3 more players Auburn basketball can look to add this offseason

AUBURN — Auburn basketball made its first big splash of the offseason on Saturday when Florida International transfer Denver Jones announced his commitment to the Tigers. Auburn made his signing official the following day.

He's coach Bruce Pearl's first addition from the portal, but it won't be his last. He has a roster to replenish after Zep Jasper ran out of eligibility, Wendell Green Jr. declared for the 2023 NBA Draft, Yohan Traore and Babatunde Akingbola announced they would be entering the transfer portal and Chance Westry reportedly doing the same.

Jones averaged 20.1 points per game on 47.8% shooting for the Golden Panthers last season. He also connected on 37.1% of his 3-pointers and 84.5% of his free throws. Here are a few other players Pearl could target this offseason to pair alongside Jones and those coming back for another run with the Tigers in 2023-24.

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Kario Oquendo

Georgia transfer Kario Oquendo announced March 21 that he would be testing the NBA Draft waters, but also maintaining his college eligibility and entering the transfer portal. A little over two weeks later, he tweeted that he had narrowed down the list of schools recruiting him to four: Auburn, Nebraska, Oregon and Utah.

Oquendo goes against the trend of players Pearl has reportedly been in contact with this offseason. The staff has gone after shooting, but the 6-foot-4 guard only made 26.7% of his shots from long range last season. The difference with Oquendo is his slashing prowess; the Tigers saw that on display Jan. 4 when Oquendo dropped 17 points to give Auburn one of its worst losses of the season.

Efficiency from beyond the 3-point arc would be ideal, but the Tigers can afford a slasher like Oquendo if they continue to add shooters elsewhere.

Russel Tchewa

Auburn was reportedly linked to Marshall transfer center Micah Handlogten, but the 7-foot-1 big man, who averaged 7.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in his freshman season with the Thundering Herd, opted to commit to Todd Golden at Florida on Monday.

That same day, however, it was reported by Rivals that the Tigers were in touch with South Florida transfer Russel Tchewa, who entered the portal after spending three seasons at USF. He began his collegiate career at Texas Tech, where he played one season.

Tchewa's numbers steadily improved each year with the Bulls. In his final season, he posted 11.1 points per game on 60.6% shooting to go along with 8.6 rebounds. He appeared in 30 games and made 29 starts.

Blue Cain

This is the wild card. Cain is one of the highest-rated recruits in the Class of 2023 that remains uncommitted; Mackenzie Mgbako at No. 7, Bronny James at No. 33 and Carey Booth at No. 73 are the only three ranked ahead of him, as Cain is the No. 89 prospect in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite.

The Tigers already have Aden Holloway as an incoming freshman, but with so many spots available, the addition of the 6-4 Cain could make sense. Pearl has at least four more scholarships to hand out, and that number could rise after players like Jaylin Williams and Allen Flanigan announce their decisions.

Cain, who originally signed his National Letter of Intent to Georgia Tech before being granted a release, is tagged as the No. 12 shooting guard in the country. He's been in contact with Auburn, according to ESPN, but took a visit to Georgia on April 6, per On3.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn basketball: 3 players for Tigers to target this offseason