Bruce discusses future

[gravejd 3,270]

I kinda feel like all the posts about us not missing Harper are somewhat in response to my post above. I was certainly not trying to downplay the impact of losing Harper. He was literally the heart and soul of our team. Not only will we miss his playing ability but the way he carried himself with unbelievable calm and a chip on his shoulder will be missed as well. Dude has ice water in his veins and i think the rest of the team fed off that. Javon also does not have his range so defenses will not have to extend as far out and Javon certainly doesn't have Harpers skills as a passer. Anyone that hopes he can continue in the path Harper made need to adjust their way of thinking. Auburn will be a COMPLETELY different team next season. Some players return yes, but I expect next years team to look very different mostly due to Harper being gone but also cause we are losing BB and the others. 

But even if we are a completely different team i still think we can be successful. We'll have to see how it all comes together. We have a LOT of scoring and leadership to replace. But i stand by my post that Javon was more then serviceable during our SEC and NCAA tourney runs and outplayed Harper at times. During the LSU game last season i thought he was done and we had wasted a scholarship on Mr. McCormick. But he kept working and was a huge reason for our success at the end of the season. I won't be doubting the kid again! 

[twilli13 600]

23 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Not disagreeing that JH was one of our best all time Auburn PGs and he definitely thrived under BP's system.  Was noting that JaMc is /or could be as good in the same system.  He's a better shooter, and had a better TO/Steal ratio this past season and was a pretty good finisher.  .    As I opined,  PG next season is in better shape than several other situations...at least as it appears now.  

Replacing BB's points and effort is the big issue and of course Spencer had great intangible value as did Dunbar.   When things got sluggish, just send in Spencer and Dunbar ..and good or bad,, the pace of the game picked up and everyone worked harder.  Also,  I don't know what is gonna happen with Okeke.   So the big question for me is.....who is gonna score the points and play defense ?    DP had a few hot moments but I'm still waiting on him to be able to play 20 or 30 minutes every game and play some reasonable defense. 

 So per my earlier opinion, replacing JH is the least of the problems for next season..... We can get enthused about incoming players but until they have been up against SEC level competition, it's hard to know what they might do.  

We will agree to disagree on the Harper/JaMc topic...but I agree we could take a fall if others dont step up and PG not the only position of concern. Bb to me probably toughest guy to replace. Not many shooters who can score in bunches like that come along...hence the #2 all time in sec history. Team will take a step back, no doubt there. I'm hoping the talent and Bruce Pearl's coaching will allow us to make the tournament again. That would be a win for me, then in 2 years we are ready to run again. 

[twilli13 600]

3 minutes ago, gravejd said:

I kinda feel like all the posts about us not missing Harper are somewhat in response to my post above. I was certainly not trying to downplay the impact of losing Harper. He was literally the heart and soul of our team. Not only will we miss his playing ability but the way he carried himself with unbelievable calm and a chip on his shoulder will be missed as well. Dude has ice water in his veins and i think the rest of the team fed off that. Javon also does not have his range so defenses will not have to extend as far out and Javon certainly doesn't have Harpers skills as a passer. Anyone that hopes he can continue in the path Harper made need to adjust their way of thinking. Auburn will be a COMPLETELY different team next season. Some players return yes, but I expect next years team to look very different mostly due to Harper being gone but also cause we are losing BB and the others. 

But even if we are a completely different team i still think we can be successful. We'll have to see how it all comes together. We have a LOT of scoring and leadership to replace. But i stand by my post that Javon was more then serviceable during our SEC and NCAA tourney runs and outplayed Harper at times. During the LSU game last season i thought he was done and we had wasted a scholarship on Mr. McCormick. But he kept working and was a huge reason for our success at the end of the season. I won't be doubting the kid again! 

I definitely think we have enough talent to keep the ball rolling. It's up to Pearl to put it all together. Hes an awesome coach, I think he does it and we go to tournament again. Long as we do that and he keeps recruiting his ass off, we should be set up for future big time success. I think anyway. 

[Tiger 8,818]

16 hours ago, cole256 said:

The thing about it is you have to take in account how is he going to play being a targeted scouted guy as opposed to a guy that nobody knew.....then on top of that he played well pretty much in the tournament, a very small sample size to declare he's good. And I'm still aggravated by samir but I can definitely see PG being a concern next year....

All of this. 

As it stands today, PG will be a problem and we will take some frustrating Ls because of it. Just like we did this year before J'Von became a viable backup and had nobody with ball handling skills to turn to.

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 hours ago, twilli13 said:

I definitely think we have enough talent to keep the ball rolling. It's up to Pearl to put it all together. Hes an awesome coach, I think he does it and we go to tournament again. Long as we do that and he keeps recruiting his ass off, we should be set up for future big time success. I think anyway. 

