WHY NOT US

[Scooter1978 0]

What do the other SEC schools have that we dont.  We have a new basketball arena.  We have great weight rooms.  Why cannot we get the players that the other programs are getting.  Our program has not been in the spotlight for eleven  years.  That is enough time for us to rebuild.  I dont see the football players leaving like our basketball players do.  We need a change.  It also would help us with recruiting with football players as well.  My opinion is we just need some high profile people to come in.

[DyeEraTiger 0]

I think we have a very good coach and the w's will come.

[AU64 10,122]

Before the W's come....we need the players to come and stay.  I'm pulling for Barbee and I hope his Califapi approach of instant success is being reconsidered.    Nearly a dozen of Barbee's recruits have shown up on the AU campus and nearly all of them are gone after a year or two.  Not gonna be any Ws on a consistent basis until that changes.

[Weegle777 78]

Before the W's come....we need the players to come and stay.  I'm pulling for Barbee and I hope his Califapi approach of instant success is being reconsidered.    Nearly a dozen of Barbee's recruits have shown up on the AU campus and nearly all of them are gone after a year or two.   Not gonna be any Ws on a consistent basis until that changes.

Is that some new age mystical belief system like the Pacific Institute or something? 

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

Auburn is a football school plain and simple. The commitment to having a good basketball program has to come from all levels: administration, coaching, fan support, and the entire Auburn community. Barbee can't change the mindset of Auburn Basketball by himself. I don't believe that there is any coach out there that can.

If you are a top RB, you come to Auburn. If you are a McDonald's All-American BB player, you go to Kentucky. To start changing that thought process, it begins with winning.

Barbee took some chances on players to turn this thing around quickly. That is the cause of the high attrition. If he had it do all over again, i do not believe he would have taken those chances. Barbee inherited a mess, and he should have taken things more slowly, which would have required the fanbase to be more patient.

[jwmboom7 0]

I think we have a very good coach and the w's will come.

^^THIS^^

[keesler 5,924]

I think we have a very good coach and the w's will come.

When?  Does this team make to the big dance this year?  Heck, I'd take an NIT invite right about now.....

[marshallcotiger 0]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

[SuperNova 0]

It will a tough fight and will take a long time to get our basketball program back to better than it was before. You can't apply the same expectations for the football program and apply it to the basketball program. We have the right coach at the right school. I bet we will be in the 2014 brackets for March Madness.

Now here is where you can help, complaining does nothing. Go to some of the games, buy up some AU basketball gear, support the team any way you can. And adopt a positive attitude to help the AU basketball team regardless of the win/loss ratio. Positive support thru adversity creates a winning attitude.

[DANSBY 0]

It will a tough fight and will take a long time to get our basketball program back to better than it was before. You can't apply the same expectations for the football program and apply it to the basketball program. We have the right coach at the right school. I bet we will be in the 2014 brackets for March Madness.

Now here is where you can help, complaining does nothing. Go to some of the games, buy up some AU basketball gear, support the team any way you can. And adopt a positive attitude to help the AU basketball team regardless of the win/loss ratio. Positive support thru adversity creates a winning attitude.

Well said (especially the last part)...as your reward you get one picture of a kitty with a frog hat on.  Congratulations!

[AUSWEN 0]

[AU64 10,122]

Suspicions confirmed....saw Scarbs take on the AU basketball program a few days ago and now some guy named Knox writes a piece that sounds like it was picked from a couple of AE threads. Maybe some of you guys ought to start copywriting your comments.  As usual, nothing original from al.com though.

[keesler 5,924]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

What does Under Armour have to do with a program's ability to win and put productive, talented athletes on the court?

[marshallcotiger 0]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

What does Under Armour have to do with a program's ability to win and put productive, talented athletes on the court?

Their arguement is that Nike and moreso AAU coaches that coach a Nike sponsored team push kids who play for their AAU teams to Nike affiliated schools. Since Nike sponsors around 75% of the AAU programs followed by Addidas and then Under Armour they claim it puts us at a massive disadvantage.

