By now you know that Chance Westry and Yohan Traore have are planning to hit the transfer portal.
This is surprising for me because I didn’t expect Westry to explore his options, but here we are. I believe Westry has some real talent. He benefited from this redshirt year, however, because it gave him an opportunity to get acclimated to college life — a balancing act that can be very difficult to establish for many kids — and get up to speed on what’s expected of him as a college player. He took his time on the scout team seriously; he was following the same path blazed by Samir Doughty. Rise up and shine up. That’s what I expected.
Traore is a different situation. While Westry’s lack of playing time really came down to an ill-timed knee injury, Traore had every chance to seize upon a substantial role last season. He didn‘t do that. Auburn suffered because he didn’t do that. Auburn suffered because Traore couldn’t provide what Auburn needed from him, which really was just competent minutes at power forward. Competency was the second goal after we all realized he wasn’t ready to be a star. He just didn’t have it yet.
That’s not a bad thing in and of itself. Young people mature, improve, blossom at different rates and those rates are not tied to intelligence or athletic ability. It’s a personality thing. And while Traore was a disappointment in 2022-23, he may well have been a helpful piece of the puzzle next season. I wasn’t counting the kid out. With that said, it’s clear that Bruce Pearl wants to change the ingredients of this program’s personnel recipe, so to speak, and Traore didn’t look like the kind of guy who represented that change.
I’ll say this having watched Auburn’s portal work during the past few seasons: They’re working on a different level and at a difference pace this season. Losing Westry and Traore have nothing to do with Auburn’s Portal Acquisition Approach, but I’m almost certain that the Tigers’ roster will show a net positive by the time we hit June 15.
As long as it’s one step back followed by two steps forward, the math works out.
Losing Westry hurts a lot, though. That’s an inescapable fact.
This is surprising for me because I didn’t expect Westry to explore his options, but here we are. I believe Westry has some real talent. He benefited from this redshirt year, however, because it gave him an opportunity to get acclimated to college life — a balancing act that can be very difficult to establish for many kids — and get up to speed on what’s expected of him as a college player. He took his time on the scout team seriously; he was following the same path blazed by Samir Doughty. Rise up and shine up. That’s what I expected.
Traore is a different situation. While Westry’s lack of playing time really came down to an ill-timed knee injury, Traore had every chance to seize upon a substantial role last season. He didn‘t do that. Auburn suffered because he didn’t do that. Auburn suffered because Traore couldn’t provide what Auburn needed from him, which really was just competent minutes at power forward. Competency was the second goal after we all realized he wasn’t ready to be a star. He just didn’t have it yet.
That’s not a bad thing in and of itself. Young people mature, improve, blossom at different rates and those rates are not tied to intelligence or athletic ability. It’s a personality thing. And while Traore was a disappointment in 2022-23, he may well have been a helpful piece of the puzzle next season. I wasn’t counting the kid out. With that said, it’s clear that Bruce Pearl wants to change the ingredients of this program’s personnel recipe, so to speak, and Traore didn’t look like the kind of guy who represented that change.
I’ll say this having watched Auburn’s portal work during the past few seasons: They’re working on a different level and at a difference pace this season. Losing Westry and Traore have nothing to do with Auburn’s Portal Acquisition Approach, but I’m almost certain that the Tigers’ roster will show a net positive by the time we hit June 15.
As long as it’s one step back followed by two steps forward, the math works out.
Losing Westry hurts a lot, though. That’s an inescapable fact.
Last edited:
