Next Year

[twilli13 600]

Hey gang, I'm moving forward. Not dwelling on this one. What will the team look like next year? We have a really good recruiting class coming in, but we are losing a bunch of great seniors from this team. Dont underestimate chemistry. I say Chuma stays due to his unfortunate injury. Pearl may bring in a transfer or two who knows. Anyone have input on what they think starting lineup will be and how well Pearl can keep this insane momentum going. 

[doverstutts 1,643]

i'm not ready to move forward yet due to how that game ended.....my hatred of everyone that wears a striped shirt won't let me.....i have seen too much corruption through the years concerning officials and last night was another example of what happens over and over.....two contract ACC officials working that game should have NEVER happened!!!!.....the kids from AU won that damn game and no amount of outside influence will change that

[AUTigersfan89 256]

3 minutes ago, doverstutts said:

i'm not ready to move forward yet due to how that game ended.....my hatred of everyone that wears a striped shirt won't let me.....i have seen too much corruption through the years concerning officials and last night was another example of what happens over and over.....two contract ACC officials working that game should have NEVER happened!!!!.....the kids from AU won that damn game and no amount of outside influence will change that

Yeah, this is a bitter moment that is going to be emphasized in college basketball history...just look at articles by ESPN and the cover of the NY Post. People are definitely consoling with Auburn and our viewpoint on the matter. All UVA can say is 'well, that's just how it goes sometimes'. I mean, sure, but there's a bigger storyline to address here.

[AUTigersfan89 256]

17 minutes ago, twilli13 said:

Hey gang, I'm moving forward. Not dwelling on this one. What will the team look like next year? We have a really good recruiting class coming in, but we are losing a bunch of great seniors from this team. Dont underestimate chemistry. I say Chuma stays due to his unfortunate injury. Pearl may bring in a transfer or two who knows. Anyone have input on what they think starting lineup will be and how well Pearl can keep this insane momentum going. 

We get Okoro, Flanigan, Jones, Johnson, and Akingbola. Cooper might come in after the fall semester too I believe, if he does indeed commit to us. I definitely see Akingbola as a good replacement for Horace. For the others, I'm not so sure how they fit in, but I know the coaching staff will use them to their full potential.

Our program is nearly to the point where we're reloading, not rebuilding. Going forward, I first want to get Bruce a hefty new contract, which I trust AD Greene will make a priority as well.

I expect Wiley, Harper, and Chuma to all be back. Chuma might not make it back until SEC play however. We'll see. This season was historic and will go down as the first building block in so many great things to come. I'm excited to see how the players evolve going forward.

[twilli13 600]

13 minutes ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

We get Okoro, Flanigan, Jones, Johnson, and Akingbola. Cooper might come in after the fall semester too I believe, if he does indeed commit to us. I definitely see Akingbola as a good replacement for Horace. For the others, I'm not so sure how they fit in, but I know the coaching staff will use them to their full potential.

Our program is nearly to the point where we're reloading, not rebuilding. Going forward, I first want to get Bruce a hefty new contract, which I trust AD Greene will make a priority as well.

I expect Wiley, Harper, and Chuma to all be back. Chuma might not make it back until SEC play however. We'll see. This season was historic and will go down as the first building block in so many great things to come. I'm excited to see how the players evolve going forward.

Me too. This season will always be special, but I want to see this program consistently making it to the Sweet 16 at least and taking our chances from there. Id take consistent Final 4 though too 😉

[twilli13 600]

17 minutes ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

We get Okoro, Flanigan, Jones, Johnson, and Akingbola. Cooper might come in after the fall semester too I believe, if he does indeed commit to us. I definitely see Akingbola as a good replacement for Horace. For the others, I'm not so sure how they fit in, but I know the coaching staff will use them to their full potential.

Our program is nearly to the point where we're reloading, not rebuilding. Going forward, I first want to get Bruce a hefty new contract, which I trust AD Greene will make a priority as well.

I expect Wiley, Harper, and Chuma to all be back. Chuma might not make it back until SEC play however. We'll see. This season was historic and will go down as the first building block in so many great things to come. I'm excited to see how the players evolve going forward.

