Men VS. Alabama Game Thread

[Kaiiu 62]

5 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I need posts like this to get me through this game. It’s just demoralizing seeing your forwards shoot FTs better than your guards. Even typing that out is unnatural, much less watching it 

It's definitely going to hurt us late. Doughty is usually pretty solid and even he was off tonight. Flanagan and Cambridge aren't even close. Their form and release is just off. It looks bad as soon as it leaves their hands. They don't teach the kids the fundamentals like they used to I swear.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

Just now, Kaiiu said:

It's definitely going to hurt us late. Doughty is usually pretty solid and even he was off tonight. Flanagan and Cambridge aren't even close. Their form and release is just off. It looks bad as soon as it leaves their hands. They don't teach the kids the fundamentals like they used to I swear.

I was saying this around the same time last year and I guess I was somewhat wrong, but Bruce needs to not give everyone the green light. Cambridge shouldn’t be allowed to shoot period. Flanagan can make wide open catch and shoot ones, but I don’t think he’s a “come off screen and hit” type of dude. I’d like if they gave that Jaylin Williams kid some real minutes, he looks more skilled than DC who kinda just has raw energy and athleticism. 
 

I don’t know how any program, much less one trying to go for a title, can allow FT shooting to be this bad. Pearl should’ve fired whatever asst handles that field a LONG time ago 

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

3 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

I was steaming mad during last spring whit Kira Lewis and Petty decided to come back. So Oats walked in to a fairly talented team. It is not gutted like the situation Bruce walked in to. That is what really pisses me off. If they lost those 2 they may of been like Vandy last year and that would of been amazing to see. Kira was the best player on the floor all night long and it was not close. GOD I hope he goes to the NBA after this year. He is hell to guard and stay in front of. At least Avery put the clamps on him with that trash offensive system! haha.

Oats is certainly making Avery look bad. I think they'll be up and down but should be in position to make the tourney. Solid team and Oats is clearly a good coach. The jungle will the rocking for the rematch for sure.

[Kaiiu 62]

6 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I was saying this around the same time last year and I guess I was somewhat wrong, but Bruce needs to not give everyone the green light. Cambridge shouldn’t be allowed to shoot period. Flanagan can make wide open catch and shoot ones, but I don’t think he’s a “come off screen and hit” type of dude. I’d like if they gave that Jaylin Williams kid some real minutes, he looks more skilled than DC who kinda just has raw energy and athleticism. 
 

I don’t know how any program, much less one trying to go for a title, can allow FT shooting to be this bad. Pearl should’ve fired whatever asst handles that field a LONG time ago 

It's more of the players we recruit. Guys don't really just become good freethrow shooters overnight. A lot of times they're gonna get worse as shooters before they get better. 

[jared52 4,354]

57 minutes ago, SumterAubie said:

The hubris depicted in your signature is coming back to haunt Doughty

Ha indeed. I guess it’s time to change it. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

20 minutes ago, WarEagle1983 said:

Oats is certainly making Avery look bad. I think they'll be up and down but should be in position to make the tourney. Solid team and Oats is clearly a good coach. The jungle will the rocking for the rematch for sure.

Bruce Pearl arena better be rocking in the rematch. We get the IB trophy back during that game too. 

[AUTigersfan89 256]

It seemed clear that Bama’s strategy on defense was going to force us to shoot 3’s and FT’s, which are the two shots we really struggle with. Credit to them, they didn’t give up many easy baskets. They fouled on just about every dunk I saw forcing us to earn it at the line.

i haven’t played basketball, so maybe I’m off here, but if our guys go up with a two handed dunk, is it that easy to knock the ball out of their hands? I’ve seen a few times where it looks like we have a break away dunk, but the opposing team is able to knock the ball out just in time to force FT’s. Samir got chased down at the beginning of the Vandy or UGA game and got his layup blocked. If you’re on a breakaway, shouldn’t you expect there to be a guy behind about to block your dunk/layup or foul you?

Samir and Jvon had forgettable performances. Nothing else to really say. I don’t care if they don’t score points—just be the QB, dish it out and don’t make mistakes. There were way too many mistakes from them tonight.

Our offense looked limited, and although we got wins against MSU, Vandy, and UGA, it felt a bit off in those games as well. Our 3 point shot is pretty brutal. Sure some go in, and JJ’s shot does look good, but we also shoot a lot that aren’t even close...clanking off the front of the rim.

For our inside game, I wish they would get a little more creative. Instead of having one guy attempt to drive and get a basket, look for that one extra pass down low.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

I think most saw a loss coming soon. All of our faults that we have had for the last several weeks finally caught up to us. It all snowballed. 
turnovers. Poor FT shooting. SD has been struggling lately. too much 1 v 1 and no rhythm on offense. We Have to win with defense since we have trouble scoring. 
This team is better than we showed tonight but the seniors need to step up or we will see more losses. 

