Bruce Pearl missed out on arguably the country’s most sought-after transfer Wednesday, when former Georgetown guard Mac McClung announced his intentions to attend Texas Tech over Auburn and Memphis among others.
However, with one scholarship spot remaining, Auburn is still in the running for the nation’s No. 1 prospect for the 2021 class, five-star forward Jonathan Kuminga.
Kuminga, who is expected to reclassify, listed Auburn, Duke, Kentucky and Texas Tech as his final four contenders last week, along with the NBA’s G-League.
The professional route has garnered more attention this recruiting cycle from the nation’s top recruits, with the NBA allowing high school players to sign with a G-League pathway program. Five-star center Kai Sotto became the fourth player to sign with the new G-League select team for next season, joining Jalen Green, Isaiah Todd and Daishen Nix.
Green, the nation’s No. 1 player for the 2020 class, chose the G-League over Auburn and Memphis in April.
“For me, right now, I would say 50/50,” Kuminga said of his decision earlier this month on the “High School Basketball Happenings” podcast with ESPN’s Paul Biancardi. “With everything is going on right now, I don’t want to put myself in the type of situation where I don’t know what I’m doing. So I’ve just got to be patient with it, sit down with my family and plan on everything.”
Among the finalists, Auburn and Texas Tech are considered the leaders for Kuminga if he does indeed choose the college route, but his recruitment process has been hard to predict to this point so there are no concrete indications of where he will end up before the summer ends.
A decision for Kuminga doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon, but the G-League seems like the most likely path for now.
The five-star forward did say his ultimate goal was “to get to the NBA, play at the highest level and go out there and compete.”
