a lot of distractions. ”
The proximity from Auburn to Fairburn, Ga., where Lolley is a standout at Langston Hughes, works in the Tigers favor. So is his familiarity with several recruits and players at Auburn.
“Auburn is basically home all over again,” Nolley said. “It’s close to home. I can come here and it’s only two hours from my house. I also know guys on the team. I played against them in high school, like Bryce Brown when he was at Tucker. I know Jared (Harper) from Pebblebrook. I know (AU commit) E.J. Montgomery, (AU recruit) Ashton (Hagans) and a couple of other guys on the team.
“It’s like home.”
Nolley hasn’t narrowed his list of schools, but plans to soon. He’ll begin taking his official visits in October and plans to sign in the November period.
“I haven’t really started to break it down,” Nolley said. “But I will definitely be back to Auburn soon.”
