TigerTennis80

I get that those out of conference wins are impressive. But how long ago were they? How do you weigh starting off with a bang but then sliding back into pretty average through conference play? Meanwhile we started off looking pretty average but finished strong, which apparently matters little. I wonder if winning the series at UGa (not losing the lead in the 7th in Athens) would have made a difference. Anyway, I just don't like it.

Wait, we're the 3rd seed in our regional? Really?

Maybe we didn't deserve a national seed but how does Alabama earn a 5 seed when they had a mediocre conference record like they did? If they deserve a 5 seed, then we deserve a national seed. And being put in the Oklahoma bracket is so tough!

E, I've wondered about some players "not being positive elements to the team culture this past season," sometimes because of disappointments on the court but even moreso from some of Bruce's post-game comments. In particular the SEC Network guys once asked him after a win if he was having fun, & he answered, "Well, I'm doing my job." That's un-Bruce-like. So, is there anything more you can say about this subject? Even generally? Just wondering.

I live in Memphis & follow them as my "other Tigers," so I've watched them play Houston twice this year (I missed 1 of the games while traveling). I don't believe Houston is better than Bama. And they've not played nearly the schedule we have (I believe I saw that their SOS was 96th). So, if the good Auburn Tigers show up, I believe we have a real shot. Of course, as we all know, that's a big if. But, as another poster noted, we're playing with house money now, so maybe we can play loose & free, have fun, & put on a show. War Eagle!

After our performance last Saturday, I feared another embarrassment last night. So, I have some pride for our guys for playing their guts out in a hostile environment against a really good team after a dispiriting performance Saturday. Look, there are lots of things about this team that make me crazy. Giving up an 18-2 run to lose a 17 point lead, some of the poor shots we take, some of the shots Jaylin doesn't take, so many missed FTs last night, the self-inflicted turnovers we make, Wendell missing the shot with about 4 seconds to go that could have won it... This team makes me crazy! And yet... losing 6 road games by a combined 21 points when we've shot 57 fewer FTs than our opponents & had 48 more fouls called on us means that even with our deficiencies we've been right there for 4-5 more wins (& significant wins). And, as other posters have said, it's not just the points at the FT line. It's not having Broome on the floor for the last 7 minutes of the game while others are having to play less aggressively because of foul trouble. It's finishing an OT game with Wendell, KD, Lior, Tre, & Chris Moore (4 guards, no bigs, a single starter) on the floor & still only losing by 4. I am NOT a "blame the refs" kind of fan. My dad was a bb coach & he wouldn't stand for that. I wish he was still here to comment on these stats because it seems to me that something is just wrong. If 95% of the time it's not the refs, that still leaves that other 5%.

In the FWIW category, I think a big part of this season's disappointment may lie with Westry's injury & Traore's need for development. Apparently Westry had a super summer so that we were all looking forward to him being the bigger, talented guard to play alongside Wendell or share PG duties with him. And then he got hurt & couldn't recover. Traore apparently has worlds of athleticism but hasn't actually been playing basketball terribly long so that he needs more development than perhaps anticipated. We aren't that far from having 4-5 more wins despite our lack of a shooter. Think of our close losses & "what might have been" if these 2 players had brought the contributions expected. Personally I don't lay these things on Bruce because he's had good success with freshmen players in the past. Sometimes things just go sideways. I'm looking forward to them contributing next year. My primary question for Bruce, if I could ask him, would be about the apparent lack of basketball IQ that shows up at inconvenient times. But even about that... What I remember about Jared is that he made questionable decisions in crunch time... until he didn't. My own experience in sports is that you practice & practice, work & work, & then 1 day something clicks. I don't know if a coach make the "click" happen. What he can do is make you work & work & practice & practice (the right way, I might add) so that you are ready for the "click" to happen. I am confident Bruce is doing that. And recruiting looks good going forward. I'm disappointed in this season but not disappointed in where the program is or is headed. War Eagle my fellow Aubies!

This was a 3-point game with 3 minutes to go in the half, maybe 2 minutes to go. While there are several things that are disappointing about this time, for me the way we play in the last 2 minutes of the 1st half & the last 2 minutes of the game stands out. I'm hardly a bb guru, but my experience on a tennis court taught me that in crunch time you have to play your smartest, have to be clear-headed & focused on what you want to do & how to do it. And that seems to me to be what we don't do in the last 2 minutes. We take bad shots, we have defensive lapses, we don't rebound. And we keep doing it. Not the greatest bb IQ, or so it seems to me, as others have said.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the softball players don't like the designation. As a former Tiger athlete, I don't like it a bit. Consider that the male equivalent would be "Gentleman Tigers." I'm gonna guess none of us, myself included, like that! So, why should we think it's good for women athletes? Furthermore, using such a designation for women only implies that when we normally talk about Auburn Tigers, we're talking about men's teams. So, for me, our teams are all just Tigers. I'll note if I'm talking about the men's team or women's team in sports where we have both. But they're all Tigers. Just Tigers.

