DePaul Game Thread

[AuburnTigers1 0]

we lost but that was probably the best game we have played all year. pretty soon we are going to get it together amd win some games. I believe we get Denson back next game so that will provide some more offense to help Frankie.

And that is certainly a positive. I just think in basketball where one or two players can be the difference in being a top 10-15 team or a 250+ ranked team we should be a little farther ahead than where we are right now. The mistakes we make, especially in key situations is alarming (see Chubb's ridiculous TO that probably cost us the game). These types of things are what concerns me with the Bball program. Why is someone as old as Chubb STILL making these mistakes? I'm certainly not giving up on them, but we need to start winning sooner rather than later.

[Aubie791 0]

Random thoughts from someone who was there and is an attending season ticket holder...

Student section was indeed terrific.

Timeout situation worked against us. Wasted one on back to backs in the 1st when we got close to losing it at mid court... coming out of a timeout.

Their press, especially in the 1st half, killed us.

The officiating was horrible, inconsistent and bad at both ends.

There was a big disparity in free throws... they started hot and then faded... with the exceptions of Frankie and Ashaun, we started and finished mediocre at best.

We failed to take it to their #23 after he picked up his 4th foul with about 5 to go (may be off on this). Chubb & Ashaun had fouls to give...

On our next to last possession, Frankie (had 20 in the 1st but only 8 in the 2nd) was on the baseline... with Chubb & Wallace at the top of the key? I did not get that... love Wallace's spirit but, down at that point, we needed every shooter on the floor.

We are improving... if you expect perfection from the start, buy a pro team and pay the salaries you have to. IMO, we are darn lucky to have Barbee as our HC. I guess I should add a "thank you" to Jay Jacobs and a plea to Barbee to hang in there at a place where a grenade would harm few if it landed anywhere other than in the student section.

I can't wait for the days when we fill that place... talk about a home court advantage!

WDE!

I get what you are saying, but I have one question. When can we as a fan base expect to win and win all the time? Not just in Bball, but across the board? I'm so sick of hearing, well we can't expect perfection or wait til next year. We've been hearing that for a long time and it's passed old now.

My opinion on your first question is that those days are coming and our support of the exisiting staff and players could help with that. We could learn something from the support the students are showing. I would add that I agree with what AB has said, and that is, in essence, that this team will get better. If we start showing up in mass, that will help. As recruits start to see the support and the environment, that will help us get those key guys and build a program that stands the test of time. By the way, I have a suspicion that, as the team improves, we may start to see some better officiating crews at our games.

As for your second question, I would remind you that our neighbors accross the state were ready to run their AD out of town on a rail. He actually hired Rich Rod! That falls thru and he manages to bring in a terrific coach with what I believe to be questionable character. Now, he is a hero to all. I live about 55 miles from Auburn and have season basketball and baseball tickets so those are the sports I can speak to with the most confidence. Baseball is hampered by issues with the same scholarship limitations that everybody has and also the fact that some neighboring states have lotteries which fund college educations for many. That gives them an edge which we can't deny. Additionally, the sweet spot for recruiting is below the 1st/2nd round draft pick possibility and trying to go after the kids who are committed to college but good enough to go to the minors right away. Very challenging. In basketball, we are still tied up a bit by the AAU stuf which I still do not fully understand. We are also known as a football school and that does not help at all. This is especially true when your football program is going thru tough times. After reading Phillip Marshall's article and realizing how well it seemed to track with what I had observed, but could not explain, It may be as simple as bringing Gus back and taking the handcuffs off of Yox. Not to start an unrelated debate but, for me, winning is important but it isn't everything. Playing with pride and doing things the right way are important.

I guess my opinion is that you have to look at each sport independently to understand why we are were we are. Swimming for example... we lose a guy to the Olympic team and his backfill is struck by a tragic health situation... How can we blame an AD for that?

I do understand your frustration. Keep the faith and be as supportive as you can while understanding that we will not go from where we are to perfect over night. There is no magic pill for any of these woes.

WDE!

[WarAJEagle 5]

Good news is.... we should be .500 before Florida State comes to town.

[TigerPaw1 0]

That was a terrible game... Both teams turned the ball over and lived off of long threes. I have never seen a team struggle so hard to throw the ball in like we did last night. What really concerns me is we look so poorly coached. I am so sick of watching all of these Auburn teams whether it be football, basketball, or baseball just look so ill prepared. It is going to be a long season but one positive I will say is that there is a lot of fight in this team. I can at least be encouraged that Auburn is always going to leave it all on the court and you gotta think that will help them pull of one nice upset

[NoALtiger 3,867]

Classic AU baskerball.. as usual.