[DANSBY 0]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

What does Under Armour have to do with a program's ability to win and put productive, talented athletes on the court?

Their arguement is that Nike and moreso AAU coaches that coach a Nike sponsored team push kids who play for their AAU teams to Nike affiliated schools. Since Nike sponsors around 75% of the AAU programs followed by Addidas and then Under Armour they claim it puts us at a massive disadvantage.

I never really thought much about this until this year....did you guys read about the kid who signed with UCLA I think it was.  His sister is a pro-tennis player ranked like 150th in the nation, and she has a pretty sizable Adidas sponsorship...much nicer than other players ranked higher than her.  Out of nowhere her brother, a top notch basketball recruit  signs with an Adidas school. 

[TigerPaw1 0]

It will a tough fight and will take a long time to get our basketball program back to better than it was before. You can't apply the same expectations for the football program and apply it to the basketball program. We have the right coach at the right school. I bet we will be in the 2014 brackets for March Madness.

Now here is where you can help, complaining does nothing. Go to some of the games, buy up some AU basketball gear, support the team any way you can. And adopt a positive attitude to help the AU basketball team regardless of the win/loss ratio. Positive support thru adversity creates a winning attitude.

I have been to almost every home game for the past 4 seasons now and unfortunately besides that incredible run made in 08 I have seen absolutely nothing to get excited about. I take that back the people I was excited about are no longer on the team. In all honesty I have seen absolutely no difference between what Lebo has put on the court and what Barbee has. The only difference so far has been more student support and higher regarded recruiting classes. Now I know he's only going in to his 3rd season and I believe he should be given 5 years to see what he can do but frankly I have been supremely underwhelmed. If two kids leave your program because of team violations then that's a person problem. When 7 of the 8 kids you brought in along with a transfer or two from previous guys then that makes me question two things. First his ability to recruit kids of character and second what kind of atmosphere is going on inside the Auburn lockerroom.

We have LONG way to go before we become relevant. I'm not asking for a national title in the next 3 or so years what I am asking for is a program that competes for and in the NCAA tourney. That requires signing kids that are not only talented but can hang around for a year or two without shaving points or doing something dumb off the court. Hopefully this recent release of kids will send a clear message that the players will heed and they will focus on getting better as a unit. I still have high hopes for this program but Barbee needs to start giving us something to get excited about or his honeymoon period will come to a sudden and abrupt end

[mustache eagle 2,402]

Auburn is a football school plain and simple. The commitment to having a good basketball program has to come from all levels: administration, coaching, fan support, and the entire Auburn community. Barbee can't change the mindset of Auburn Basketball by himself. I don't believe that there is any coach out there that can.

If you are a top RB, you come to Auburn. If you are a McDonald's All-American BB player, you go to Kentucky. To start changing that thought process, it begins with winning.

Barbee took some chances on players to turn this thing around quickly. That is the cause of the high attrition. If he had it do all over again, i do not believe he would have taken those chances. Barbee inherited a mess, and he should have taken things more slowly, which would have required the fanbase to be more patient.

I disagree with the "football school" line of thought.  That is too easy.  I know Florida has a bigger athletic program in general, but they fielded a good basketball program the last bunch of years.  lots of mid-majors do it and I would guess we throw more at our bball program than they do.  If Barbee is the right guy then it can/will work.  We have had moments of success in the past.  Just need to sustain it.  I think Barbee did a nice job getting the students going this year.  A good home record helped.  I would like to see the student "section" expanded.  A school of over 20,000 should get more students in the gym.  Hopefully more home wins will get that accomplished.

[DANSBY 0]

It begs to be asked, does Barbee have a history of recruiting kids with character issues (insert witty Derrick Caracter reference here)?  Did he bring in point shavers and dropouts at UTEP?    I honestly don't know.  I assume if this was an issue at previous jobs, it would have been mentioned before now.  If Tony Barbee was the sole problem here, I would think you'd find a track record of his recruiting woes at previous schools.  To my knowledge (again, I could be wrong) he hasn't experienced troubles like this in the past, which would lead me to believe, Tony Barbee's recruiting ability/ criteria isn't the only problem here. 

