tigeraddikt

Ain't what Ryan Williams said. Unless he's secret BFFs with future teammates in Ttown? Every one of the coaches that formed relationships with him at the Krapstone is either playing golf or coaching elsewhere now. But I do agree that everything being equal, relationships usu. trump the school.

I believe in ESPN’s metrics, and love it. This is what my crystal bawlz showed me about the game Wed. night:

You’re smart to temper expectations. I knew that AU was punching above its weight in FG% in the 1st quarter and Arky was punching under its weight. However, I didn’t think a total collapse would happen like it did. I mean, AU owned the first and last quarters and played fairly even in the 2nd. Just unreal how an entire team can go catatonic for the entire quarter. The middle quarters have been a problem this season for CJH’s team.

As anticipated, auburn came back but falls 74-72. Horrible loss.

Tied at 67 with 1:26 to go. Great comeback, lotta moxie in this 4th quarter. Can they steal this win back….stay tuned…

At the end of 3, Arky now up 56-45. Utterly baffling and frankly embarrassing collapse coming out of the half. Complete lack of focus, and no effective adjustments to Arky’s halftime adjustments. Outscored 31-11. I anticipate AU to close the gap a bit in the 4th quarter but to ultimately succumb due to the 3rd quarter meltdown. I just don’t get it. AU was ahead 30-15 at one point and having their way.

5:00 Central tip. Teams are very similar record-wise. AU has come out with lock-down half court D and hot shooting. Ahead 27-13 at the 6:00 mark of the 2nd quarter. Honestly if we could just hit a couple of 3’s and play slightly better transition D, it would already be a 20-25 point lead. Ladies loooong very sharp!

Yep, Zihuatanejo

Pearl questioned their genitalia at halftime. Man did they respond. Best half of bawl they’ve played this season. Congrats to Bruce and the boyz!

DAGGER

Hmmm I wonder what it is you know…

Good for him. Now let’s go get another good one!

Yeah Dawn Staley essentially has a traveling All-Star team each year. The AU women hung in there for a quarter and a half, which was much longer than I expected.

I think I’m fine with giving SP a chance to continue a seamless succession. I think he can prep and scheme. I just hope he can hold players accountable (something Bruce seems to struggle with imo) and most of all, recruit. Recruit. Recruit.

Please explain why you are truly baffled at this thread. I started it. Not taking your comment offensively at all, I just infer that you are under the impression that my original post implied that AU hoops deserves something it doesn’t and that I was ready to move on from Bruce or something. That’s not the case; I want him to do better, but that’s just me being a fan. AU men’s hoops was basketball purgatory before he turned it around. However, since the Final Four run, his upward trajectory has attenuated. I was just wondering what folks’ opinions were about where AU might look after he does decide to retire.

I tend to agree. I hope for 4-6 more years. But we will see. I think the transfer portal and roster management with NIL is gonna zap him, too.

Yeah, sorry, just meant to compare the two’s physical statures as freshmen.

They need to hire a Director of Rules Skirting at UTk; they sure don't do it right up there.

Holloway is small, soft, and scared right now. He’s only comfortable dribbling in open court unharassed and jacking up 3’s where the big scary men can’t blast him. He’ll always be small(ish), but he won’t always be soft or scared. He just has to grow into it. Jared Harper had to as well.

1.) Team hypnosis. 2.) Tre D. plays the first and last 8 mins of each half. 3.) Chris Moore sits the first and last 8 minutes of each half. 4.) Lior Berman sits the first and last 10 minutes of each half. 5.) Bruce calls timeouts to stop momentum-swinging runs.

I like the hire. If Saban had held on another year or two, DJD might very well have gotten a featured role in Saban’s coaching rehab show.

I agree with all of this.

Thanks for that contribution. Compared to the pre-Pearl era? Absolutely. Compared to what it could/should be now…debatable. I simply wanted to start a speculative discussion regarding where AU might turn for the next HC. It was more in-line with Saban’s recent retirement rather than this week’s relatively poor road performances by the men’s team. Pearl has not make the tourney every year. He sacrificed 2020, but wouldn’t have made it even if he and the department hadn’t self-declared post-season ineligibility. I am thrilled at the turnaround BP has ushered for AU men’s hoops, and I enjoy watching each 20+ win season unfold. However, to hold him above reproach or criticism, or to turn a blind eye to the fact that many performances (road and post-season) leave MUCH to be desired, is what is ludicrous. I'm not wishing BP gone, just wondering about his eventual replacement.

What type of HC will Auburn be able to attract when Bruce hangs it up? I feel like he wants to set Steven up for the succession, but unless SP spreads his wings and takes another smaller HC gig beforehand (and does well), I don’t really see that happening. Where that leaves Auburn is: where do you go from Bruce? Does AU revert back to the “promising” mid-major HC route, which Lebo and Barbee both were? Can Auburn attract a proven championship caliber HC? What about someone like Bucky if he were available? it’s a bit knee-jerk, as I think Pettiford will be the most skilled game-ready Freshman guard that Bruce will have ever brought in. But between the recruiting misses, in-game coaching issues, teams that lack focus away from home, lack of post season mojo since 2019, and questionable roster management methods, I’m ready/willing to peek ahead. I honestly feel like the most enduring legacy Bruce will have ever left AU (future perfect tense alert) is turning the Arena into a monster home court advantage. (That pre-supposes he does not win a NCAA tourney.) He’s been a perfect ambassador for the school, and he alone rebuilt the program. He deserves eternal gratitude from AU fans, but to me, he has stagnated and under-achieved the past few years, with the league only getting tougher.

D**n f****ng h*ll better be