Auburn sophomores Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy will both be held out of action indefinitely.
The school released a statement announcing that the two players would not play in Thursday’s exhibition game against Barry University to avoid any eligibility issues due the FBI’s ongoing investigation.
Big news out of Auburn regarding Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy. pic.twitter.com/fv6h5zDQKJ
— Brian Stultz (@brianjstultz) November 2, 2017
Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person was arrested in September and charged for his involvement in the college basketball recruiting scandal.
The program has provided no further details due to the FBI’s ongoing investigation.
Lovell’s Analysis
This isn’t an ideal way to tip off the season for the Tigers.
However, something like this seemed inevitable after the details involving Person’s actions started to emerge.
This move obviously makes sense on Auburn’s part to avoid playing Wiley and Purifoy in case eligibility issues arise, as you wouldn’t want to play them and risk having an entire season in jeopardy.
And because of that, there are now more questions than answers for an Auburn team that’s filled with talent and potential.
But if the Tigers are without two key pieces of the puzzle for an extended period of time, it’s going to be much harder for Bruce Pearl’s squad to rise in the SEC this season.
The league’s depth is tremendous, and not having an elite big man and a versatile small forward for some or all of the season would make things difficult. That would force newcomers like Desean Murray, Malik Dunbar, and Chuma Okeke to play an even bigger role, which all are capable of doing.
But as with all of this FBI stuff, we are still in a wait and see mode.
The two players could be back next week, or they could be back next year. There’s no way of knowing right now.
What we do know is that Auburn likely won’t be the only program that faces this type of situation as more details emerge from the FBI’s investigation.