Ole Miss Post Game

[fishepa 1,900]

9 hours ago, gravejd said:

Unbelievable how they blew this game after almost blowing 2 others just like it. I don't know what the problem is with this team. But there are major problems and I really hope pearl gets it fixed for next year. Thank goodness I didn't watch that second half. 

I've watched a lot of basketball in my life and I think it could have been the worst half of basketball I've ever seen.

[FoundationEagle 637]

12 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

I think bruce knows this team is soft as kleenex mentally and he knows he cannot go full boar like he could on the DAWGS he had at rocky top and push them with some tough love and tough coaching. He has had to walk a fine line with how rough he can be on them with his criticism. When he said after the bama game he would only be positive to his players to the sec network guys in his interview after the game that was telling. Those dudes he had at UT in tyler smith and wayne chism and others were some DOGS. Junkyard dogs. They played tough and nothing rattled them.  They played good defense and played so hard every game. Purifoy whining about the fans being to mean to him on twitter after 1 of our losses was eye opening. I mean come on dude. Have some thick skin. No fanbase loves their team more win or lose and is more positive than ours. None of our more talented guys give it their all on defense. The effort is just not there. Thats all there is to it. When a team smacks them in the mouth and goes on a run they do not respond well. Hopefully by next year they grow up and get a lot better in these areas. Bruce is not the problem whatsoever. He is easily the solution its the players and their mentality that is the problem.

The WORST thing you can do to a soft team is treat them softly. Bruce has chosen to be soft on them this year. It hasn't worked even remotely. They may be softer now than they were at the beginning of the year. This teams issue is effort. Lack of effort running rampant through a team falls on coaching.  I hope Bruce has a BRUTAL offseason to toughen these snowflakes up or we won't be much better next year. They've shown they understand how to win by blowing teams out in the first half.  They've also shown they lack the mental toughness required to play college ball. That has to be worked out of them somehow. I hope Bruce truly was pissed and the team starts to fear actual consequences of giving half assed effort. 

[gr82be 14,403]

I didn't see anything but the last couple of minutes of the game and I am obviously in no position to make any real judgement on who played with effort and who didn't. I know AU is not a basketball school but I'm not so sure I wouldn't just give them a jersey with a number on it and nothing else if they played without effort and make them earn the privelige to wear the name Auburn again. Sorry but I hate losing when you should win. 

[AU64 10,122]

Wonder if it is different coaching four star and five-star players these days . I'm just amazed to hear coach say that he can't push the kids hard because they don't react well . 

[boomstick 1,315]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Wonder if it is different coaching four star and five-star players these days . I'm just amazed to hear coach say that he can't push the kids hard because they don't react well . 

I wonder if it has to do with him not having ever relied on this many freshmen before and not really having any core group. This is his third roster in a row with 7 new players on it. Next year will be his first year at Auburn when he returns the core of his team. 

[au302 2,669]

Bruce deserves all the blame imo. The players play unselfishly in the first half, we also play great zone defense but Bruce switches to man?! What was he thinking. I disagree that these kids are selfish and don't have the mentality to play. Bruce needs to toughen them up this offseason. I really like the guys we have. No matter how well we play every single SEC team is going to make some type of a run. Last night our guys freaked out and then we got out of our rhythm and tried to make forced plays. We should've tried to establish Wiley more but we didn't. Just sad. At this point we just need to worry about not playing in the first round of the SEC tournament and prepare to try and make a run. If we win a few more we may get an NIT birth which is a huge success for this program 

[FoundationEagle 637]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Wonder if it is different coaching four star and five-star players these days . I'm just amazed to hear coach say that he can't push the kids hard because they don't react well . 

We had guys when I played that didn't take criticism well too. Heck, few people do.  It's called growing up.  These boys need to become men. The only difference now versus then is they've been babied their whole lives. That really only means they need twice as much reprogramming IMO, not less (which is Bruces approach). Treat babies like babies and they remain babies. Treat them like men and they will become men.  It pretty much too late for this season. Next season they need to grow up before the season starts. 

[mustache eagle 2,389]

there has been a couple of specific moments this team lacked effort.  Last night was not an effort problem.  It was a composed team took advantage of an non-composed team.

as far as giving no CBP a hard time for his coaching - I'll give cole props here - we needed size on the court.  Leron smith played double digit minutes after not playing any for a few games.  Heck Waddell played and he is typically on the court as a "big" and for his composure and trustworthyness.  He has never had the athleticism.

