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Auburn transfers land at Kennesaw State

SEC Basketball Tournament - First Round

NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 08: Reginald Buckner #23 of the Ole Miss Rebels makes a shot over Willy Kouassi #50 of the Auburn Tigers during the first round of the SEC Basketball Tournament at the New Orleans Arena on March 8, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

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Sometimes, dudes are just inseparable. Think Tom and Huck. Sam and Dave. Crockett and Tubbs. At Auburn, the BFF market has been cornered by Willy Kouassi and Bernard Morena. Both players came from West Africa’s Ivory Coast, played prep hoops together at Birmingham’s Central Park High School, and both ended up at Auburn.

Now, the two friends are bolting from the Tigers in tandem as well. They’ll leave the SEC school for Georgia-based mid-major Kennesaw State, a school that went 0-18 in the Atlantic Sun last season. Auburn wasn’t much better, but a 5-11 SEC record wasn’t the only reason Kouassi and Morena got off to a slow start, as the article explained:

Morena, a 6-foot-8 forward, took a redshirt this season after suffering an injury. Kouassi, a 6-10 center, averaged 1.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 25 games. Morena injured his hand early in the year. Kouassi spent most of the season as third-string center behind Rob Chubb and Adrian Forbes, but got more minutes late in the season.

While neither player made much of an impact at Auburn, there’s no denying that the Owls will have a huge advantage over rival schools after the two big men sit out a season. That kind of size just doesn’t come along every day at the A-Sun level.