Auburn Basketball Player Preview Series: Allen Flanigan

Here's a look at Auburn senior wing Allen Flanigan.

After officially withdrawing his name from the 2022 NBA Draft, Allen Flanigan looks to return to Auburn for his final and senior season with the tigers. Flanigan has had his ups and downs in his three-year Auburn career so far. His freshman season he averaged 13 minutes a game and 3.2 points a game coming off the bench and only shooting 14.3% from three-point range. But he was one of the most improved players in the country his sophomore season where he averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while also improving his three-point percentage to 33.8% when playing a much larger role.

In the offseason prior to his junior year, Flanigan torn his Achilles in a non-basketball related injury, which had him sidelined and no contact from the entire summer and fall before the season. The injury also caused him to miss first 12 games of the season which was most of the non-conference play.

When Flanigan returned, he had some high moments like scoring 16 against Texas A&M, or combining for 31 points in his first four games out there, but he also had some low moments and there was a feeling around the Auburn basketball fanbase that Flanigan just wasn’t himself on the court. He seemed like he was holding himself back from making those plays he made in his sophomore season. Let's hope Flanigan returns to Auburn even better and more confident than any other year he has played for the tigers.

Biggest strength: All-Around wing

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At Flanigan’s 6-foot-6 and 215 pound frame, he can do a lot of different things well on the basketball court. He struggled with his three-point shot his freshman year only hitting 5 threes on the season, but he improved his shot so much where he had the green light his sophomore year where he made a total of 44 threes.

He is a very good finisher at the rim no matter who the defender is and where they are. Flanigan is also extremely athletic so he can finish over the top of people when they meet him at the rim. He has shown great strides, especially while he was playing point guard some during his sophomore season, to be a great playmaker and passer as well. He averaged 2.9 assists his sophomore year while also being a very aggressive scorer.

With all of Flanigan’s offensive threats and talents, I do believe he is one of the better wing defenders in the SEC. At his size and length, he also possesses incredible quickness and the tenacity to be a great on ball defender against some top players in the conference.

What they could improve on: Confidence

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Flanigan’s junior year struggles could be questioned by his Achilles injury and missing most of the offseason and preseason with his teammates. He obviously wasn’t the same as he was his sophomore year than his junior year as he only averaged 6.3 points his junior year as well as over two turnovers a game. One of the major things that made playing against Flanigan his sophomore year was how confident he was and how he knew and understood how much of an impact he makes on the court and used that to his advantage. He needs to get back to how confident he was in 2020 and show that he is capable of being All-SEC.

Expectations for 2022: Team Leader

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As a returning senior and one of the older guys on the team, I would expect Flanigan to assume a leadership role while also maintaining his starting spot at the wing. I would also like to see Allen getting back to be that top scorer at the wing position with well-rounded guys around him, and be a defensive menace. I think Flanigan could be an All-SEC type of guard if he played with the swag that we saw his sophomore year and maybe an All-SEC defensive guy as well.

Best moment from 2021: Home vs Texas A&M

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In the game where Walker Kessler ran up his second triple double of the season, the leading scorer in that game was Flanigan. Flanigan went 5-11 from the field, scored 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the home SEC victory.

The 16 points scored by Flanigan got him his season high which once was 10 points in multiple games before. He went 5-6 from the free throw line as well in this game and did not commit a turnover.

This is the kind of game we should expect from Flanigan in 2022 if he improves and gets more confident in his play.

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