CBP tried to put experienced size on the court even if it wasn't as talented because spencer was out.

the announcers even discussed at beginning of game - it was their experience vs our athleticism.  Our young athleticism lost.  Everyone can be ticked about our rate of improvement but we are still playing guys that were high school seniors and 1 junior this time last year.  Being mad about it doesn't make that fact different.

it still sucks to lose a game like that and I never imagined this team would blow a 23 point lead against ole miss.

but for all the peeps that are mad at CBP about the game implosion - he is the same coach that had them overcome an 8 point deficit to go up by 23.  

[aubaseball 2,585]

So Kentucky playing 5 freshmen and making the final four is suppose to mean that Calipari was not tough on his players?  That's total crap!  What we are witnessing is bad play.   Don't know if it's all bad coaching or just bad play by the players, but my guess it's some of both 

[around4ever 4,139]

That was the 5th game we have allowed 50 or more points in the second half.  The 2nd game that we have allowed over 60 points in the second half.  Something has to change. 

[boomstick 1,315]

12 minutes ago, around4ever said:

That was the 5th game we have allowed 50 or more points in the second half.  The 2nd game that we have allowed over 60 points in the second half.  Something has to change. 

It's also the fourth time in the last 5 games that we've had a 15+ point lead in the second half and seen it disappear.  

[AU64 10,122]

Interesting to me that Calipari's team is under-performing some this year too despite the top flight talent. I'm starting to think that in recent years with the notoriety that the top guys are getting, they are also getting a pass from their HS coaches and mostly looking to build their personal stats and reputation. The other day a kid in California scored 92 points in a game and it was noted that he mostly stayed on one side of the floor, played no defense and just got what we used to call "snow birds" a good part of the night....and his HS coach seemed fine with that. Can you imagine what the kid is going to be like when some college coach jumps his arse about arm waving defense? no wait...the coach will just ignore it to avoid hurting his feelings and try to get someone else to cover for him. Sounding like only the 3* kids are expected to give 100% the entire time they are on the floor. Meanwhile it is beginning to appear that some AU coaches will tolerate having the team play half a ball game..

[au302 2,669]

This team really needs to toughen up in the offseason but I also believe we need a full 13 man roster. Sure, we can have the rotation at 8 or 9 but we need capable guys both when we have injuries and when our main guys start running out of gas like last night. I know we lose Rojo and TD but have two freshman coming in. I say we need to definitely add 2 or 3 more guys

[boomstick 1,315]

10 hours ago, au302 said:

This team really needs to toughen up in the offseason but I also believe we need a full 13 man roster. Sure, we can have the rotation at 8 or 9 but we need capable guys both when we have injuries and when our main guys start running out of gas like last night. I know we lose Rojo and TD but have two freshman coming in. I say we need to definitely add 2 or 3 more guys

If my math is correct, I believe we only have two spots available unless we have some attrition. I think we need to add a versatile big man. Not really sure what to do with that other spot. 

[boomstick 1,315]

I went back and looked. Ole Miss made 8 layups or dunks in a 9+ minute stretch while shooting 11-16 from the floor with no 3s and 8-8 from the FT line to cut the lead from 23 to 2. Meanwhile, during that same time period, Auburn had 8 turnovers, went 4-12 from the floor, and gave up points on 13 of 16 possessions.

[Tiger 8,818]

The 1 and done culture as messed up expectations for our particular program at this time IMO. We are playing 5 freshman major minutes. Everything everyone has complained about all season leads back to one thing: YOUTH. Keep in mind none of these freshman studs are one and done caliber players. They have to go through a multi-year process before being consistently what you want.  You see the highs, they are so good and fun to watch. THAT is what we can become with this core with experience. But young teams also suffer tons of lows -- which we obviously do too. As teams get older they consistently reach their "highs" more and eliminate the lows. I urge everyone to listen to Bruce in interviews he is every bit as honest as Gus is not in the media. He makes it clear how and what he's trying to accomplish. It's apparent within the game sometimes the players get caught up in the moment or don't always know where to be. But that is improving slowly as well. (again this is a sign of youth and is at the core of our issues). As far as coddling them, I think he's the only one who knows who reacts well to what kind of coaching. He can get on them more once they are confident enough.

 

So let me ask those that think we would be better off with another coach...Who could we convince to come to AU? I can guarantee that nobody walking through that door is going to be better than Lebo or Barbee if we force out the much-respected BP. The fact that we were actually being discussed in some places about almost being on the bubble is huge. There are teenagers walking around that have never even experienced AU being invited to the NCAA tournament in their entire lives and there are people who are disappointed that in year 3 (which is actually year 1 of foundation building) that we aren't better? So who would you guys rather have as our HC? 

