AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn basketball program hosted its annual Pro Day on Friday, and for the third straight year, the Tigers competed in front of numerous NBA scouts and front office personnel at Auburn Arena.
"We've been doing this for three years," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. "My first three years, we didn't have a pro day and not many scouts came to watch practice because there just weren't many NBA players to watch. So it's a good thing now we've got guys that they're looking at. It shows that our guys are working really hard and putting themselves in position where these NBA teams want to check them out."
The difference this year is that some of those former Auburn players who participated in pro day last year or the year before are now on NBA rosters. Chuma Okeke was drafted in the first round by the Orlando Magic in June. Jared Harper (Phoenix Suns) and Bryce Brown (Boston Celtics) both signed NBA contracts in the offseason.
The group that's coming back, as well as the newcomers, can now see those players moving on to the next level and know that they have the same opportunities.
"Of course, it's always a dream to play at the next level," Auburn senior Austin Wiley said. "I always wanted to do that as a little kid. And just showing that we can get pros out of Auburn, it's inspiring. Not just for the younger players but for future recruits. It's always a great goal, a great dream and always great to see."
For Wiley, this was the first time he was able to showcase his abilities at one of Auburn's pro days. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound big man has been injured on and off over the years, but he's been healthy for nearly nine months now and was moving as well as he ever has Friday.
"It was really exciting," Wiley said. "I'm finally healthy. It was great being out there just showing the scouts what I could do, showing my leadership and showing what our team has."
"If Austin stays healthy, he'll get drafted," added Pearl. "It's just that simple. He's a good enough player. He's just never been here (healthy) for a full year with the exception of maybe his first year when he should've been in high school."
Wiley might look like the most NBA-ready player on Auburn's roster, but he's part of a talented senior class that also includes Samir Doughty, J'Von McCormick, Anfernee McLemore and Danjel Purifoy. It's a group that will be given more opportunity this upcoming season, and as a result, they were able to do more at Friday's pro day.
Pro day also gave NBA scouts their first look at a deep contingent of newcomers – most notably freshman Isaac Okoro, the No. 36 player overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings.
"We talked to the guys about the fact that I think we have a really good 13-man roster," Pearl said. "We're going to be very young coming off the bench, so which one of the young guys can be able to help us the soonest and the best? So we'll see. But there's a lot of learning going on right now. There's a lot of want to."
The 2019-20 season tips off one month from Saturday.