Seems to me that Bruce expected much more out of Westry & Traore than we've gotten. Without what we thought they could contribute, & then poor contributions tonight from Jaylin, Wen, & KD, we look like we looked tonight. Bruce has had good success with freshmen before (Chuma, Okora, Shariff, Jabari, etc.) so I don't think it's him. Those guys just haven't responded for some reason. And we're a weak team as a result.

Can somebody say whether or not Lior is a detriment on defense? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that we need shooters & he is one. Has Jaylin scored at all? I've looked away a few times, but when I've been watching he's shooting 0%. We likely have zero chance to win if he's 0fer. While we're talking about zeroes, it's discouraging that we're showing zero improvement thus far this season. We looked better than this in Israel.

How the heck are we getting out-rebounded by this team? Sonny says rebounding is about "want to." So, that's really disappointing. In addition, I'm starting to wonder about our basketball IQ. How many times is Flan going to try to dribble too much & turn it over before he realizes that's not what he can do? What was Chris thinking trying to run a fast break by himself & just running over a guy? Wen going down low without a plan? And Broome with a lane violation? Really disappointing.

I was also disappointed in the game yesterday, "but upon further review," I'm considering that maybe the loss brought less bad news than I initially thought. We all agree that our offense is a "work in progress" (to be kind), but here's reality check for us: We scored 73 on Memphis, which plays excellent defense. As an example of what I mean, I live in Memphis & the local paper picked the score to be 62-60. So I'd say that while there were definitely frustrations on offense, that part of our game wasn't the "problem" last night. Defense & rebounding, however, were huge problems, which I don't expect from us. Giving up 82 points to Memphis, whose offense is also a "work in progress" (though you couldn't tell it last night) is flat out awful. Bruce said post-game that we lacked focus, & I thought "no kidding." We looked like a team which hadn't played in 8 days, had been tied up in final exams (I don't know when finals were or are at Memphis, but they played last Tuesday), & hadn't gotten back into game rhythm either physically or mentally. Hopefully those things are fix-able. As Bruce has said repeatedly, defense has to be what leads us. A lack of focus really showed up in our defense last night, & in our rebounding. I have to trust that we won't have such a lack of focus again. My long term concerns are more focused on Broome & our freshmen. Broome has been far less effective (on offense & defense) against quality opponents. I question whether or not that's fix-able. And thus far Westry, Traore, & Donaldson (who's dropped out of the rotation) have contributed little. Westry's surgery set him back, for sure, but I don't see much improvement at this point from any of them in the games they've played. Bruce likes to say that our 10 are better than your 10, but against quality opponents that may not be true with so little contribution from the freshmen. I hope the light comes on for them, & soon.

I'd guess the title means different things in different circumstances. Here it's surely a recognition of & respect for what Caddy has done the past month. I also hope in this circumstance it means Caddy will be the "last one in the room" so to speak when decisions are being made about game plans (note: 318 yards rushing last Saturday), dealing with the guys, reaching out to the Auburn family, etc. I also hope it means Caddy has a front row seat for learning more fully the head coaching job. It's also a really smart move by Freeze. It's the best start he could have made toward winning over the Auburn family. If Caddy is all in, then most of us will move in that direction, even if the movement is slow for some, because we're certainly all in with Caddy.

I'm a woman, a minister, & a former Auburn athlete. I did not want Freeze, though not primarily because of his past transgressions (though those were significant). I live in Memphis where Ole Miss is heavily covered. In the aftermath of his firing at Ole Miss I was less than impressed with his responses. He didn't show much remorse (at least publicly), didn't seem to accept responsibility. But I believe in forgiveness & 2nd chances. I believe people grow & change, most especially in the aftermath of pain & hurt. I also believe that Cohen surely knows that his whole tenure at Auburn will be shaped by hiring Freeze, so he had to have had a significant conversation with Freeze about his past. Because if Freeze is involved in a scandal again, Cohen will be gone with him. At this point all I know to do is trust the folks involved who know the options & know the stakes. Since he's coming to our beloved Auburn, I'll support our guys & Freeze until given reason not to do so (& hope that never happens). If you've not seen Will Herring's video about the coaching situation, I encourage you to do so. I'm happiest that Caddy is staying. I also agree with JDUBB4AU that Freeze needs to address the issue in his press conference, to say that he's learned & grown. Otherwise, his past will be the elephant in the living room. Here's to better days my fellow Aubies.

My family listened to that game on the radio. We had 1 on in the front of the house & another on in the back of the house. I was 14 at the time, old enough to really care about winning & not having to deal with my friends who were bammers. After being so frustrated for most of the day, we finally scored a FG (I was glad not be shut out), then blocked the 1st punt. Then we got a 3 & out so they had to punt again. My dad & I were pacing all over the house. We came face to face in the hallway when Gary Sanders yelled that we'd blocked the punt again. We both stopped moving & stared at each other. I will never forget the look on my dad's face--his eyes wide as saucers, mouth hanging open, disbelief, joy, hope, all those things on his face at once! Then, when Langner intercepted the pass to seal the win, my dad yelled that we were going to Toomers (we live about 30 minutes away). I know David Housel attributes the beginning of rolling Toomers to that game & that moment, & I rarely doubt David on Auburn history, but it seems to me that we knew what to expect when my dad said we were going. At any rate, it was my 1st experience of Toomers. The memory of that game & that day is a treasure for me.

