What will it take for AU Basketball to become a relevant program ?

[BHDAU1 240]

To the guys talking about how "no name" coaches are doing well in the tourney:  sorry but a flash of success once in a while is not what I am talking about.  Look at the sweet 16 and now the elite 8, the cream has risen to the top. Lots of name recognition when it comes to the coaches left.  While I understand getting Coach Cal or someone similar  isnt going to be easy, the almighty dollar is the great equalizer.  Proven coaches eventually need a challenge for their egos and Auburn should be in line to make a run at one if there is even a remote chance.  I don't think anyone here could honestly argue that if Auburn was able to hire a Donovan, Izzo, Pitino, Boeheim, Thompson, Self, Huggins, etc. that Auburn wouldnt be a lot better off.  It would INSTANTLY give Auburn credibility with recruits and more importantly the national media.  I sincerely hope Barbee ends up being great but its going to take a while before we will even be able to form an informed opinion.  Heck I wouldve been overjoyed to have Cliff Ellis back at Auburn.  With Ellis at the helm we always had a couple guys with NBA talent on the team, were a threat to win the SEC every year, and more often than not made the NCAA tourney!!!! 

[mustache eagle 2,412]

Ummmmm ... I'm kinda happy with the coach we've got.  And dont give me the Lebo comparisons.  I, like lots of folks thought Lebo was a solid coach.  He just did not seem to connect with the players, nor could he recruit consistently to auburn.  Barbee is driving these guys, demanding their respect, and has gotten increasingly better recruits.  We have top recruits looking at us. 

Btw, every top notch coach was an up and comer at one point who was given a shot.  Barbee has a long term contract, is engaging the students, is working steadily towards an exciting style of play(should be great when the recruits mature)... All in all I think this is the type of coach we at auburn have needed, with all due respect to the previous few coaches.

[Miden 0]

To the guys talking about how "no name" coaches are doing well in the tourney:  sorry but a flash of success once in a while is not what I am talking about.  Look at the sweet 16 and now the elite 8, the cream has risen to the top. Lots of name recognition when it comes to the coaches left.  While I understand getting Coach Cal or someone similar  isnt going to be easy, the almighty dollar is the great equalizer.  Proven coaches eventually need a challenge for their egos and Auburn should be in line to make a run at one if there is even a remote chance.  I don't think anyone here could honestly argue that if Auburn was able to hire a Donovan, Izzo, Pitino, Boeheim, Thompson, Self, Huggins, etc. that Auburn wouldnt be a lot better off.  It would INSTANTLY give Auburn credibility with recruits and more importantly the national media.  I sincerely hope Barbee ends up being great but its going to take a while before we will even be able to form an informed opinion.  Heck I wouldve been overjoyed to have Cliff Ellis back at Auburn.  With Ellis at the helm we always had a couple guys with NBA talent on the team, were a threat to win the SEC every year, and more often than not made the NCAA tourney!!!! 

There is not any amount of monetary compensation that would lure a coach like Izzo, Pitino, or Self to coach at Auburn. That's just not realistic. The big time coaches don't care about money, because they will get plenty of money no matter where they coach. They all have cushy jobs, making a ton of money at big time schools. None of them would have ANY incentive to take up a rebuilding job at a football school in rural Alabama. They would have a ton to lose with very little potential gain.

They don't need an extra challenge because it's already tough enough for a very talented team to win championships in college basketball. Teams like Duke and Mizzou are lightyears ahead of where Auburn is now and they still got knocked out early on in the tourney. The only real recent example I can think of where a big name coach went to a mediocre program was Bob Knight to Texas Tech, but that only happened because Knight was an abusive egomaniac who got fired from Indiana and couldn't get hired by a big time school.

The only choice that programs like Auburn have is to hire potential up and coming coaches like Barbee. I think we have a great coach right now, and maybe sometime in the future Auburn basketball will be in a position to lure away a big name from another school, but right now it's not realistic to expect such a thing.

[HardcoreAU79 0]

Thoughts fresh from NC and KS game.

We all know our players are not at that level and we will realistically not be competing for players at that level.

I think we need to adopt a lessor mid major attitude of a tight disciplined team that win on D. 

Above talent, I saw confidence in their teams, coaches with basic sound methods and all with a  will and expectation to win.

It will be hard to get a group of athletes to buy in like that when they see apathy and doubt all around them.

It will take a special grouip to stay together to build a foundation  like that at AU.

[Rednilla 5,396]

Ummmmm ... I'm kinda happy with the coach we've got.  And dont give me the Lebo comparisons.  I, like lots of folks thought Lebo was a solid coach.  He just did not seem to connect with the players, nor could he recruit consistently to auburn.  Barbee is driving these guys, demanding their respect, and has gotten increasingly better recruits.  We have top recruits looking at us. 

Btw, every top notch coach was an up and comer at one point who was given a shot.  Barbee has a long term contract, is engaging the students, is working steadily towards an exciting style of play(should be great when the recruits mature)... All in all I think this is the type of coach we at auburn have needed, with all due respect to the previous few coaches.

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[AuburnNTexas 7,167]

Thoughts fresh from NC and KS game.

We all know our players are not at that level and we will realistically not be competing for players at that level.

I think we need to adopt a lessor mid major attitude of a tight disciplined team that win on D. 

Above talent, I saw confidence in their teams, coaches with basic sound methods and all with a  will and expectation to win.

It will be hard to get a group of athletes to buy in like that when they see apathy and doubt all around them.

It will take a special grouip to stay together to build a foundation  like that at AU.

Both schools have great home fan bases that regularly fill up the stands at home games. That helps to recruit and it helps to build the family feeling and work ethic that it takes when you have really good players but not quite Elite players.

Players put out when they get supported by their school. I used to see full crowds at the Auburn games in the early 70's.  I don't get back very often and have not gotten back to new arena but I do watch on TV and  I don't see enough full houses. 

It is a nice circle of Life good crowds help recruit good players, good players produce making people want to come and watch. As fans we need to do a better job of filling up the areana to help get the team over the hump.

War Eagle

[HardcoreAU79 0]

Could not agree more .  Success breeds success and we are not there yet.

I think the HC is OK and team is too young for me to evaluate.  Roundball is harder to get people back on campus on weekday nights esp. from B'ham, Huntsville, Mobile, etc.

Which brings me back to an earlier question, where are we on marketing in our two closest urban areas of Columbus, Ga.

and Montgomery, Al. ?  There was an earlier statement I remember about the need for a base number of season ticket holders from those two locations.