This problem isn't unique to Auburn, it's not like we went and found these players in a gutter somewhere.  Other teams were actively recruiting these same players against us.....so are we to assume these have issues with their player development/ recruiting evaluation as well.  Varez Ward went to TX first and had offers from FSU, Marquette, Arky, and K State, so they must've whiffed on his issues as well.  Kouassi had a dozen other offers, Langford had offers to UGA, Cincy, Ole Miss, and WVU....plenty of programs that are performing at a higher level than Auburn right now.

I have no idea what the problem is, I just think it is short sighted to say the problem is Tony Barbee.  We were struggling before he got here, and we are still struggling today.  Who knows when we'll get through this, but I still feel confident that Barbee is the guy to get it done. 

[AUwenMD 0]

In retrospect one mistake Barbee made was trying to red shirt a couple of guys. I think that we will not have enough numbers to red shirt anybody this season (other than Harrell). Even if we did, it seems to me that it would make more sense to get our guys on the court as soon as possible and try to put a halt to the attrition.

[scottiep 0]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

What does Under Armour have to do with a program's ability to win and put productive, talented athletes on the court?

Their arguement is that Nike and moreso AAU coaches that coach a Nike sponsored team push kids who play for their AAU teams to Nike affiliated schools. Since Nike sponsors around 75% of the AAU programs followed by Addidas and then Under Armour they claim it puts us at a massive disadvantage.

Ultimately, I think it's the perception of the program--more specifically the mostly poor results--that is the biggest reason we struggle getting top talent. But make no mistake, the AAU shoe connection is real. For a long time there has been issues with shoes and coaches contracts--at least amongst the big-time coaches and programs. But, it seems the past 10 years has seen a real jump in lucrative apparel deals and the number of schools that now have them. NIKE and adidas rule AAU and for whatever reason, the AAU coaches/sponsors seem to have greater influence on most players than do their HS coach. Maybe it is a time thing--that is, maybe they spend more time in AAU than they actually do playing on their HS team. Under Armour is certainly a rising star in the apparel business, but they didn't even have a basketball shoe 'til a couple of years ago. And it sounds like they still have work to do to make a top-notch shoe.

And as for AAU, Under Armour has a lot of ground to make up before they are even a blip on the AAU scene. They are going to have to find some prominent teams in the right markets to get this think going.

But, when I see someone talk about how Barbee has all these great NIKE connections and can't use them, I find myself scratching my head. If shoes are the huge deal many lead us to believe, then it would stand to reason that 1 of his first questions during the interview process would be, "Does AU have a shoe/apparel deal?" "Is it NIKE?"

Again, I think it is significant, but I also think some tend to overstate it. It is easy to point to one thing, but frankly that is not the 1 and only reason.

WDE!

[scottiep 0]

In retrospect one mistake Barbee made was trying to red shirt a couple of guys. I think that we will not have enough numbers to red shirt anybody this season (other than Harrell). Even if we did, it seems to me that it would make more sense to get our guys on the court as soon as possible and try to put a halt to the attrition.

He never had any plans to redshirt players. Both Morena and McAffee were injured early in the season and because of the nature of the injuries and the time being missed it made the most sense to get the medical redshirt.

Morena was probably not due to contribute much as a freshman, but McAffee was definitely going to play. Not having him and Noel Johnson for extended minutes really hurt last year's team.

WDE!

