Boonan 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Linky Lebo best basketball coach in stateTuesday, February 27, 2007 OK, I was wrong about Jeff Lebo. He's not only the right coach at Auburn, he's the best coach in the state of Alabama. If you had to honestly rank the top Division I-A coaches right now, Alabama's suddenly embattled coach probably wouldn't even come in second. I didn't see this one coming. I looked past Lebo's addition by subtraction approach on the Plains. I applauded his discipline but didn't think he could make it work at a third-world basketball school like Auburn. Those who were paying close attention noted the progress he has been making. Too many of us were too busy propping up Mark Gottfried and promoting his success story to anyone who would listen. When Alabama was dancing along at No. 4 in the country in December and Auburn was getting pounded by 29 by Texas A&M and later by Kentucky by 27, it was easy to miss the toughening and maturing of the Auburn program. Even after the 81-57 win over the Tide in January, many of us looked past it, making the usual round of excuses. Of course, it was easy since we wanted to believe the King of Excuses in Tuscaloosa. And finally, when the Tide beat a mediocre Kentucky 10 days ago, the usual chorus of "the Tide is in the tournament" sound went up and we forgot Auburn was playing hoops, too. Auburn is doing more than playing basketball on the Plains. They are teaching basketball under Lebo. I'm not sure the same claim can be made at Alabama under Gottfried, whose stock is falling almost as fast as that of Jet Blue Airways. Judging coaches is difficult sometimes because of where they are and I think that was a major mistake made with Lebo. He's at Auburn. Choosing Auburn for a basketball scholarship -- assuming you have multiple offers -- is like deciding to spend your honeymoon in Birmingham if any other city with a Motel 6 is available. Auburn has some basketball tradition but not enough to put into a thimble. Alabama isn't exactly Duke but it's on the map. C.M. Newton had it going and so did Wimp Sanderson. Gottfried has done a very nice job as well. And one thing he had going, even above five straight appearances in the NCAA tournament, was an absolute vice-grip on Auburn. You knew it would end one day. It didn't seem likely this was going to be the year. Not to be Little Miss Sunshine here in the eye of a threatening storm, but I think the debate on Gottfried's future is a tad premature. Besides, I don't think the school really has the appetite for another coaching search. But short of a miraculous March, Gottfried, at $1 million a year, will still have to answer some serious questions in the offseason. There could be a silver lining in this for Gottfried, though. With Lebo's success this year and his Dean Smith/UNC pedigree, folks out there will likely come calling and get him out of Auburn, thus making life easier again for Gottfried. In the meantime, Gottfried has finally accomplished something he's always wanted to do -- be on par with football in Tuscaloosa. He now has a losing streak to Auburn, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autkidd 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 He does have a point about other teams coming for Lebo. We need to keep him. IMO really the only school we should worry about would be UNC but that will be a few years down the road if not longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I think if we make good on our facilities, Lebo will make good on staying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOne 1,151 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 poor Finescum, Auburn forces him to to always backup. Hack journalists are always covering their tracks His motto should be his first few words "OK, I was wrong" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,437 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I think anyone that had a modicum of sense could easily see what Lebo was doing and that Lebo had a great background. I could see more coaching ability even when Lebo was taking the losses than I ever saw in Smith, Sanderson, Eagles, Ellis, Gotfried, Hobbs, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdad4kicks 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I think if we make good on our facilities, Lebo will make good on staying. I hope your right. A wise member on this board once said to me: "Why be the next Dean Smith when you can be the first Jeff Lebo?" A good point, but I'm still concerned AU won't do enough fast enough. Especially since there aren't enough "customers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Especially since there aren't enough "customers". Good product equals customers. Same old saying....Winning takes care of everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdad4kicks 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Especially since there aren't enough "customers". Good product equals customers. Same old saying....Winning takes care of everything! Agreed. I'm just concerned they may not understand the concept of R&D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Especially since there aren't enough "customers". Good product equals customers. Same old saying....Winning takes care of everything! Agreed. I'm just concerned they may not understand the concept of R&D. Fair enough. There is certainly room to step on our collective you know what, but I have to say the last two years I have been more excited about Auburn basketball than I have for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdad4kicks 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 Especially since there aren't enough "customers". Good product equals customers. Same old saying....Winning takes care of everything! Agreed. I'm just concerned they may not understand the concept of R&D. Fair enough. There is certainly room to step on our collective you know what, but I have to say the last two years I have been more excited about Auburn basketball than I have for a long time. Your right. Under coach Lebo Auburn basketball will be strong, and provide a product for us football crazed people to get excited about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDAuburn 2 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I'll give you two excellent reasons to be excited about a competitive basketball program, the NCAA tournament and the BCS. It's so cool to think that you can win a national championship on the court, and not have to hope some biased idiots vote you into the final game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdad4kicks 0 Posted February 27, 2007 Share Posted February 27, 2007 I'll give you two excellent reasons to be excited about a competitive basketball program, the NCAA tournament and the BCS. It's so cool to think that you can win a national championship on the court, and not have to hope some biased idiots vote you into the final game. I'll agree on the b'ball part. My point was more for Auburn only. It has been a few years since Auburn was even competitive in the SEC, much less worrying over an NCAA bid. On the BCS. I'm more on the lines of a plus one. That would recquire some form of the BCS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDeere 0 Posted February 28, 2007 Share Posted February 28, 2007 He does have a point about other teams coming for Lebo. We need to keep him. IMO really the only school we should worry about would be UNC but that will be a few years down the road if not longer. For UNC to consider a coach, they need at least two final four appearances. I could live with Lebo being considered at UNC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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