I think we will:

-make it to the second round 

-take a step back from where we were (can only go down really)

-retool and do better the next year.

-

[steeleagle 2,945]

this pattern is the way  I feel too how this team will do over the next 2 years.

You don't lose 2 very veteran guards and expect to play at the same level at guard play, or with their experience, we will not have that to rely on in close games. 

I think with the talent, we will still make the tournament next year, but with a very vanilla record.

If Pearl gets  his top level PG in 2020, then we will be even better in 2020, although again very green in the backcourt, w/ Samir and Javon graduating.

[AU64 10,122]

13 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

this pattern is the way  I feel too how this team will do over the next 2 years.

You don't lose 2 very veteran guards and expect to play at the same level at guard play, or with their experience, we will not have that to rely on in close games. 

I think with the talent, we will still make the tournament next year, but with a very vanilla record.

If Pearl gets  his top level PG in 2020, then we will be even better in 2020, although again very green in the backcourt, w/ Samir and Javon graduating.

We are now in an era that if you want to be good every year and get a decent seed for the NCAA tournament, you have to hit the jackpot every year in recruiting....and you need to have 3 or 4 upper class players.....and of course, it is  almost impossible to plan ahead a year or two with guys like Harper leaving early without even a sure NBA position. .  

Too many options out there for the 4* and 5* guys....mostly they want to play as freshmen or they are gone and probably not even having to sit out a year now.   Somehow the coaches need to find a way to keep the good guys at least 3 years.    Looking at the tournament this year, most of the final teams had a bunch of upper classmen ...as did AU.   The freshmen oriented teams are good but generally lack cohesion and have a limited ceiling in the big tournament IMO. . 

[Tiger 8,818]

We are going to feel not having any freshman on the team this past year. Also Chuma being the only sophomore and likely gone means the experience gained from this Final Four run will extend to essentially this coming year and then be out the door. 

But I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this incoming freshman class and the following class grow together and where they take the AU program. But also looking forward to seeing Anfernee, Austin, Danjel, Samir, and J'Von wrapping up their careers at AU with a bang while showing the ropes to our large incoming class. 

Speaking of our incoming class, anyone know anything about Babatunde Akingbola? I had read a while back he's not even in the country and was dealing with a visa issue trying to get back to America. Anyone know if he's back? 

[AUGoo 2,659]

55 minutes ago, Tiger said:

 

Speaking of our incoming class, anyone know anything about Babatunde Akingbola? I had read a while back he's not even in the country and was dealing with a visa issue trying to get back to America. Anyone know if he's back? 

Freakin' REC strikes again!!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

On 5/9/2019 at 11:13 AM, AU64 said:

This was a good discussion about a major issue......basketball and especially the SEC has become mostly about what the PG can do.   To a great extent we were up and down according to JH so leadership from that slot is important for the coming season.....and much as I like the credentials of our incoming guys, I hope our best PG is not a freshman.    I recall what JH did as a freshman and how much his development in the subsequent years meant to him and the team. 

JMO but JaMac will do the job well and we will barely skep a beat...though it would be nice to have a strong back-up.    Hated to see JH playing 35 minutes in most games and hoping BP has the opportunity to spread around the minutes a bit more. 

It’s a bit disingenuous to compare JH as a freshman to a guy who’s arguably the best prospect in his class. Colin Sexton and Tremont Waters were freshmen if that eases your concerns 

[AU64 10,122]

9 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

It’s a bit disingenuous to compare JH as a freshman to a guy who’s arguably the best prospect in his class. Colin Sexton and Tremont Waters were freshmen if that eases your concerns 

I'd definitely take JH as a junior over either of the super frosh and regret we won't see him as a senior.   Those super-frosh have lots going for them but generally it's tough for them to be the team leader.     I was pointing out his 'growth' from his freshman year.....which is what I'm hoping to see from the next guys coming in.  

[doverstutts 1,643]

we WILL miss harper bigly, along with bryce....there is just no way to around it.....there is a ray of sunshine though....i spent almost an entire day watching video of  the incoming class, and they are damn good!!!! there will be a learning curve for "turbo" but the guy is good....he has a build that will allow him to get to the basket and be  physical against opposing PG's....obviously, he is called "turbo" for a reason...his jump shot needs work and so will his defense(most freshmen can't even spell "defense") but he is going to soften the blow of losing harper more than most might think, but it will probably be after a few weeks into the season....next season will be fun, though we won't win 30 games and make the F4....we will watch the building of a group that just might finish the deal in the next 2-3 years....this group is good!

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

We will miss Harper even if Jvon turns out to be as good as some are predicting. Harper's ability to turn it on when needed and pull out games will be sorely missed. Add loosing Brown and either not having Okeke or having a limited Okeke for most of the season and it is going to be tough. Luckily basketball is a sport where new talented plays can contribute early and improve as the season goes on.

