What Auburn basketball is getting in UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall
Versatility, physicality and a supreme knack for getting buckets are what defines the Tigers' newest addition from the portal.
SAN ANTONIO — Modern basketball has blurred the lines between positions.
The traditional names for positions include two guards (point and shooting), two forwards (small and power) and one center. But while the 3 might be called a forward, it often has more similarities to the 1 and the 2 than the 4 or the 5. And, these days, you’re just as likely to see a 4 play more on the perimeter than in the paint.
So the sport has created other terms. There are combo guards who can play both the 1 or the 2, like Denver Jones and Tahaad Pettiford were for Auburn in its best-ever season. There are wings that play the 2 or the 3, like Miles Kelly. Some wings can be point forwards, like Chad Baker-Mazara.
Then there are combo forwards that would be comfortable at either the 3 or the 4, like Chuma Okeke and Isaac Okoro have been in years past for the Tigers.
It’s been a while since Bruce Pearl and Auburn had one of those players. Chaney Johnson was a pure power forward, adapting his athletic face-up game to a key spot for rebounding and interior defense. Jaylin Williams, his predecessor, locked down that spot for several seasons. JT Thor had that role after Okeke and Okoro.
But Auburn’s first pickup in the transfer portal — one that it landed during a run to the Final Four — looks to be as versatile as any the Tigers have had in this golden era for the program.
Auburn recently signed UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward originally from Cleveland.
Hall was considered to be one of the best available players in the early stages of the portal, as he led the entire Big 12 in scoring at 18.8 points per game this season.
The forward had 29 games of 10-plus points, 21 games of 15-plus points, 16 games of 20-plus points, seven games of 25-plus points and three games of 34-plus points — including a 40-ball at Arizona State — across his 33 games for the Knights.
“He is a very difficult 1-on-1 cover and can play multiple positions, both offensively and defensively,” Pearl said in a statement on April 3. “He is just a matchup nightmare for the opponent. I thought the biggest factor in his decision was his desire to finish out his college career on top and win a championship.”
What position will Hall play at Auburn? That will likely come down to the makeup of the rest of the roster.
Auburn could bring back its starting 3 in Chad Baker-Mazara, who has one more season of eligibility and hinted at a possible return on social media Monday afternoon. There’s a chance that experienced 4 Chaney Johnson could get an additional season of eligibility, like several former Division II athletes have gotten through injunctions in lawsuits, but the NCAA’s recent blanket waiver did not apply to those athletes.
Hall makes sense at either one of those spots, yet assistant coach Steven Pearl said last week that the newest Tiger has even more positional versatility.
“He can play 2 through 5,” Pearl said. “He played 5 when he was 300 pounds a couple of years ago, and he’s progressed down to a small forward, power forward. He’s a guy that’s incredibly versatile and can do a lot of things for us on both ends of the floor.
“You can see what his game has evolved into. He’s such a talented scorer and can put the ball down and do things with it that most guys his size are not capable of doing.”
On social media, Hall has “BIG GUARD” in the middle of his display name. That title, which the elder Pearl has applied to his 4 spot throughout his tenure, truly fits him.
Auburn will be Hall’s fourth school in four seasons, as he’s taken full advantage of the transfer portal in his climb to the highest levels of college basketball.
Hall started out as a 3-star recruit who played in 18 games as a reserve during his freshman year at UNLV. Then he made the move to George Mason, where he was a second-team All-Atlantic 10 selection after averaging 16.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
Last season, he jumped to high-major basketball with a transfer to UCF, leading the third-toughest conference in the country in scoring while also finishing in the top 10 in rebounding. For his final season, Hall ultimately chose Auburn over Kansas, Arkansas and LSU, citing a desire to play for Bruce Pearl and compete for a title.
“I thought the biggest factor in his decision was his desire to finish out his college career on top and win a championship,” Bruce Pearl said.
Statistically and stylistically, Hall is a truly unique transfer portal addition for Auburn — which hasn’t had someone quite like him in the Pearl Era.
Here is our breakdown of what Hall should bring to the table on the Plains, after watching extensive film of him during his junior season at UCF. This scouting report, featuring more than 40 clips, is separated into five sections that start with a supercut that highlights a particular aspect of his game.
Let’s start with his most prominent trait: A relentless desire to get downhill and get buckets.