AUBURN | Bruce Pearl has elevated Auburn’s basketball program in to a championship contender over the past six seasons. Here’s a look at his top five wings starting with a four-year player that led the Tigers to the Final Four.
1. Bryce Brown (2015-19)
This was an easy choice. Bryce Brown made 382 3-pointers in his four-year Auburn career, which ranks first in school history and second in SEC history. He finished with 1,568 career points, which ranks eighth in school history. More importantly, he led the Tigers to an SEC Championship in 2018, and an SEC Tournament championship and the program’s first-ever trip to the Final Four in 2019. He was named second-team All-SEC in both 2018 and 19 (it's a travesty he wasn't first-team), and SEC Tournament MVP in 19. Brown played in 131 career games including 97 starts, averaging 12.8 points. As a senior in 2018-19, he averaged 15.9 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. His 141 made 3-pointers in 2019 are the most in SEC single-season history.
2. Samir Doughty (2017-20)
After transferring from VCU and sitting out the 2017-18 season, Samir Doughty made the most of his two seasons in the lineup. He started 27 of 40 games for the Final Four team, averaging 7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals, mainly as a fourth option behind the Tigers’ big three of Brown, Jared Harper and Chuma Okeke. With all three moving on the next season, Doughty took on a much bigger role as a senior, starting all 31 games and averaging 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals. He played both wing and backup point guard for a team that was seeded second headed into the SEC Tournament before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doughty became the first Auburn player since Chris Porter and Doc Robinson in 1999 to earn first-team All-SEC honors.
3. Mustapha Heron (2016-18)
Mustapha Heron became the first five-star in program history to sign with Auburn and went on to lead the Tigers in scoring for each of his two seasons before transferring to St. John’s. He averaged 15.2 points and 6.1 rebounds as a freshman, becoming the first Auburn player to earn Freshman All-SEC honors since DeWayne Reed in 2008-09. His 32 starts set an Auburn freshman record. As a sophomore, Heron earned second-team All-SEC honors averaging 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds. He finished with 1,011 career points, becoming only the fifth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone in two seasons. He helped Auburn to only its fourth SEC regular season title in program history in 2018. Declared for the draft after his sophomore season only to withdraw and transfer to a school closer to his home in Waterbury, Conn.
4. K.T. Harrell (2012-15)
K.T Harrell played just one year under Pearl at Auburn and the team finished just 15-20, but he put together quite a season and led the Tigers on a thrilling four-game run in the SEC Tournament. Harrell transferred to Auburn from Virginia and sat out the 2012-13 season. In 2013-14, Tony Barbee’s final year, Harrell and Chris Denson teamed up to form formidable backcourt as Harrell averaged 18.3 points and 4.0 rebounds and Denson 19.1 points and 4.3 rebounds. Harrell was the leader of the 2014-15 team averaging 18.5 points and 3.0 rebounds. He led the SEC in scoring, 3-pointers made (98) 3-point percentage (.434) and free throws made (162). The Tigers entered the 2015 SEC Tournament as the 13th seed, beating Mississippi State opening night, taking down No. 5 seed Texas A&M the next night, knocking off No. 4 seed LSU in the quarterfinals before being ousted by No. 1 seed Kentucky in the semifinals. In the win over LSU, Harrell scored 15 consecutive points including a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to send the game into overtime. He finished with a career-high 29 points. He was named second-team All-SEC as a senior.
5. Isaac Okoro (2019-20)
Isaac Okoro was just starting to come into his own when his freshman season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was named second-team All-SEC, Freshman All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team after averaging 12.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. He started 28 games and finished fourth in the SEC with a 51.4 field goal percentage. He and Heron were the first Auburn freshmen in 20 years to score in double figures in the first six games of their career. He had a career-high 23 points against Vanderbilt. Okoro is projected as a top 10 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, which has been pushed back until October 16.
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