2022 4* C Sage Tolentino Commits to Cincinnati

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

7 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

I love Bruce but let's get out from under the FBI investigation for cheating before we say we never cheat.    It also didn't look good aesthetics-wise that while still under investigation a few years ago Bruce hired Ira Bowman who was under investigation for cheating at Penn State as well.

Anybody who believes we were getting 5 stars a couple seasons removed from being arguably the worst D1 program and did it the sparkling clean way is psychotic, I’m sorry lol 

[gravejd 3,269]

Dang are you guys really over here saying Auburn has cheated and that is why the basketball program is better these days? Thats just really sad to see from our own fans on our own board. I hate how the media and other fans always try and label Bruce as a cheater and now i'm seeing it here as well. 

This is pointless but i can't resist saying it.....Auburn is not under investigation by the FBI for cheating. Auburn is under investigation by the FBI because Person was being paid to steer our players to certain agents. How does Person steering players to agents in any way help Auburn?? 

And we didn't start pulling in 5* players overnight. It took Bruce 3 years to start pulling in those players. And the reason we got our first 5 star was because he was a legacy and his parents played at AU. The talent level did not change over night. We started getting better players because Pearl is a proven winner as a coach and a great recruiter as well. 

I can't believe i'm on here defending our program from our own fans 🤯

[steeleagle 2,945]

18 minutes ago, gravejd said:

Dang are you guys really over here saying Auburn has cheated and that is why the basketball program is better these days? Thats just really sad to see from our own fans on our own board. I hate how the media and other fans always try and label Bruce as a cheater and now i'm seeing it here as well. 

This is pointless but i can't resist saying it.....Auburn is not under investigation by the FBI for cheating. Auburn is under investigation by the FBI because Person was being paid to steer our players to certain agents. How does Person steering players to agents in any way help Auburn?? 

And we didn't start pulling in 5* players overnight. It took Bruce 3 years to start pulling in those players. And the reason we got our first 5 star was because he was a legacy and his parents played at AU. The talent level did not change over night. We started getting better players because Pearl is a proven winner as a coach and a great recruiter as well. 

I can't believe i'm on here defending our program from our own fans 🤯

I agree totally.

And to use the Person scandal, the IRa Bowman issue(which was Penn not Penn St), and our 5*s we are signing now as proof we have or still cheat without ANY reference or evidence is just trying to start something.

 

[mustache eagle 2,388]

What a bizarre thread …

[toddc 13,194]

Booo, just booo!!!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

High activity in the forum yesterday I see…

and the 5* in reference was Mustapha Heron, not Austin Wiley (who wasn't a consensus 5*) 

Edited June 29, 2021 by Dual-Threat Rigby

[AUDub 11,131]

20 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

...not Austin Wiley (who wasn't a consensus 5*) 

He was in the 2017 class, but he came in early with the 16 class and I think that dropped his ranking. 

[AUDub 11,131]

On 6/28/2021 at 12:29 PM, abw0004 said:

I love Bruce but let's get out from under the FBI investigation for cheating before we say we never cheat.    It also didn't look good aesthetics-wise that while still under investigation a few years ago Bruce hired Ira Bowman who was under investigation for cheating at Penn State as well.

Person accepted bribes to steer kids to an agent. Not "pay-for-play" or any sort of recruiting violation. 

Bowman was at Penn and that scandal wasn't any sort of cheating for a competitive advantage, but bribery to get a rich guy's kid into the school via a basketball scholarship.

Pearl screwed up in the past yeah but to take those two cases and hold them up as evidence of Bruce and Auburn cheating is pretty dumb. 

[abw0004 10,104]

3 hours ago, AUDub said:

Person accepted bribes to steer kids to an agent. Not "pay-for-play" or any sort of recruiting violation. 

Bowman was at Penn and that scandal wasn't any sort of cheating for a competitive advantage, but bribery to get a rich guy's kid into the school via a basketball scholarship.

Pearl screwed up in the past yeah but to take those two cases and hold them up as evidence of Bruce and Auburn cheating is pretty dumb. 

How is that dumb?  Person’s cheating happened while he was Bruce’s assistant.  It is still cheating, whether it was to benefit Auburn or another person.  With Bruce’s history of cheating it wasn’t a great look for us that his program has been under investigation for 80% of the time.  And to bring in people that are known to have cheated in the past.

Don’t get me wrong though, I love Pearl.

Edited June 30, 2021 by abw0004

[steeleagle 2,945]

2 hours ago, abw0004 said:

How is that dumb?  Person’s cheating happened while he was Bruce’s assistant.  It is still cheating, whether it was to benefit Auburn or another person.  With Bruce’s history of cheating it wasn’t a great look for us that his program has been under investigation for 80% of the time.  And to bring in people that are known to have cheated in the past.

Don’t get me wrong though, I love Pearl.

I agree with your response that cheating is cheating and it puts the school in a bad light, whether it involved Pearl. Writers will certainly pile on Pearl, since he did have a NCAA past and he has a lot of haters out there bc of his whistle blowing incident when he was a young coach.

But no one has found that Bowman cheated. He was accused bc of his connection to the Penn HC, but he was never found guilty and Auburn's investigation found nothing either. 

If that who you are referring to, then you are just not accurate in stating he was a known cheater.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

I don’t think being put in a bad light really matters that much, esp in basketball. I think Auburn fans care more about their outward appearance more than 99% of decently known programs though. 
 

I hope that one day we just get to a point as a fanbase where we’re willing to accept that certain things come with a certain territory 

[abw0004 10,104]

3 hours ago, steeleagle said:

But no one has found that Bowman cheated. He was accused bc of his connection to the Penn HC, but he was never found guilty and Auburn's investigation found nothing either. 

If that who you are referring to, then you are just not accurate in stating he was a known cheater.

I was referring more to he was under investigation when he was hired, not that he was a known cheater.  It’s more like, if you were the owner of a company and was interviewing someone who was currently on trial for fraud for your CFO position.  Is that a good or bad look?  It could come across as “I could care less if he is found guilty, I want the guy anyways and want to win no matter what.”

[steeleagle 2,945]

17 hours ago, abw0004 said:

I was referring more to he was under investigation when he was hired, not that he was a known cheater.  It’s more like, if you were the owner of a company and was interviewing someone who was currently on trial for fraud for your CFO position.  Is that a good or bad look?  It could come across as “I could care less if he is found guilty, I want the guy anyways and want to win no matter what.”

You need to be more clear on your statements then. I only responded to your comment when you posted "...And to bring in people that are known to have cheated in the past." This clearly assumed Bowman was a known cheater which was false. 

And  I appreciate Pearl even more, as he knows the sins of his past, and with the 'guilty by association' that Bowman was subjected to, he stood by him, and didn't have him fired, but did the investigation on him, which vindicated him for the Penn scandal.

[mustache eagle 2,388]

Screw what other people think about Pearl and our assistants.

[Maverick.AU 13,279]

 

[augolf1716 21,096]

5 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

 

humm

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

2 hours ago, Maverick.AU said:

 

Uh lol 

dudes had me thinking he was leaving for Kentucky 

[johnjacob 44]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Uh lol 

dudes had me thinking he was leaving for Kentucky 

He is a 3 star for a reason. Solid player, but will need time to develop. UK and AU are recruiting at a higher level. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

1 hour ago, johnjacob said:

He is a 3 star for a reason. Solid player, but will need time to develop. UK and AU are recruiting at a higher level. 

??? This reads like insane coping lol. We heavily pursued transfers from hole in the walls in flyover states and had multiple recruits lower than Sage in recent classes. AU isn't even recruiting in the same level as Kentucky. He decommitted from Auburn, not us MOVING ON FROM HIM

I am flabbergasted by this post! 

[steeleagle 2,945]

14 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

??? This reads like insane coping lol. We heavily pursued transfers from hole in the walls in flyover states and had multiple recruits lower than Sage in recent classes. AU isn't even recruiting in the same level as Kentucky. He decommitted from Auburn, not us MOVING ON FROM HIM

I am flabbergasted by this post! 

Interesting choice. Wonder if he simply doesn't want to stray too far from his new home in Ohio. 

Cinn has a totally new coach and staff. Not sure how good they have been...

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

2 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Interesting choice. Wonder if he simply doesn't want to stray too far from his new home in Ohio. 