[Project Pat 0]

NEVER KNOWN OF A COACH BEAT HIS PLAYERS UP TO THE MEDIA LIKE BARBEE! SOME TIMES SEEMS LIKE EXCUSES FOR NOT PLAYING TALENTED KIDS....ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING BOUT WHO CAN/CANT PLAY DEFENSE OR PICK UP HIS OFFENSE...HAVEN'T SEEN  A STANDOUT DEFENDER YET! MAYBE ITS HIS SYSTEM OR HE IS RECRUITING THE WRONG KIDS FOR HIS SYSTEM

[marshallcotiger 0]

NEVER KNOWN OF A COACH BEAT HIS PLAYERS UP TO THE MEDIA LIKE BARBEE! SOME TIMES SEEMS LIKE EXCUSES FOR NOT PLAYING TALENTED KIDS....ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING BOUT WHO CAN/CANT PLAY DEFENSE OR PICK UP HIS OFFENSE...HAVEN'T SEEN  A STANDOUT DEFENDER YET! MAYBE ITS HIS SYSTEM OR HE IS RECRUITING THE WRONG KIDS FOR HIS SYSTEM

^^^^^Standout defender^^^^^^

[DyeEraTiger 0]

I've always thought the people who argued we would struggle as long as we were an Under Armour school were full of it but I'm beginning to rethink that opinion.

What does Under Armour have to do with a program's ability to win and put productive, talented athletes on the court?

I agree that the shoe deal makes a difference. The swoosh and addidas are entrenched in this market and it is important to kids. It's all about perception. I love the fact that we are Under A with football, even though I've had less than satisfied experience with their shoes. And I was ready to sue them after the first half of the BCS champ when we were wearing the new cleats and looked like we were on a slip and slide. Overall, UA makes good stuff and I think it's pretty popular with the kids--just not basketball kids. As far as CTB, I still have faith he will turn things around. We can have a good basketball team too--just like someone mentioned about UF. It can be accomplished and I believe that its important to Jay for us to be sound in all sports--and I believe basketball is a priority thus the committment of the arena.

Their arguement is that Nike and moreso AAU coaches that coach a Nike sponsored team push kids who play for their AAU teams to Nike affiliated schools. Since Nike sponsors around 75% of the AAU programs followed by Addidas and then Under Armour they claim it puts us at a massive disadvantage.

Ultimately, I think it's the perception of the program--more specifically the mostly poor results--that is the biggest reason we struggle getting top talent. But make no mistake, the AAU shoe connection is real. For a long time there has been issues with shoes and coaches contracts--at least amongst the big-time coaches and programs. But, it seems the past 10 years has seen a real jump in lucrative apparel deals and the number of schools that now have them. NIKE and adidas rule AAU and for whatever reason, the AAU coaches/sponsors seem to have greater influence on most players than do their HS coach. Maybe it is a time thing--that is, maybe they spend more time in AAU than they actually do playing on their HS team. Under Armour is certainly a rising star in the apparel business, but they didn't even have a basketball shoe 'til a couple of years ago. And it sounds like they still have work to do to make a top-notch shoe.

And as for AAU, Under Armour has a lot of ground to make up before they are even a blip on the AAU scene. They are going to have to find some prominent teams in the right markets to get this think going.

But, when I see someone talk about how Barbee has all these great NIKE connections and can't use them, I find myself scratching my head. If shoes are the huge deal many lead us to believe, then it would stand to reason that 1 of his first questions during the interview process would be, "Does AU have a shoe/apparel deal?" "Is it NIKE?"

Again, I think it is significant, but I also think some tend to overstate it. It is easy to point to one thing, but frankly that is not the 1 and only reason.

WDE!

[Weegle777 78]

NEVER KNOWN OF A COACH BEAT HIS PLAYERS UP TO THE MEDIA LIKE BARBEE! SOME TIMES SEEMS LIKE EXCUSES FOR NOT PLAYING TALENTED KIDS....ITS ALWAYS SOMETHING BOUT WHO CAN/CANT PLAY DEFENSE OR PICK UP HIS OFFENSE...HAVEN'T SEEN  A STANDOUT DEFENDER YET! MAYBE ITS HIS SYSTEM OR HE IS RECRUITING THE WRONG KIDS FOR HIS SYSTEM

LOUD NOISES!!