Auburn basketball coaches had a busy week when it came to recruiting, and so did many of their major 2020 targets.
The Tigers even picked up a commitment from Mountain Brook senior Lior Berman.
Auburn offered Cam Thomas on Wednesday, a five-star guard in the class of 2020 out of Virginia, who is playing with Boo Williams.
On Friday, Berman committed to Auburn—likely as a preferred walk-on. He was a three-time state champion at Mountain Brook.
Later that day, it was reported that the Tigers would host five-star big man Walker Kessler this upcoming weekend for a visit.
Shortly after that, it was reported by pay sites that Bruce Pearl was trying to get a recruiting weekend set up for the same dates along with the Big Cat Weekend going on for football.
A few big names were thrown out there as likely candidates to visit along with Kessler, such as Sharife Cooper and Brandon Boston Jr. It has now been reported that all three will be making the trip alongside a star-studded list of prospects.
It won’t be the first time Auburn has hosted a big recruiting weekend after hosting and visiting a target-list similar to this week’s leading up to last season. The staff used those visits to solidify the 2019 class, picking up commitments from Jaylin Williams and Tyrell Jones in the process.
A more complete list of the recruits Auburn coaches have visited or hosted over the last two weeks.
A few have been official visits to Auburn. Last fall the Tigers hosted zero official visits. pic.twitter.com/R3jmsNM2gN
— Auburn Hoops Fan Account (@aubawn) September 15, 2018
It will be the first big recruiting event that Pearl and company have hosted since playing in the Final Four, which should continue to play a key role in building even more momentum on the recruiting trail.
Last weekend also saw many of Auburn’s top-targets in action at the EYBL event in Dallas.
Brandon Boston Jr and Sharife Cooper both had a great weekend for AOT, who finished with a 4-1 record in Dallas. Boston scored 25 or more in every game, and he scored 33 points in AOT’s weekend-opener.
Against Team United, Cooper scored 32 points (hitting all six of his 3-pointers) while racking up seven assists, three rebounds and three steals.
#1 PG in the Country Sharife Cooper (@CooperSharife ) HEATS UP Quick After Telling Heckling Opponents Father “YoUr s0n GaRbAge “ pic.twitter.com/aCjJTMe4f1
— Hoop Films ? (@ThatGuy_Mondo) May 28, 2019
Cam Thomas also had a good weekend playing for Boo Williams. Thomas scored 41 points and had six rebounds and three assists against Alabama Fusion on Sunday.
Boo Williams also played AOT in Dallas. AOT won the game, but there were Auburn targets on both sides of the court with AOT featuring Boston, Cooper and Dylan Cardwell, and Boo Williams featuring Thomas and 2021’s Zion Harmon.
Of course, one specific Auburn target had a bit of a coming out party in Dallas.
Last August, Auburn offered Daeshun Ruffin—a point guard out of Mississippi in the class of 2021. And he continues to prove why he is one of the best players in his class from start to finish.
On Sunday, Ruffin scored 51 points against NY Renaissance while adding six assists, three rebounds and three steals to his line.
He also had 30 points and 12 assists against the Texas Titans and 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against Mac Irvin.
Ruffin seems like a name to keep an eye on – whether you’re an Auburn fan or not – as he’s bound to make some noise on a national level with these types of outings.
Greg Brown III also continued to add to his highlight reel throughout the weekend, especially with the in-game Eastbay he pulled off on Saturday.
Greg Brown III pulls off the rare in-game Eastbay during EYBL Dallas ? @gb3elite @TexasTitans2020 ? @WhosNextHSpic.twitter.com/7Sby9LuCzV
— D1 Circuit (@D1Circuit) May 27, 2019
But it wasn’t just dunks that Brown displayed in Dallas. On Friday, he scored 31 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in his team’s game against NY Renaissance.
Brown listed Auburn as one of his 10 finalists in February, and his father recently told Adam Zagoria that Greg Brown would be visiting Auburn on June 5.
Jaden Springer, rated No. 11 on ESPN, also included Auburn in his top 11 schools.
Rongie Gordon is a 4-star from Montgomery who has seen his recruitment blow up as of late, and he’ll join many of the other prospects this weekend in Auburn.
2021’s Terran Williams and 2020’s Justin Powell will also be in attendance.
Jaemyn Brakefield is another five-star player that has been getting some buzz lately from the Tigers.
2020 five-star Jaemyn Brakefield tells @TiptonEdits Louisville, Kansas, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Auburn, and Oregon are recruiting him the hardest.
*Has not cut his list. @Jaemyn1
— Joe Tipton (@thejosephtipton) May 14, 2019
Brakefield is a 6-8 stretch four whose versatility would give him a chance to play Auburn’s four much like Chuma Okeke did last season.
He contributes through scoring, rebounding, playmaking and on the defensive end.
Brakefield, along with almost every Auburn target in 2020, will be recruited by programs all over the country and won’t be an easy get for the Tigers.
But it’s clear at this point that Auburn is making a push to compile an elite 2020 class.