Next Coach Wish-List

[Mikey 16,550]

Stan Heath just might be a good fit for Auburn. He's only 49 and he's done very well as a head coach at USF.

Stan seems like a good guy but look at his career....his W-Ls over his career look like a sine wave.

As for Stansbury, he got pushed out by MSU ..they said he retired...at 52? But, maybe it's time for him to give it another try. He was one of the most successful SEC basketball coaches during his time at MSU...just had a couple bad seasons and the PTB thought they were ready to take it to another level I expect...and IMO they will be waiting for while. .

I always liked his style of play. His teams were always fundamentally sound. He would be an excellent choice. If Moo State expected better than what he delivered, I have to wonder about them. They are in a worse position than AU when it comes to being a choice of good basketball players. I don't expect final fours but to make the tournament is not a real difficult thing and maybe win a couple of games, make it to the sweet 16 every few years and occasionally the elite eight would be nice.

OK Cool....we're good on this...so let's see if we can Mikey on board and start a campaign.

I'd be on board with Stansbury. I thought his State teams played above their talent level. However, it may pay to remember I thought Barbee was a great hire and we see how that turned out!

[AU64 10,122]

Stan Heath just might be a good fit for Auburn. He's only 49 and he's done very well as a head coach at USF.

Stan seems like a good guy but look at his career....his W-Ls over his career look like a sine wave.

As for Stansbury, he got pushed out by MSU ..they said he retired...at 52? But, maybe it's time for him to give it another try. He was one of the most successful SEC basketball coaches during his time at MSU...just had a couple bad seasons and the PTB thought they were ready to take it to another level I expect...and IMO they will be waiting for while. .

I always liked his style of play. His teams were always fundamentally sound. He would be an excellent choice. If Moo State expected better than what he delivered, I have to wonder about them. They are in a worse position than AU when it comes to being a choice of good basketball players. I don't expect final fours but to make the tournament is not a real difficult thing and maybe win a couple of games, make it to the sweet 16 every few years and occasionally the elite eight would be nice.

OK Cool....we're good on this...so let's see if we can Mikey on board and start a campaign.

I'd be on board with Stansbury. I thought his State teams played above their talent level. However, it may pay to remember I thought Barbee was a great hire and we see how that turned out!

I did too...but heck, we can't be wrong every time.

[Guest jojo1515]

I'll throw my hat in the ring. I played basketball for a couple of years in middle school. I guarantee I wouldnt be any worse than what we have now Pretty sure I could manage an 0-6 record in the SEC!

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Stansbury to AU would be crazy awesome. I would be behind that 100%. Not gonna get my hopes up though, when it comes to AU basketball, they've been crushed more than once to say the least. I expect it to be Joe Smo up and comer I've never heard of.

[Guest jojo1515]

Stansbury to AU would be crazy awesome. I would be behind that 100%. Not gonna get my hopes up though, when it comes to AU basketball, they've been crushed more than once to say the least. I expect it to be Joe Smo up and comer I've never heard of. :(/>

While I won't get my hopes up over any certain name, JJ has surprised me with his last few hires. Although I was not pleased with the Gus hire, I have been proven entirely wrong on that one. Having said that, I expect JJ has learned a few things about how to hire the right guy for the job and I expect the next b ball hire will much better than the last one.

[bikeriderga 134]

Chuck Person has my vote!!

AU man and one that will have more passion than any other coach we could hire to turn this mess around.

[Mikey 16,550]

Chuck Person has my vote!!

AU man and one that will have more passion than any other coach we could hire to turn this mess around.

It's been established that Person is not eligible. The NCAA requires a head BB coach to have a college degree and Person never got his. We went through this when Barbee was hired.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Will Barbee make it through this year? if he does, it's going to be rough.

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Will Barbee make it through this year? if he does, it's going to be rough.

We're on a 16 game SEC losing streak. I'd say it's rough already.

[AubTiger14 0]

We may not be able to bring in a big-name guy given where our program is right now, but I at least want a guy who can recruit and then keep players on the team. Barbee has done horribly in both of those areas. If you look at LSU, they haven't been very good the past few years, but they are bringing in some big-time recruits. The teams that are Consistently successful in college basketball (Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas, Duke, Florida, etc.) are the ones with the most NBA level talent. Our program may never get to the level of those schools and we may never bring in five-stars on the reg, but we can definitely improve drastically from where we are now. Just because we are in the SEC doesn't mean we can't

[berrytgr 0]

I don't think our program should be built around trying to get NBA talent, not at this point anyway. First, look at what it takes to get to the NBA. There are 30 NBA teams and only two rounds of the draft so essentially 60 rookies every year. Then take into account the large number of foreign players drafted that did not go to a US college, 18 last year, and the chances of being drafted are looking small. After being drafted some rookies don't even make the roster of the team. There are only 13 active players on a roster and a bunch of veterans that don't want to give up their spots. Good NBA veterans can have looong careers. When the Bulls were the best team in the 90's they went three straight years when none of their draft picks made their roster. I am saying all this to point out how incredibly hard it is to make it on an NBA roster.

Right now we have a coach trying to run the same type of offensive system that UK runs. Coach Cal runs a simple offense that is easy for his young one-and-done stars to grasp, a dribble-drive offense. If you don't have a team full of those rare NBA draft picks that offense sucks... and that is where we are at.