[AUpreacherman22 3,876]

That is a really tough one to lose. 

Hopefully the boys will bounce back strong. A loss like that could be a huge momentum swing for the team in either direction. Time to see what we're made of. 

[AU64 10,122]

2 hours ago, boomstick said:

I went back and looked. Ole Miss made 8 layups or dunks in a 9+ minute stretch while shooting 11-16 from the floor with no 3s and 8-8 from the FT line to cut the lead from 23 to 2. Meanwhile, during that same time period, Auburn had 8 turnovers, went 4-12 from the floor, and gave up points on 13 of 16 possessions.

Yep...pretty much tells the story...plus getting totally out rebounded.

Generally we matched up to OM pretty well on size....don't think that was a legit excuse and lack of size was not a factor in our run of turnovers.... mostly .lack of poise.  

I give BP some credit....he did his best with time outs to try and get things under control before the wheels had totally come off but was not successful in changing the mindset of the guys on the floor. 

[boomstick 1,315]

18 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Yep...pretty much tells the story...plus getting totally out rebounded.

Generally we matched up to OM pretty well on size....don't think that was a legit excuse and lack of size was not a factor in our run of turnovers.... mostly .lack of poise.  

I give BP some credit....he did his best with time outs to try and get things under control before the wheels had totally come off but was not successful in changing the mindset of the guys on the floor. 

Yeah,the lack of poise is really the only thing I can point to. And it wasn't just the freshmen. RJ had 2 TOs, Dunans had one and two quick, missed 3s that essentially mimicked turnovers. Wiley and Mac had two each during that stretch. It was just all around poor.

The rebounding was even, or +1 for OM technically, for the game. We made most of the shots in the first half so OM didn't have much to rebound. OM made most of the shots in the second half and didn't give us many opportunities. I think our offensive rebound numbers in the second half were pretty low. But the offensive rebounding issue has a lot to do with the quickness of the shot and having no one close to crash the boards and help rebound. 

[cole256 17,039]

If I'm mad at bp for anything it's letting Purifoy play the "stretch" 4 some seem to love the idea of.....now he's nothing but a 3 point shooter.....we're a team full of jump shooters who can't shoot.....we only attempted 8 free throws.....that's why we lost right there

[cole256 17,039]

There's no way you have Purifoy at the 4 and Harper at the point and us not have lack of size.....

[AU64 10,122]

For those who might be interested....OM started and played 3 guards and 2 forwards for most of the game.....the guards being in the 6-2 to 6-4 range .....and nobody as big as Wiley.   At any given time AU was as  big or bigger than OM....especially when Dunnans, Heron, Purifoy and Wiley were on the floor.  Having a 5-11 guard on the floor does  not affect the size of the other players.  

[mustache eagle 2,389]

Height does not equal big.  Saiz plays bigger than he is.

tj Lang doesn't play anywhere close to his 6'7"

bryce brown plays way bigger than Lang.  Leron smith doesn't play his height.  Maybe a little bit as a shot blocker.  Definitely not on O.  Heck Waddell plays bigger than his size

next year ... Wiley will be a monster

[AU64 10,122]

1 hour ago, mustache eagle said:

Height does not equal big.  Saiz plays bigger than he is.

tj Lang doesn't play anywhere close to his 6'7"

bryce brown plays way bigger than Lang.  Leron smith doesn't play his height.  Maybe a little bit as a shot blocker.  Definitely not on O.  Heck Waddell plays bigger than his size

next year ... Wiley will be a monster

And listed at 6-5, Heron plays hard and big.....guy pretty much living up to his star ranking.  Don't know what kind of NBA career he  might have .....I guess he is what people used to call a "tweener".....but he will be an outstanding college player and I hope he hangs around for his full eligibility. 

[FoundationEagle 637]

8 hours ago, Tiger said:

So let me ask those that think we would be better off with another coach...Who could we convince to come to AU? I can guarantee that nobody walking through that door is going to be better than Lebo or Barbee if we force out the much-respected BP. The fact that we were actually being discussed in some places about almost being on the bubble is huge. There are teenagers walking around that have never even experienced AU being invited to the NCAA tournament in their entire lives and there are people who are disappointed that in year 3 (which is actually year 1 of foundation building) that we aren't better? So who would you guys rather have as our HC? 

No one has suggested Bruce be replaced. Period. No one. 

People have suggested concerns in the support staff. That is a valid concern. I also don't believe anyone has suggested any of them should be replaced this year. After next year if we still have some of these issues then it's something to look at. That is all anyone has said.