 Im not a sure what BP will do with Purifoy and SD. Purifoy might need to come off the bench. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

21 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

I think most saw a loss coming soon. All of our faults that we have had for the last several weeks finally caught up to us. It all snowballed. 
turnovers. Poor FT shooting. SD has been struggling lately. too much 1 v 1 and no rhythm on offense. We Have to win with defense since we have trouble scoring. 
This team is better than we showed tonight but the seniors need to step up or we will see more losses. 

 Im not a sure what BP will do with Purifoy and SD. Purifoy might need to come off the bench. 

I think Purifoy is probably a needed asset for spacing (esp when the other 3 non-center guys are shooting like this), but I would love to see him be allowed to be aggressive and selfish with the second unit. Today was a day where he looked like the second or third best scorer. His handles are good positionally, it just seems like he has now completely accepted the role of only being a 3 pt shooter. 

I feel like something needs to shake up to shake up with the lineups with Jvon off the floor and either Samir or Jamal running the point. Those minutes are just bone dry. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I think you kinda have to give Turbo yet another chance out of desperation. The guy doesnt seem like he has any PG faculties in his brain, but Im not sure any of the other guards sans Jvon do either. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

1 hour ago, tgrogan21 said:

Same here. I wish Mac and Wiley were in the game together more often. If that means playing Stretch more then so be it. Also I really do think Jaylin Williams should be taking Cambridge's minutes. I haven't been impressed with him for a while.

Having Jaylin and Stretch game ready wouldve allowed BP to not keep forcing Wiley in with foul trouble. The guy was our saving grace offensively at times, but if Reese doesn't continue to get hurt, he probably would've fouled him out earlier. I just dont see why the aforementioned two cant get in with how much we burden Mac and AW.

[Gr82batigr 97]

6 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

I think most saw a loss coming soon. All of our faults that we have had for the last several weeks finally caught up to us. It all snowballed. 
turnovers. Poor FT shooting. SD has been struggling lately. too much 1 v 1 and no rhythm on offense. We Have to win with defense since we have trouble scoring. 
This team is better than we showed tonight but the seniors need to step up or we will see more losses. 

 Im not a sure what BP will do with Purifoy and SD. Purifoy might need to come off the bench. 

This team is better than we showed tonight but the seniors need to step up or we will see more losses. 

Agree with this statement wholeheartedly. 19 TO, 32% shooting, and to get outrebounded by a smaller lineup wreaks of weak player leadership from an experienced team with lots of Seniors. Sounds like the starting lineup may need to be shaken up a bit to wake people up.  I have confidence in our coaching staff to make the proper adjustments for Saturday’s game with UF. 

[TexasTiger 12,829]

37 minutes ago, Gr82batigr said:

This team is better than we showed tonight but the seniors need to step up or we will see more losses. 

Agree with this statement wholeheartedly. 19 TO, 32% shooting, and to get outrebounded by a smaller lineup wreaks of weak player leadership from an experienced team with lots of Seniors. Sounds like the starting lineup may need to be shaken up a bit to wake people up.  I have confidence in our coaching staff to make the proper adjustments for Saturday’s game with UF. 

We weren’t out rebounded.

[abw0004 10,110]

Wait, I thought my game thread was deleted @ellitor?  So confused.  If you guys kept it up all game we would have won!  I will go ahead and claim that my win streak of basketball game threads remains active since this was not up during the actual game!  

We did not deserve to win.  Only Purifoy and Okoro seemed to want to win.  However, it is a little relieving we lost.  We all knew it would happen at some point and now we can have a sigh of relief.  It is like buying a brand new car, you are deathly afraid of scratching it, but once the first scratch happens you can start enjoying the car more.

We still beat thUGA so I am a happy camper.

 

[TigerJeep 16]

8 hours ago, Maverick.AU said:

 

I think all of us agree they got the home cooking calls by a long shot, but we didn’t help it with our play either. Got it close several times and could never close the deal. If I’m remembering right it reminded me of the NCST game from a couple years back 

I was a little out of it last PM so I posted when I shouldn't have....(hope I didn't get on FB or Instagram....yikes).  But - before last night, I hadn't stopped watching a game before the end since .... that NC State game you referenced.  That was rough and probably worse than @ UK last year.  But last night, I swear it was part of the 'script' and I can't understand why.

[lost 452]

I hadn't looked back to see all the comments so if i repeat or rehash, forgive.

This was a mess. What i am going to say is all opinion, but makes more sense than anything else, judging by the TEAM PERFORMANCE.  Mc's statement was used by Oates to fire up his kids and the bama crazies.  But that ain't what did us in.  The Lindsey Black twitter war with Purifoy is.  She and her cohorts stirred enough anger and hit the right buttons that Bruce could not control and direct the emotions.  I was afraid it would get ugly last night, and I believe the refs were told to keep Au IN CHECK and every moment make sure they did not cross any point of being too physical.  I believe they warned Bruce, or he would have easily have gotten a T there when they jumped him about being out of the box and he was maybe two steps away.  But that team was out of sorts last night. The SRS played like freshman, completely out of control.  Only Wiley seemed to be himself.  Doughty and McCormick looked angry from the start and when the bench come in it was chaos then.  