[Zimas4Ziemba 0]

Not going through this 1800 response thread to see if it has been brought up, but Jordan Price is fat and out of shape. Can't believe that guy was a top 100 player. He was dragging arse the entire game.

[benjazz 0]

Random thoughts from someone who was there and is an attending season ticket holder...

Student section was indeed terrific.

Timeout situation worked against us. Wasted one on back to backs in the 1st when we got close to losing it at mid court... coming out of a timeout.

Their press, especially in the 1st half, killed us.

The officiating was horrible, inconsistent and bad at both ends.

There was a big disparity in free throws... they started hot and then faded... with the exceptions of Frankie and Ashaun, we started and finished mediocre at best.

We failed to take it to their #23 after he picked up his 4th foul with about 5 to go (may be off on this). Chubb & Ashaun had fouls to give...

On our next to last possession, Frankie (had 20 in the 1st but only 8 in the 2nd) was on the baseline... with Chubb & Wallace at the top of the key? I did not get that... love Wallace's spirit but, down at that point, we needed every shooter on the floor.

We are improving... if you expect perfection from the start, buy a pro team and pay the salaries you have to. IMO, we are darn lucky to have Barbee as our HC. I guess I should add a "thank you" to Jay Jacobs and a plea to Barbee to hang in there at a place where a grenade would harm few if it landed anywhere other than in the student section.

I can't wait for the days when we fill that place... talk about a home court advantage!

WDE!

Amen

[rtftiger 40]

I've been meaning to post for the past few days.

I continue to wonder why Josh Wallace plays as much as he does, especially in clutch situations. He is a good decision maker. However, when play gets tight, he's just not big enough to throw over the top of tight man-to-man and not quick enough to go around it. At the end of the game, possessions die 40 feet away from the basket.

I say we should let the young bucks run with Frankie.

[jared52 4,354]

I should have mentioned this earlier but the student section (based on what I saw on TV) was fantastic. I was at AU from '95-'99 so I was there for some of the really, really good teams and I actually had more fun at those games than football (except maybe the '95 and '97 Iron Bowls). Hope there are better games (wins) for the students to enjoy coming up.

[AUHEARDOC 0]

Random thoughts from someone who was there and is an attending season ticket holder...

Student section was indeed terrific.

Timeout situation worked against us. Wasted one on back to backs in the 1st when we got close to losing it at mid court... coming out of a timeout.

Their press, especially in the 1st half, killed us.

The officiating was horrible, inconsistent and bad at both ends.

There was a big disparity in free throws... they started hot and then faded... with the exceptions of Frankie and Ashaun, we started and finished mediocre at best.

We failed to take it to their #23 after he picked up his 4th foul with about 5 to go (may be off on this). Chubb & Ashaun had fouls to give...

On our next to last possession, Frankie (had 20 in the 1st but only 8 in the 2nd) was on the baseline... with Chubb & Wallace at the top of the key? I did not get that... love Wallace's spirit but, down at that point, we needed every shooter on the floor.

We are improving... if you expect perfection from the start, buy a pro team and pay the salaries you have to. IMO, we are darn lucky to have Barbee as our HC. I guess I should add a "thank you" to Jay Jacobs and a plea to Barbee to hang in there at a place where a grenade would harm few if it landed anywhere other than in the student section.

I can't wait for the days when we fill that place... talk about a home court advantage!

WDE!

Thanks for the observations. I was also at the game and I agree with them all. Even though we lost, I thought we played the best game we had all season. Chubb did much better in the post. Their press did kill us, but I thought we played better on defense in the first half and that led to some turnovers and transition points. Frankie is still having to shoulder too much of the scoring (though I was happy to see Chubb and Payne get more points this game). I still think Dixon-Tatum is going to be an asset down low. I have said this in every game so far, but we cannot keep getting beat on fundamentals. We cannot beat ourselves at free throws and expect to win games. But i agree that coach barbee is an asset and would love to see him turn this program into a success.

And yeah, the student section was great and Auburn Arena could really be rocking if it was packed out. My wife and I (both AU grads) commented on how nice the facilities are. Great place to take in a good bball game.