Basketball is a sport that a less talented team playing cohesively and using their system can beat teams with more talent. I want us to recruit players that will grow, develop, and learn at AU. Look at what Brad Stevens of Butler and Shaka Smart of VCU have done in the NCAA tournament lately. The NCAA tournament history is full of success stories like this. I want to see us get a coach that will recruit 4 year guys that buy into his system and develop that type of team FIRST. Let's build some success here before we start trying to lure the kids that might be lucky enough to be a NBA players and leave us after one or two years. It needs to be about recruiting the right kids for AU and his system and that might not be the most talented kid.

[stealthyfan 124]

Stansbury to AU would be crazy awesome. I would be behind that 100%. Not gonna get my hopes up though, when it comes to AU basketball, they've been crushed more than once to say the least. I expect it to be Joe Smo up and comer I've never heard of. :(/>

Stansbury has been mentioned often in the media as a great fit for Auburn.

[AU64 10,122]

Stansbury to AU would be crazy awesome. I would be behind that 100%. Not gonna get my hopes up though, when it comes to AU basketball, they've been crushed more than once to say the least. I expect it to be Joe Smo up and comer I've never heard of. :(/>

Stansbury has been mentioned often in the media as a great fit for Auburn.

I know it's considered bad form to go "coach shopping" when you have one under contract (jetgate etc.) but this time I think folks would forgive JJ if he started talking to RS...or at least get his committee formed up, even if unofficially.

[PUB78 1,354]

I sat by a head BB coach of another college in the state at the Iron Bowl. He said Rick Stansbury would be a great fit at Auburn.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Maybe we should ask Charles Barkley's opinion. He seemed happy at the time when we hired Barbee.

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Stansbury to AU would be crazy awesome. I would be behind that 100%. Not gonna get my hopes up though, when it comes to AU basketball, they've been crushed more than once to say the least. I expect it to be Joe Smo up and comer I've never heard of. :(/>

Stansbury has been mentioned often in the media as a great fit for Auburn.

I know it's considered bad form to go "coach shopping" when you have one under contract (jetgate etc.) but this time I think folks would forgive JJ if he started talking to RS...or at least get his committee formed up, even if unofficially.

Totally agree

[kd4au 1,145]

Maybe we should Charles Barkley's opinion. He seemed happy at the time when we hired Barbee.

I think Barkley is the one that got Barbee hired.He may give a lot of money to AU,I don't know.But he has been a strong supporter of Barbee.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Wonder who CB would like now since Barbee hasn't done darn thing since being hired.

[milehighfan 1,239]

I remember a lot of people, myself included, felt when Barbee was hired it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Alot of us, myself included, were wrong.

[icanthearyou 4,462]

I have zero idea of what is going on with AU basketball. But, it appears that the glaring problem is our ability, or lack thereof, to retain players. Is this all Barbee's fault? Partially? Not at all?

[Mikey 16,550]

I have zero idea of what is going on with AU basketball. But, it appears that the glaring problem is our ability, or lack thereof, to retain players. Is this all Barbee's fault? Partially? Not at all?

I say 100% Barbee's fault. He signed these guys, he coached them and they left because they didn't want to play form him or were dismissed because of character issues. In the dept. of character tissues, who recruited and signed them? Can you imagine the uproar if 75% of our football recruits left the program after one year?

[Awe1991 0]

Well the guy I want isn't a big name but he's also not an up and comer coach. He's established and taken multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Stan Heath at South Florida. I think he would be a good fit for Auburn. I think his recent coaching background would help in recruiting at Auburn. He coached at Arkansas and took them to the NCAA Tournament his last 2 years there. He took South Florida to the NCAA Tournament 2 years ago and is trying to build them back up again. He's the type of coach that's going to recruit players that stay a few years. He's recurited at Arkansas and at South Florida, so he knows the Southeast. Also, South Florida uses UnderArmour. So we wouldn't be bringing in someone who hasn't had to recruit with UnderArmour. One of South Florida's assistant coaches, Donnie Marsh, was at UAB under Mike Davis a couple of years ago. That would be another plus having someone on his staff that's recruited in the state of Alabama.

[Awe1991 0]

I am an Auburn fan living about an hour from Arkansas campus. No way would I want Stan Heath. He left Arkansas worse than when he got there and always drama around the program.

I like the Person idea, hire a true Auburn man!

[InfernoOrangeSS 321]

I don't like the Person idea. He's a legend of Auburn BB, but I don't know that he would make a good college coach. I'm not sure he has any connections for recruiting. I would like an established coach with a winning reputation, but I'll take anyone who can resurrect AU BB.

[Mikey 16,550]

I don't like the Person idea. He's a legend of Auburn BB, but I don't know that he would make a good college coach. I'm not sure he has any connections for recruiting. I would like an established coach with a winning reputation, but I'll take anyone who can resurrect AU BB.

Me too. Were Person an established college coach I'd jump at the idea but he's never coached a practice, gone into a recruit's home or done any of the other things that a college coach does.

Then there's the college degree thing. I thought it was an NCAA rule but others are now saying the degree requirement is an Auburn rule. I can't find too much fault with that. Auburn is an educational institution and if the hiring practices favor individuals that have earned a college degree then that's understandable.