What Auburn basketball is getting in guard George Kimble III
The Tigers reinforced their backcourt with a scorer-and-swiper who just spent a medical redshirt season with a strong SEC program.
AUBURN — While Auburn was bulking up its frontcourt with a parade of much-needed additions earlier this month, there still was one question in the front of a lot of fans’ minds:
Don’t we need another guard, though?
Steven Pearl and his staff found themselves in a unique situation when it came to backcourt help via the transfer portal this offseason.
Despite roster overhaul elsewhere, Auburn brought back both of its starting guards from last season: rising third-year star Tahaad Pettiford and NIT MVP Kevin Overton. This will mark the first time the Tigers have brought back their top backcourt combo from the previous season since 2018-19, when Jared Harper and Bryce Brown ran it back one more time and went all the way to the Final Four.
Throw in the fact that developing shooter Simon Walker decided to return to the program and Caleb Williams signed out of the high school ranks back in the fall, and the Tigers were left with the need to get another quality guard — especially one who could back up Pettiford at the 1 — while not being able to offer instant starter status.
Enter George Kimble III, who looks like a unique piece to fill Auburn’s roster puzzle.
Kimble hasn’t played a minute of SEC basketball in his career, but he’s been tabbed as that kind of quality for a while now. After starring as a freshman at Division II Eckerd College — a school Auburn played back in 2019 in an exhibition — Kimble made the jump to Division I at Eastern Kentucky for the 2024-25 season.
The transition was rather smooth for Kimble, who started every game he played for the Colonels and was named second-team All-ASUN after ranking second in the conference in scoring and first in steals and free-throw percentage. He missed the final seven games for EKU, though, after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Kimble entered the transfer portal with the intentions of taking a medical redshirt at his new school. He landed with Vanderbilt, where Mark Byington saw him as a stash-and-develop option for a rising Commodores program. Kimble didn’t play at all for Vanderbilt, but he trained and was able to return to the floor in a practice capacity for an SEC team that snagged a 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and was a buzzer-beater away from going to the Sweet 16.
The 6-foot-2 guard returned to the portal this offseason, and he will stay in the conference with Auburn. He has the build and the skill set of a guard who could provide quality depth at both guard spots behind Pettiford and Overton — and he has been the type of takeover talent at the mid-major level that the Tigers have loved to recruit in recent seasons. That time with a strong SEC program won’t hurt, either.
Let’s continue our breakdowns of Auburn’s newest basketball pickups this week with a full scouting report on Kimble. We’ll get a look at his film, evaluate his strengths as a player, identify some areas to improve on the Plains and ask the big question that will anchor what kind of role he’ll ultimately play for the Tigers.
VITALS
Position: Combo Guard
Kimble is a versatile guard with the ability to generate offense at all three levels and capable of playing on or off the ball, depending on lineup needs.
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 192
There are few college campuses better suited for athletic rehab than Vanderbilt. Kimble took full advantage of that environment, both physically and academically — even changing his major from Marketing to Medicine, Health and Society during his time in Nashville.
A physically gifted athlete prior to injury, this offseason will provide an additional window to strengthen his knee and further refine his build.
One more note on his athleticism: Kimble’s cousin is Justin Gatlin, the American sprinter who won the 2004 Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters.
Class: Incoming Redshirt Junior
He will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Previously: Freshman season at Eckerd College (Division II), sophomore season at Eastern Kentucky, medical redshirt season at Vanderbilt
2024-25 SEASON STATISTICS
GKIII has played one season of Division I basketball — 2024-25 for Eastern Kentucky.
He transferred to Vanderbilt and spent last season rehabbing to full health.
25 games — 25 starts
Kimble started the first 25 games of the season for the Colonels before suffering a knee injury against Stetson on February 8 that ended his season.
29.7 minutes per game
18.0 points per game
He ranked second in the ASUN in scoring, trailing only Lipscomb’s Jacob Ognacevic (20.0 PPG) that season.
Kimble posted a 32.6 usage rate — also second in the conference, just 0.1 shy of the top spot and top-20 nationally.
3.7 rebounds per game
3.2 assists per game
2.6 steals per game
Kimble led the conference in steals per game, a mark that ranked sixth nationally.
Despite playing significantly fewer games than most of his ASUN peers, he still finished second in total steals — 14 clear of third place and inside the top 40 in the NCAA.
0.4 blocks per game
38.0% FG
He converted 78-of-190 (41.1%) attempts from 2-point range.
34.8% 3P
Kimble maintained a balanced shot diet, attempting nearly as many 3s as 2s.
He knocked down 64 triples — the sixth-most makes in the conference (again, in an injury-shortened season) — while finishing top five in 3-point percentage among qualified ASUN shooters.
85.1% FT
He went 103-121 from the line, leading the conference in free throw percentage — with the fourth-most makes on the 11th-most attempts.
Second-Team All-ASUN
Two-time ASUN Newcomer of the Week
STANDOUT GAMES
12/14 vs Eastern Illinois: 18 points | 5 assists | 4 rebounds | 7 steals | 3 blocks
6-18 FG | 3-11 3P | 3-5 FT
12/28 at Louisville: 24 points | 3 rebounds | 3 assists | 3 steals
9-20 FG | 4-10 3P | 2-3 FT
1/2 at Central Arkansas: 33 points | 9 rebounds | 5 assists | 4 steals
10-20 FG | 4-10 3P | 9-11 FT
1/11 vs. Jacksonville: 30 points | 6 rebounds | 2 assists | 6 steals
7-18 FG | 4-10 3P | 12-14 FT
2/1 vs. Austin Peay: 27 points | 4 rebounds | 4 assists | 1 block
10-17 FG | 4-6 3P | 3-3 FT
PLAYER ARCHETYPE
Three-Level Shot Creator
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