Auburn’s ban means March Madness will miss two of nation’s most exciting recruits
The announcement Sunday that Auburn has self-imposed an NCAA Tournament ban for the upcoming season means that the past two national players of the year — both members of the 2020 recruiting class — won’t be part of March Madness next year.
The top recruit in Auburn’s incoming class, which is ranked No. 9 nationally, is five-star point guard Sharife Cooper, who became the first non-senior ever to receive the MaxPreps.com national player of the year award following the 2018-19 high school season. Cooper — a 6-foot-1 playmaker from Georgia — is the No. 24 overall player in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Auburn announced Sunday that it would take itself out of consideration for the 2021 NCAA Tournament in response to the findings from the federal government’s investigation into corruption in college basketball, which in 2017 led to the arrest of several assistant coaches, including former Auburn assistant Chuck Person. The NCAA is still investigating programs involved in that federal case.
The self-imposed ban means that Cooper, who is expected to be one of the most exciting players in all of college basketball this season, won’t play in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman. Cooper is officially listed at 6-1 and 180 pounds at Auburn and not necessarily seen as a surefire one-and-done pick — due largely to his smaller stature — so there is a chance he could be part of March Madness if he returns for a sophomore season. Auburn has already signed top five national recruit Jabari Smith — a 6-10 power forward — for the 2021-22 season.
There have also been reports in recent days that Cooper’s eligibility to start this season is still in question, and ESPN reported Monday morning that he might even explore professional options instead of playing at Auburn.
Joining Cooper on the NCAA Tournament sidelines will be Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham, who was the MaxPreps.com national player of the year following the 2019-20 season. Cunningham was the No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class and projects as a possible No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, but he won’t be part of March Madness this season after the NCAA hit Oklahoma State with a postseason ban for violations under the program’s previous coaching staff. (Oklahoma State is still appealing the NCAA’s ruling).
Cunningham decided to stick with the Cowboys despite the NCAA penalty, but — as a definite one-and-done pick — it means he’ll never play in the NCAA Tournament.
So, if we do get an NCAA Tournament to cap what will certainly be a strange college basketball season, this edition of March Madness will be missing two of the sport’s brightest stars.
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 9:11 PM.
