AU HOOPS NOTEBOOK: Gabriel out after surgery

Junior-college transfer Kenny Gabriel, a swingman with range, is out indefinitely after undergoing hernia surgery Tuesday, Auburn head basketball coach Jeff Lebo said Wednesday. A timetable for his return is unknown, but it looks like it’ll be later rather than sooner.

“We’ll be definitely without Kenny for a while,” Lebo said.

The Tigers (1-1) are already without guard Tay Waller, whose status remains in doubt heading into this weekend’s Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., because of a sore quadriceps muscle. Oklahoma transfer Tony Neysmith, one of the team’s few options at backup point guard, has been nursing a sore ankle but should be available.

Gabriel averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in the first two games. He spent one year at Paris (Texas) Junior College, where he averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.

Signing class ranked 5th by HoopScoop
A week after the early signing period began, Auburn now has six players inked for the Class of 2010-11, which earned it the No. 5 ranking by HoopScoop magazine.

Lebo signed Shawn Kemp Jr., a 6-foot-10, 215-pound center from Canton, Ga.; Heath Houston, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward from Powder Springs, Ga.; Jalen Steele, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Knoxville, Tenn.; Anthony Salter, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Tallahassee, Fla.; Allen Payne, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward from Cincinnati, Ohio; and Adrian Forbes, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound power forward from Spanish Town, Jamaica.

“I think we really helped ourselves in some areas,” said Lebo. “Obviously, we lose a lot of players so this is going to be a big class for us. We lose guys who played a lot for us so we are looking for some immediate impact from this class.”

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Staff writer Mike Szvetitz contributed to this report.