Two-sport athlete Tre Donaldson will play basketball only as a freshman on the Plains, according to Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl.
Before an Auburn alumni event in Atlanta on Tuesday, Pearl said Donaldson will be playing his games in Neville Arena and not Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“He was a highly ranked strong safety in football and could’ve gone anywhere in the country,” Pearl said. “However, he loves basketball. He loves being a floor general. He’s a tough defender. We believed him and his father when they both said he wanted to play basketball only in college.”
According to several recruiting sites, the Tallahassee, Florida native is a four-star safety and a three-star point guard for the incoming 2022 graduating class.
“The things I love about him as a football player are the same things I’m going to love about him as a basketball player,” Pearl told reporters at the alumni event near Atlanta’s Lenox Mall. “He’s physical. He embraces contact. He can play with the ball in his hands, and he can play without the ball in his hands.”
Pearl spoke to the two reporters on-site before Harsin entered the conference room. Harsin concurred with Pearl but left the door open if Donaldson decided he’d like to play football later in his college journey.
Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.
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