Five-star foward/wing
Julian Phillips will announce his commitment on Thursday, and Auburn hopes heās the final piece of its 2022 recruiting class puzzle.
Auburn already has signed four-star point guard
Tre Donaldson, four-star shooting guard
Chance Westry, five-star power forward
Yohan Traore and top center transfer
Johni Broome, but is looking for one more.
Auburn is looking for Phillips and continues to be in a good spot to get him.
Phillips, from Blythewood, S.C., has a final group of
Auburn,
Florida State,
South Carolina,
Tennessee,
USC,
Overtime Elite and
G-League Ignite, but his recruitment ultimately will come down to the Tigers and Volunteers.
Phillips took an official visit to Tennessee in September. He visited Auburn in late April.
Heās now done with visits and will announce his decision in three days. A time for the announcement has not been disclosed.
Phillips communicates daily with Auburn coaches
Phillips has gone quiet since leaving his visit to Auburn on April 27. Information has been hard to find.
[ Phillips talks Auburn visit, upcoming decision ]
I do know Auburn continues to communicate daily with Phillips. Open communication leading up to an announcement typically is a good sign that, at the least, he hasnāt ruled out your school.
Steven Pearl, Ira Bowman and Bruce Pearl all are recruiting Phillips. Bruce Pearl has taken over as the point man in Phillipsā recruitment. Auburnās head coach obviously wants Phillips badly.
There wonāt be any last-minute in-home visits this week. The basketball quiet period began April 29, two days after Phillips left his Auburn visit. So, in-person off-campus contact no longer is allowed.
I donāt expect to hear much buzz leading up to Phillipsā announcement on Thursday. As I said last week, this one could go either way and I still feel that way today. Auburn sources remain confident they have a good shot, but Iām guessing Tennessee sources probably do, too.
On3ās Jamie Shaw recently wrote: āThose close to the situation like where Tennessee stands as of this writing, but history shows you cannot count Auburn out down the stretch.ā
[ Shawās Scoop: Latest intel, predictions on top uncommitted 2022 recruits ]
Bottom line: Nobody really knows anything concrete. That includes me.
On3ās scouting report of Phillips:
āHas good positional size with natural length. A quick leaper with explosive pop. Very instinctive offensive rebounder has a nose for extra possessions. Needs to continue gaining strength, especially in his base and coreāattacks closeouts well in straight lines. Jump shot is becoming a reliable weapon off the catch. Like to see him get into his shot off the bounce a little quicker. Plays upright off the bounce. Good off-ball cutter. High IQ player, give great effort. Plays well off one and two dribbles.ā
Could Auburn turn to Fisher should it miss on Phillips?
Should Auburn miss on Phillips, it would have one scholarship available to fill for its 2022-23 roster.
Several subscribers have asked about the possibility of
Elijah Fisher being an option.
Fisher is the No. 5-ranked shooting guard in the 2023 class, but could reclassify to the 2022 class. Auburn has been mentioned as a potential landing spot.
[ Fisher has Auburn, others on his mind ]
Short answer here is āno.ā
I donāt expect Auburn to make a push for Fisher should he reclassify to 2022.