I have high hopes for the new players but it would have been nice to work them in slowly as opposed to to feeding them with a firehose which I think will happen to one or two of them. I am hoping the Jvon we saw at the end is the one who we will see this year and that Turbo can provide valuable minutes especially on defense.  Then we need Okoro to develop quickly and we need to get help from the other new players.

[cole256 17,043]

Points are the easiest thing to replace. Brown's points won't be hard to replace but him being a threat from an extended range will be hard to replace. His presence and the way defenders had to guard him will be hard to replace. We really didn't shoot an incredible percentage, but Harper and Brown made driving lanes and scoring easier for everybody else. 

And Harper especially was a closer.....no way you don't miss that. 

[aujeff11 6,243]

17 hours ago, cole256 said:

Points are the easiest thing to replace. Brown's points won't be hard to replace but him being a threat from an extended range will be hard to replace. His presence and the way defenders had to guard him will be hard to replace. We really didn't shoot an incredible percentage, but Harper and Brown made driving lanes and scoring easier for everybody else. 

And Harper especially was a closer.....no way you don't miss that. 

We may not make the tourney now that we lost out on Rayjon.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

We need to sign at least  2 or maybe 3 tall centers.

[Rednilla 5,383]

On 5/9/2019 at 6:05 PM, twilli13 said:

Exactly. Folks thinking we wont miss a beat without Harper are crazy. The guy logged a ton of minutes and had to carry the team through a lot of games through a long year. Hes the best point guard in school history to date, hands down. I think we take a step back at the point this season. But, if it's not too large of a step and other players step up/ we improve in some areas, we could do well. I expect this year to be a slight step back to gear up for another run in 2 years. 

We might not miss a beat if Cooper reclassifies and comes in early, and I'm of the opinion that he will announce he's doing exactly that when it's confirmed that Harper won't be back next season. He was the national player of the year, and is widely considered a heavy Auburn lean, with two of his high school teammates signing in the 2019 class.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

2 hours ago, Rednilla said:

We might not miss a beat if Cooper reclassifies and comes in early, and I'm of the opinion that he will announce he's doing exactly that when it's confirmed that Harper won't be back next season. He was the national player of the year, and is widely considered a heavy Auburn lean, with two of his high school teammates signing in the 2019 class.

It’s confirmed now lol 

[twilli13 600]

10 hours ago, Rednilla said:

We might not miss a beat if Cooper reclassifies and comes in early, and I'm of the opinion that he will announce he's doing exactly that when it's confirmed that Harper won't be back next season. He was the national player of the year, and is widely considered a heavy Auburn lean, with two of his high school teammates signing in the 2019 class.

I hear ya but I thought the word was he wasnt reclassifying now. 

[cole256 17,043]

Cooper is going to be a different type of PG I believe. I don't think he's good enough to really think he was going to slide in and be Harper IMO

[GwillMac6 20,666]

50 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Cooper is going to be a different type of PG I believe. I don't think he's good enough to really think he was going to slide in and be Harper IMO

He is certainly good enough to come in and be better than Harper was as a freshmen. People forget how big of a jump Harper made as a frosh to a sophmore. He had a great sophmore and Junior seasons but he struggled a lot his freshmen year.

[cole256 17,043]

1 hour ago, GwillMac6 said:

He is certainly good enough to come in and be better than Harper was as a freshmen. People forget how big of a jump Harper made as a frosh to a sophmore. He had a great sophmore and Junior seasons but he struggled a lot his freshmen year.

Right so Harper sort of had to learn as he got it but like you're seeing during this combine Harper is pretty gifted physically. Cooper not so much. The thing that makes Cooper pretty damn good is his handle. He can literally go either way with either hand and not have any problems at all, but he's not an elite athlete and he's small. For him to be what many of you think he'll have to get much better shooting the ball and he's going to have to rely on being able to change his tempo and speed to keep defenders off balance, that only works when you're a threat to shoot. 

He's not explosive, he'll need to play a Chris Paul type of game, he won't be a high scoring threat, until his shot gets better. Now none of us can really say how he'll adjust to longer stronger quicker guys guarding him, but the easiest and biggest jump on improvement that can be made is a guys jump shot so I have no doubt that will get better. But we'll see.

[Tiger 8,818]

If you have a freshman PG logging a lot of minutes it means there will likely be good nights and bad nights and lots of in between. It was super fun watching Harper, and all our guys really, mature from year 1 to what they have become. Just have to brace for all growing pains.

[GwillMac6 20,666]

 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

If we can get ~8 more years out of him, I'd expect at least one NC appearance to come out of that. More SEC titles should be easy (as can be). LSU is gonna be there every year, UK is always gonna have talent, but Pearl seems to be the best combo of X/Os and recruiting IMO.