I hope Bruce sits down with them this morning and says the way to overcome is to win it all.  That shuts up the hate.  In my opinion, the best chance AU had was Bruce to sit Purifoy and tell his team we will not let this turn into a feud.  We will play basketball and we will compete

[abw0004 10,110]

6 minutes ago, TigerJeep said:

I was a little out of it last PM so I posted when I shouldn't have....(hope I didn't get on FB or Instagram....yikes).  But - before last night, I hadn't stopped watching a game before the end since .... that NC State game you referenced.  That was rough and probably worse than @ UK last year.  But last night, I swear it was part of the 'script' and I can't understand why.

Do you own a Jeep?  If so, what model and year?

[cole256 17,043]

So like I said adjustments will be made, you can't depend on our guards.  Their guards ran circles around us and our perimeter defense has been showing signs for a while.....Wiley looked ok tho........If you follow my posts you shouldn't be too surprised

 

It's just one game and we'll get back to work and get better!

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, cole256 said:

So like I said adjustments will be made, you can't depend on our guards.  Their guards ran circles around us and our perimeter defense has been showing signs for a while.....Wiley looked ok tho........If you follow my posts you shouldn't be too surprised

It's just one game and we'll get back to work and get better!

Honestly- and you know I don't know anything- we looked so bad that it was hard to tell how much of it was structural flaws in the team and how much of it was just them having a really, really bad night. I know we're bad at free throws but some of those shots were barely hitting the rim. Looked like they were tired, just not mentally in it... I dunno. 

But it was easy to tell that our team isn't nearly as bad as they played last night. 

[cole256 17,043]

6 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Honestly- and you know I don't know anything- we looked so bad that it was hard to tell how much of it was structural flaws in the team and how much of it was just them having a really, really bad night. I know we're bad at free throws but some of those shots were barely hitting the rim. Looked like they were tired, just not mentally in it... I dunno. 

But it was easy to tell that our team isn't nearly as bad as they played last night. 

Yeah it's just one game. Now there can be plenty of reasons but we can't shoot that well and we don't create a bunch of good shots for each other so games like this are bound to happen. Samir and McCormick has to work very hard to be considered average. They aren't stars. Defensively though.....we should be better. Our guards needs to be checked back to reality

[fishepa 1,901]

Last night was a microcosm of everything we've seen at times this year - all in one game.  In our close wins one part of our game wasn't too bad and overcame the other bad parts.  Last nights game was terrible all around.  I really didn't see one bright spot aside from Wiley he plays hard - and the only thing he can really do is rebound and throw up put backs hoping they will go in - he has zero post moves in the paint.  

Guard play was abysmal, how many lazy passes were throw around the half court line where bama easily picked them off and got an easy two?  Shooting was horrendous, free throw shooting terrible.  Just an all around bad game where all phases stunk it up.

[auburntiger1987 759]

apologies for leaving early and being negative. I wasnt in the right mindset to be able to stay into the game and message board. Felt it was best to go. Sorry to be an ass and downer. War Eagle

[AU64 10,122]

As discussed, this game was the congruence of all things deficient about the team....from bad shot selection to bad passing....and about every other thing in between. 

Surprised not to see any comments about A Mac's unwise "quick threes" which were about the same as a turnover since bama was able to grab the ball and break down the floor before any other AU player even knew what had happened.    Also surprised that BP let him get away with that so many times.  

BUT...it's just one game and was bound to happen sooner or later.   What matters is the next game ….and if we see more of the same.....or the team that played the second half against the dawgs shows up.  Hoping there were some lessons learned. 

[mcgufcm 4,096]

Fire the guy who has worked Wiley into respectability? Don’t overreact. Doughty played what I contend is the worst game by any player in any college gym this season. Most guys do not see enough of the ball to get that many shots and turnovers so his performance was truly special (in a bad way). But let’s be real. That won’t ever happen again.

J’Von needs to keep at foul shooting, but his form isn’t bad. I think that’s more mental. The bigger issue is how passive he was offensively last night. Jared has a sixth sense of when the team needed him to carry the offense for stretches. As good as he’s been, J’Von doesn’t have that right now. That only goes with reps. 

It was a junk performance up and down the roster. I certainly look forward to Cooper and (hopefully) Green, but I don’t need anything to keep me excited about Auburn basketball. We’re going to the tournament again this year, likely with a high seed, and with the chance to make a run. Cooper just means we have a chance to continue our success next year. 

[doverstutts 1,643]

Everybody is going to lose basketball games, its the nature of the game. When you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you're not. We needed a loss (just hate it was this bunch that we lost to)...We have been getting away with bad fundamentals and it was going to catch up with us sooner or later. This is not a real good basketball team, but I do think it will be at the end of the year...Wiley has got to learn to not have his shots hit the board so hard....He is so strong that his touch is affected and the other guys have to get him the ball when he works to get open down low ON TIME....This team has so much to improve on and has been getting away with some critical mistakes....They are still better than I thought they would be