Who the hell do we get to replace Bryce Brown is my question. I doubt we can get another three point shooter THAT  good (the guy ended up what #2 all time in Sec history), but we do need someone to be a go to three point guy I think. I know having a guy like that, when on, helped us beat the snot out of Carolina and Kansas. Its a huge advantage. 

[AUTigersfan89 256]

35 minutes ago, twilli13 said:

Who the hell do we get to replace Bryce Brown is my question. I doubt we can get another three point shooter THAT  good (the guy ended up what #2 all time in Sec history), but we do need someone to be a go to three point guy I think. I know having a guy like that, when on, helped us beat the snot out of Carolina and Kansas. Its a huge advantage. 

Don't think about it in terms of replacing 'Bryce Brown'. You'll see the style of team change...not so reliant on the 3. Jared, Chuma, and DP are going to be our big 3 point threats next year, but with Okoro and Akingbola, we can put it inside more too. This is also assuming Wiley can get more comfortable in the paint.

[Beaker 2,457]

4 hours ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

Don't think about it in terms of replacing 'Bryce Brown'. You'll see the style of team change...not so reliant on the 3. Jared, Chuma, and DP are going to be our big 3 point threats next year, but with Okoro and Akingbola, we can put it inside more too. This is also assuming Wiley can get more comfortable in the paint.

I think Bruce Pearl will craft a style of play around the skill sets that develop.  We shouldn't try to replace Brown or we will struggle mightily.   

I think Doughty is back or is all his eligibility used up?  He was listed as a junior.   Beating KY playing their style and basically beating VA at their pace, gives us lots of options for next year.   I think Bruce will focus on speed, athleticism and heart.  If the boys can shoot well from anywhere, we will win a lot of games with that combo of attributes.

I am still amazed at what this team accomplished!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

It should be a bigger, more versatile team than this one. Less dependent on the 3 with good slashers and paint presences. The way Chuma plays, I know Okoro can do the same thing at a lower level. Flanigan and Jamal Johnson are supposed to be shooters so that’s nice to have. Babatunde should be a more trustworthy back to basket threat than Spencer, no offense to the great. If I was Pearl, I’d go 11-12 deep so I can get the youngins acclimated and also so I can always have a quick guard with an athletic rim rolling forward on the floor so we can have the PnR option there. There weren’t enough PnRs over the stretch to my tastes 

[doverstutts 1,643]

reading posts from stephen hooks after he had  been talking to harpers dad, its no sure thing that harper will be back....obviously, no sure thing that he will be leaving either, but hooks did say that they are going to look at it very closely....he can't declare and come back a second time, so if he declares, we need a PG in a hurry....he said harpers folks are very nice and smart people and will not just do something for the sake of trying to make money, but the rumors of a mid to late 2nd round draft potential does worry me....that is a big uncertainty to risk and then not get drafted at all....

i want to see purifoy unleashed, but i want him to work on playing defense....this team will be good next year if all come back

[toddc 13,194]

To an earlier post, I think BB now holds the sec record for 3pointers. Might be wrong.

[gr82be 14,423]

18 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

It should be a bigger, more versatile team than this one. Less dependent on the 3 with good slashers and paint presences. The way Chuma plays, I know Okoro can do the same thing at a lower level. Flanigan and Jamal Johnson are supposed to be shooters so that’s nice to have. Babatunde should be a more trustworthy back to basket threat than Spencer, no offense to the great. If I was Pearl, I’d go 11-12 deep so I can get the youngins acclimated and also so I can always have a quick guard with an athletic rim rolling forward on the floor so we can have the PnR option there. There weren’t enough PnRs over the stretch to my tastes 

Being dependant in the threes was a curse and a blessing but boy it could close a gap quickly. Bryce shot us back into so many games including the Virginia game at the end. I will miss his presence tremendously. Shooting the three well like we did was like having Brady or Elway at QB. You aren't out of it until it's over. 

