Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan withdraws from NBA Draft, commits to Ole Miss

Ole Miss just got a big boost for their first season under new head coach Chris Beard. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan, who is going through the NBA Draft process, will withdraw his name and come back to school, where he’ll commit to play for Ole Miss after previously entering the portal.

A big addition from within the SEC for the Rebel program. Here was Tipton’s report, which he posted to Twitter:

“NEWS: Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan has committed to Ole Miss, per source. His father, Wes Flanigan, recently joined Chris Beard’s staff in Oxford after five seasons at Auburn.”

Now, son will follow father. For Allen Flanigan, this will be his final ride around the sun as a college hooper after what’s already been a pretty up and down career. As a true freshman, he played spot minutes for a hardly memorable but really good 2020 team, then popped to be lead scorer in a bad 2021 team at more than 14 points per game.

His role regressed in year three and he barely averaged six points a contest, but over his true junior and senior seasons, Flanigan started for tournament teams and projects to finally be one of the lead options on a team once again.

This news coupled with Matthew Murrell’s return really gives the Rebels some dynamite on the wing next year. They still need a proven point guard to step up, but this is looking like a roster that can really compete for an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move is on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until June 12 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 16, which is also the start of the NBA Conference Finals.