Sorry if someone has already posted this news (I read a bunch of these pages but not all)... The Memphis paper reported that Deion told his Jax State team last week that he's not leaving. Seems to me his name began to fade from the coaching speculation about then. Because Jax State has played in Memphis in the Southern Heritage Classic for years, Memphis reporters cover them. I've said all along that I didn't think Deion would leave Jax State this year. He'll leave eventually, but he's gotten them to make significant investments in the program based on selling out their stadium because of him. If he left now he'd be leaving them in a bind. So, I think he's staying there, & I think that has nothing to do with us. I may turn out to be dead wrong, but that's what I'm seeing with him.

Actually, I'd say Harsin is the anti-Cadillac, & it didn't work at all, but only because I wouldn't say Caddy is "anti" anything given how positive he is. I'm guessing most of us saw Tank's comment that the Auburn spirit is back after it's been missing, that Caddy brought it back "into the building." In my view last night was about celebrating the return of that spirit as much as it was about the win. After a miserable stretch, an Auburn Saturday was fun again. I'm really grateful.

Hoping with you & seriously hoping you're right!

I didn't notice anything regarding Caddy & Harsin. I'm curious what you saw.

For me, at least, "fit" doesn't mean "one of our own." In some ways I'd say "you know it when you see it." More seriously, I think it involves things like understanding that recruiting in this part of the country is a fist fight. How to establish relationships with southern high school coaches. Understanding race relations in this area (I'm thinking here of rumors that Harsin didn't understand some of the African American kids on the team last year). Understanding the love Auburn people have for our university. Understanding that Auburn people want our coach to be bold but classy (see Pearl). Etc. And no, "fit" isn't everything. Things I mentioned in an earlier post are vitally important (like smarts, management skills, relatability, etc.). But I also think "fit" is a real thing. From early on I didn't sense that Harsin "fit" well here. I hoped he'd grow into it, but I don't think he has. You know, Bruce's first 3 years with the basketball team weren't stellar. I'd even begun to wonder if his time away from coaching had damaged his ability to coach. But nobody was saying he should go. There are likely lots of reasons for that, but I believe one of them was he felt like he belonged here, he "fit." So we were willing to be more patient. How glad are we that we did! So, for me "fit" matters for these reasons.

I appreciate this conversation & the views that have been expressed & debated. My 2 cents at this point is about this idea that we need to hire a "proven" head coach. I wish I thought there was such a thing & we could hire one, but I don't. I can remember when Scott Frost, Charlie Strong, & Tom Herman were the coaches everyone wanted, who'd succeeded wildly where they were, & all were total flops at their next places. I know that Tennessee fans did NOT want Josh Heupel, but do they ever love him now! They were more than a dumpster fire with about 60 scholarship players on campus when Heupel arrived 2 months after Harsin began. While we've been going steadily backward since mid-season last year, they now have the #1 offense in the country, a top 10 team & a legit shot at beating Bama this Saturday. Who saw that coming?! So, I'm just not sold on the idea that there's such a thing as a "proven" coach out there. I hope it's not quite a crap shoot, but it may well be. We need to find the guy with football smarts, management skills, relatability (for recruiting), ability to sell his program (so he gets good coaches on his staff), the chutzpah to believe he can beat Saban & Kirby, & who "fits" Auburn. I don't know who that person is. Personally, I hope that's what the decision-makers are seeking.

If Zac is going to be named interim HC, then I say let's go for it sooner rather than later. Maybe he becomes our Dabo. Clemson went from a midseason disaster to Dabo & all that's happened since. So many of y'all have talked about the difficulty of getting an "established" coach. But it's not just us. Tennessee gets mentioned a lot in this vein for obvious reasons. But we can also talk about Florida since Meyer left. Some of us can remember all that LSU went through before Saban got there. Or even Alabama before Saban got there. Or Texas before & after Mack Brown. Or... y'all know what I'm talking about. Then there are the "hot young coaches" everybody wants. Like Scot Frost or Tom Herman or Will Muschamp or Justin Fuentes. Now nobody wants them. And then there are the coaches nobody wanted from the beginning like Pittman. All of this is why I hate coach searches. I just think it's a crap shoot no matter who you hire. So let's give Zac a chance & maybe he could be our Dabo. That would be the best thing I can imagine at this point.

Oops! Sorry for the false info. My sister saw it. Don't know why I didn't get it. Sorry.

Has anyone seen an Auburn Football Review today? It usually runs at 10 am central on BSSE, & I record it & watch it Sunday afternoon. So, I just checked to see what the heck Harsin would have to say about that game, & it apparently didn't run this morning. It's also not up on YouTube at present. No idea what that means. But it's another weird piece of this ugly puzzle.