[fishepa 1,902]

6 minutes ago, gr82be said:

Being dependant in the threes was a curse and a blessing but boy it could close a gap quickly. Bryce shot us back into so many games including the Virginia game at the end. I will miss his presence tremendously. Shooting the three well like we did was like having Brady or Elway at QB. You aren't out of it until it's over. 

Remember we shot extremely poor overall from 3 for the UVA game.  We shoot our average we easily win that game.  Still SHOULD HAVE won the game, but I digress.

[aujeff11 6,243]

20 minutes ago, toddc said:

To an earlier post, I think BB now holds the sec record for 3pointers. Might be wrong.

He has the conference record for most threes in a season. Second most threes by a conference player in his career. 

[steeleagle 2,945]

2 hours ago, doverstutts said:

reading posts from stephen hooks after he had  been talking to harpers dad, its no sure thing that harper will be back....obviously, no sure thing that he will be leaving either, but hooks did say that they are going to look at it very closely....he can't declare and come back a second time, so if he declares, we need a PG in a hurry....he said harpers folks are very nice and smart people and will not just do something for the sake of trying to make money, but the rumors of a mid to late 2nd round draft potential does worry me....that is a big uncertainty to risk and then not get drafted at all....

i want to see purifoy unleashed, but i want him to work on playing defense....this team will be good next year if all come back

Purifoy definitely needs to work on defense. I read somewhere that on the last play, Pearl told them to switch a certain way, so that Purifoy with his height should have quickly covered May, but he didn't. Samir recognized he missed it and tried to get over to cover May as quick as he could. I also saw Purifoy constantly get faked by  Hunter, who would get around him and score.

If i am wrong on the final sequence, let me know. 

[Tiger 8,820]

I haven't watched the play much since, but when I finally do I will keep an eye how we defended it. If Samir had to overcompensate and crash on the help on Guy it may explain why he made contact. Still should've angled himself to jump past him if he was doing a hard close out to not put it in the ref's hands but...damn.

[steeleagle 2,945]

2 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I haven't watched the play much since, but when I finally do I will keep an eye how we defended it. If Samir had to overcompensate and crash on the help on Guy it may explain why he made contact. Still should've angled himself to jump past him if he was doing a hard close out to not put it in the ref's hands but...damn.

to be honest, I would think that the switching called by Pearl, would have always had Purifoy on Hunter (height on height) and Doughty on May (6'4 on 6'2)...

And Samir tried to cover May both times(on his made 3 pter with us up 4 and the foul end of game). Looking at the replay, I didn't think Samir defends him well both times. The first time, Samir just stands there in front of him tight, but never jumps up.

On the last, he doesn't seem to know what he needs to do, so he is in no mans land the way he tries to softly get close to, but because of momentum, he bumps his thigh, causing the foul. 

Again, both times as Fishback mentions in his comments, Doughty HAS to face guard him to get him distracted. At 6'4" he HAS to use it to get in May's sightline to have any chance...which he never did....

[Tiger 8,820]

2 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

to be honest, I would think that the switching called by Pearl, would have always had Purifoy on Hunter (height on height) and Doughty on May (6'4 on 6'2)...

And Samir tried to cover May both times(on his made 3 pter with us up 4 and the foul end of game). Looking at the replay, I didn't think Samir defends him well both times. The first time, Samir just stands there in front of him tight, but never jumps up.

On the last, he doesn't seem to know what he needs to do, so he is in no mans land the way he tries to softly get close to, but because of momentum, he bumps his thigh, causing the foul. 

Again, both times as Fishback mentions in his comments, Doughty HAS to face guard him to get him distracted. At 6'4" he HAS to use it to get in May's sightline to have any chance...which he never did....

Yeahh I remember the first 3 Guy hit. IIRC,. Samir took away all his airspace but you know the deal "hand down, man down". He was in his grill but Guy just rose above him and knocked it down. It was a hell of a shot but Samir HAS to put his hands up there! Ugh. Seemed like he did everything well except try to get a hand in his face. Just brutal

[aujeff11 6,243]

12 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I haven't watched the play much since, but when I finally do I will keep an eye how we defended it. If Samir had to overcompensate and crash on the help on Guy it may explain why he made contact. Still should've angled himself to jump past him if he was doing a hard close out to not put it in the ref's hands but...damn.

