Kanaan Carlyle: Auburn's 'one of my top schools'
Kanaan Carlyle is no stranger to Auburn's campus. After this weekend's official visit, the highly-rated 2023 guard has now been on campus four times.
His visit started on Thursday and ended Saturday.
The Alpharetta, Ga., native started his visit on Thursday by watching Auburn's Tipoff at Toomer's.
"It was a great environment. The fans showed a lot of love," Carlyle said. "They’re a very close-knit community. Coach Pearl had a lot of energy, so did the players."
Carlyle's visit kept rolling with getting to watch Auburn's Pro Day on Friday. In total, 27 NBA teams were in attendance and watching this year's team practice and scrimmage.
For Carlyle — a top prospect hoping to make it to the NBA himself one day — the experience was valuable.
“It was amazing. It just lets you know that Auburn has a good program," Carlyle said about Pro Day.
Carlyle and the other recruits in town also got the chance to meet with Auburn basketball legend Charles Barkley. Barkley was at Auburn's Pro Day and in attendance for the Auburn-Georgia game on Saturday.
“Charles Barkley is hilarious," Carlyle said. "He’s just always making jokes. He’s always saying something crazy so it was good.”
The best was saved for last, with Carlyle attending the Auburn-Georgia game. Carlyle described it as an "amazing environment."
Part of what made it so amazing came from what happened before the game even started. Head coach Bruce Pearl and the basketball team ended up taking their shirts off and were yelling up on the jumbotron. Cam Newton was there, as was Madi Prewett.
“That just speaks to his personality," Carlyle said about Pearl with a laugh. "He was like that all weekend. Loud, energetic, just being himself. It was good to see and great to see how he connects with his team.”
Carlyle is one of Auburn's top targets in the 2023 class and he's felt the love early on from Pearl and the other coaches.
He said he speaks daily with his lead recruiter, Ira Bowman.
Carlyle has official visits to Baylor and Stanford set up for later this fall, but he is already planning a return to visit Auburn for a basketball game this year.
“They’re definitely one of my top schools I’m looking at right now," Carlyle said about Auburn.
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