Cinn has a totally new coach and staff. Not sure how good they have been...

They had an insane fall out with the previous staff, per this team reporter I follow. Like 6 characters transferred out 

they’re a competitive G5 school in terms of resources so it’s not the worst place to go. But Auburn aside, it’s weird to see such a fast rising prospect essentially not capitalize on any of his growth. He could’ve got a scholly there two years ago. Wish him well. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

I would bet other schools hit up Auburn as not using Centers and often playing a 4 at the position to be honest.  Pearl has never had a reputation for developing centers. I believe that is because until he got Austin Wiley he had never had a any true centers. That wouldn't stop other teams from mentioning that he had never put Centers into the NBA.  Assuming Kessler develops and goes to NBA then it will be easier for Pearl and Auburn to bring in Centers. If he can also develop Dylan Cardwell that will again help in recruiting Centers long run. I think having Kessler will help Cardwell defensively practicing against Kessler and having to work hard against Kessler to score should also help his offensive game.  

I wanted Sage but have to accept he is gone and Auburn moves on. With Kessler and a developing Cardwell we will be fine at Center next year and by his third year Cardwell might be a true center. He is is big enough, strong enough and athletic enough just has to work on his game, moving his feet on D, bodying up without fouling and develop an inside game and a mid range game. He actually did a good job of making himself available down low last year but didn't have the game to do anything when ball came to him down there. He needs a drop step and a turn around jumper. 

[johnjacob 44]

22 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

??? This reads like insane coping lol. We heavily pursued transfers from hole in the walls in flyover states and had multiple recruits lower than Sage in recent classes. AU isn't even recruiting in the same level as Kentucky. He decommitted from Auburn, not us MOVING ON FROM HIM

I am flabbergasted by this post! 

We shall see. You sure like to post anti-AU posts. And we are recruiting at the same level as UK right now. There is a good chance AU signs 2-3 5 stars this year. 

[johnjacob 44]

5 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

I would bet other schools hit up Auburn as not using Centers and often playing a 4 at the position to be honest.  Pearl has never had a reputation for developing centers. I believe that is because until he got Austin Wiley he had never had a any true centers. That wouldn't stop other teams from mentioning that he had never put Centers into the NBA.  Assuming Kessler develops and goes to NBA then it will be easier for Pearl and Auburn to bring in Centers. If he can also develop Dylan Cardwell that will again help in recruiting Centers long run. I think having Kessler will help Cardwell defensively practicing against Kessler and having to work hard against Kessler to score should also help his offensive game.  

I wanted Sage but have to accept he is gone and Auburn moves on. With Kessler and a developing Cardwell we will be fine at Center next year and by his third year Cardwell might be a true center. He is is big enough, strong enough and athletic enough just has to work on his game, moving his feet on D, bodying up without fouling and develop an inside game and a mid range game. He actually did a good job of making himself available down low last year but didn't have the game to do anything when ball came to him down there. He needs a drop step and a turn around jumper. 

He is rated as the number 15 center. Past AU teams he would have been a great get, but AU has a solid shot at the top PF. Sage is a Stretch type player. He will be good eventually, but he will never be 5 star great.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,641]

6 minutes ago, johnjacob said:

We shall see. You sure like to post anti-AU posts. And we are recruiting at the same level as UK right now. There is a good chance AU signs 2-3 5 stars this year. 

Well, seeing as how other conversation was you blatantly stating that Roy Williams needed cheating as a crutch whilst at one of the four best programs ever, and Bruce absolutely didn’t, while at Auburn, I don’t think your definition of “anti-AU” matches reality, with all due respect 

AU had a good chance to sign 2-3 more 5 stars during Sharife’s class, and they went to UNC, the G-League and Texas. That literally doesn’t mean anything if you’re trying to state how one team SIGNS recruiting classes better than another. Memphis also recruits on the same level as us, if not better, if you value being close as the end all be all 

UK had a class that was quite literally 60 spots higher than ours last season (they had a comparable run on the transfer market, before that’s brought up). 9 spots higher the cycle before, arguably one of our 2-3 best cycles. 18 spots higher before that 

Im not here to disparage Auburn’s strides, but it’s dismissive of facts to say something like we’re recruiting on the same level as Kentucky. Maybe one day they will