I think the fact that Guy made an incredible desperation 3 the possession before also played into Doughty’s thinking of tightening up. Flirting with playing tight defense and not fouling a three point shooter isn’t easy. All the “jumping from A to B” talk is news to me in CBB but I know for a fact that in the NBA, players know to give shooters room to land. That rule was put into effect when Kawhi Leonard went down. 

[Tiger 8,820]

Just now, aujeff11 said:

I think the fact that Guy made an incredible desperation 3 the possession before also played into Doughty’s thinking of tightening up. Flirting with playing tight defense and not fouling a three point shooter isn’t easy. All the “jumping from A to B” talk is news to me in CBB but I know for a fact that in the NBA, players know to give shooters room to land. That rule was put into effect when Kawhi Leonard went down. 

100% agree. It's tough. Lol but imagine if he just jumped straight in the air from his original launch point. We'd be like wtf kinda contest is that? Best option was to contest in a way that he zooms past him. In a split second you have to kinda approach it like you're blocking a punt. Tough spot to be in, especially if he was coming over to help. This loss is going to stick with me for a bit

[Tiger 8,820]

Also Samir deserves all the praise for handling the media the way he did in the post-game. We haven't really had an athlete be in that position since Ben Obomanu after 2003 Ole Miss, right? He handled it very maturely. I was happy to see that from him. He's come a long way this year from being sulky Samir after a bad stretch in a game to showing such growth in maybe one of his lowest moments as a player I'd imagine.

[gravejd 3,270]

well i see most here aren't on the move on bandwagon lol....can't blame you guys. Super tough way to lose a game. I find some solace in that we were bound to get burned by a last second shot eventually. A foul should have been called in the FL game in the SEC tourny and was not. We then sneak by NMST cause they missed free throws and a wide open 3. We were bound to get by late game shenanigans eventually....we had already used up our lucky breaks for this scenario.

 

As for next season....lets see what shakes out with the roster. With the way transfers go i have no idea who will be on our team when next season starts

[aujeff11 6,243]

1 minute ago, Tiger said:

100% agree. It's tough. Lol but imagine if he just jumped straight in the air from his original launch point. We'd be like wtf kinda contest is that? Best option was to contest in a way that he zooms past him. In a split second you have to kinda approach it like you're blocking a punt. Tough spot to be in, especially if he was coming over to help. This loss is going to stick with me for a bit

Yep. If he could’ve zoomed past him like in punt block that would’ve been ideal. I’m not really worried about the loss as much as I’m worried about team psyche though. Don’t like the loss and with the amount of upper classmen that could be coming back next year, I feel like we could be doing this again. Don’t have time for super bowl hangovers. The motto #unfinishedbusiness needs to carry on. Unlike 2013, this season does not feel like it was our best shot. We played up to our potential in the tournament, but the Chuma injury showed we have the jimmies and joes to do it again, and then maybe with some more in the tank. 

[doverstutts 1,643]

1 minute ago, gravejd said:

well i see most hear aren't on the move on bandwagon lol....can't blame you guys. Super tough way to lose a game. I find some solace in that we were bound to get burned by a last second shot eventually. A foul should have been called in the FL game in the SEC tourny and was not. We then sneak by NMST cause they missed free throws and a wide open 3. We were bound to get by late game shenanigans eventually....we had already used up our lucky breaks for this scenario.

 

As for next season....lets see what shakes out with the roster. With the way transfers go i have no idea who will be on our team when next season starts

i agree with you to a point, and that point is that the game was "GIVEN" to virginia due to OFFICIALS error, not player error....the double dribble right in front of him....he is PAID to get that right....he blew it

[AuburnEagle79 2,165]

I think we are a top 3 team in the conference next season. It's a given that UK will have the talent. We will be a contender for the conference, but who knows when we will be back to the final 4. It's a hard thing to do.