As recruiting posters go, it doesn't get much better than this: Austin Wiley flashing a V for victory sign while riding a camel in front of the Pyramids in Egypt.



Wiley is in Cairo playing for Team USA in the U19 World Cup. The Americans smoked Iran 108-48 in their first game of the tournament Saturday. Wiley started and finished with five points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes. His plus-33 plus-minus rating was tied for second on the team.



Auburn basketball wisely put that memorable tourist snapshot of its sophomore center on its official Twitter page but left out the perfect caption:



Auburn basketball: Going places.



That's been the idea ever since the Tigers hired Bruce Pearl in what looked like perfect timing for both of them, but three years after starting over together, their marriage hasn't translated into a single postseason trip.



It's always felt like just a matter of time, and the time should be now.





The college basketball off-season doesn't always generate a lot of buzz in the most rabid college football state in the country, but like Alabama, Auburn is doing its best to make some noise this summer.



Wiley is playing for his second gold medal, and if incoming freshman forward Chuma Okeke hadn't suffered a bone bruise on his knee during tryouts, Auburn might have two players on Team USA. Okeke made the cut to the final 16 before getting hurt.



The good news: Pearl said his injury isn't serious, and Okeke's performance at Team USA training camp showed he's only going to add to the most talented roster Pearl's coached at Auburn.



One mock NBA Draft for 2018 has Wiley and sophomore swingman Mustapha Heron as top-25 picks next year. It's a long way from mock draft to draft night, but for a program that hasn't had a single player selected in 16 years, it's progress.



"Having two guys on the board right now is great credibility and visibility for our program," Pearl said. "Our job is to get them there."





Jon Rothstein of CBS sports, a respected national college basketball analyst, tweeted the other day that sophomore Jared Harper is the "best returning point guard in the SEC." Harper had an up-and-down freshman season, but it's a sign of the improved talent level on the Plains that he'll be pushed for playing time by incoming freshman Davion Mitchell.



Pearl continues to do his part to increase Auburn's profile. He spent time at the U19 Team USA training camp in Colorado Springs to support Wiley and Okeke. He also spent NBA Draft night in an Atlanta studio doing analysis for NBA TV.



He cited the importance of "visibility and credibility" as the reasons behind those appearances.



From Colorado Springs to Cairo, Auburn basketball is more visible than it's been in ages, but the real credibility will come when the Tigers combine a strong non-conference run like last year's 11-2 mark with a strong SEC season and a run to the postseason.



If not this Auburn team, who? If not now, when?