Someone please tell me...

[AU64 10,122]

I am sorry but we all seem to miss the business part of SEC basketball. It is supply and demand. As long as demand little that is all we are going to get. It is useless to sell the idea that basketball can be a PAYING sport in Alabama. It can't and won't ever be. If we become inept in football as we are in basketball this university's revenue's would plummet. As long as we as fans, say (as i did on another thread)."let's get this season over and get to football" and Football is the KING, we will deal with just a "whatever" basketball team. Again, it seems the best we can do(money wise and sports wise) is Tony Barbee and we will limp through another horrible season and say with a sigh...WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR.

JMO and someone would have to study the issue but I suspect the problem in the deep south begins in HS where football is king and that's where the best athletes end up. And guys like JJ who are very good HS basketball players as well as football players end up playing football. Do you think that if JJ lived in Indiana or Kentucky that he would favor FB over BB?.

Schools like St Marys and Gonzaga have shooters...not slamming and jamming athletes whose effective range is about 6 feet. SEC basketball is getting to resemble football being played in short pants.....and it's about athleticism, not skill. I don't have a lot of hope for SEC basketball in general and AU basketball in particular....and rotating coaches is not going to make much difference.

As for coaching, with all the complaining about TB, I've yet to see a name tossed out for a coach that we actually would have a "snowball's" chance of hiring. The legends aren't going anywhere and even the best coaches at the smaller top rated schools are reluctant to move to the Big Universities where football is king. They have it made where they are and $$$ isn't always the answer.

[AUBourne 425]

You can assume they will say no but you don't know. Until AU dangles those million dollar pay checks in their face and our top facilities and recruiting budget, etc you don't what they will say. A high school football coach in Alabama probably makes more than the head basketball coach at St Mary's. There are some really good coaches out there that have had success in the tourney at small schools. Like great athletes not afraid of competition, some coaches rightfully believe they can compete with the big boys and that they can win at AU.

BTW I love the the model of recruiting at St. Mary's and the system they run. They have a lot of foreign kids on their roster. Something I suggested months ago that AU needed to really look into. If we develop relationships along with UA at places like the Australian national BB academy and flaunt the great resources available at Auburn athletically and educational opportunities our roster would experience huge upgrades in basketball players. They may not be able to jump or spin as fast as the type of players CTB wants but they know how to shoot, box out, go full speed when they don't have the ball in their hand and play their role on the team. Of course if we could beat Alabama on a few in state recruits we would be much better too but that also never seems to happen under CTB.

[Auburnguy101 325]

Watching St Mary's vs Gonzaga. St Mary's plays in high school arena but either of these teams would crush AU and most other SEC schools because of coaching. There is no way a school like St Mary's could support a coach like AU could.

I am one of the biggest basketball fans there is, and like you, it baffles me how these small colleges are leaps and bounds better than Auburn and most of the SEC in basketball. However, we have to remember, most of these colleges main sport is basketball, but that is still not an excuse. I have heard too many Auburn fans give excuse after excuse on why Auburn basketball is struggling. The SEC is the worst power conference in Div. 1, and one of the worst conferences overall in Div. 1 basketball. There is no reason Auburn should be this bad. I hate to do this comparison, but look at Alabama. Their basketball team is pretty average, but they have a good record in the SEC right now because the SEC is terrible, and they beat the teams they should beat, as well as protecting home court. Auburn, if we had any kind of decent coaching, should be able to protect home court in the SEC, and then win a couple on the road, and that's 10 or 11 wins right there. Believe me, it is not hard to win in the SEC. There is UK and UF, and Missouri, and then everyone else is either below average to flat out terrible. Teams like Bucknell, Belmont, Butler, VCU, Montana, Weber St., Louisiana Tech, ( I could go on and on, but you get the idea) would have a field day against our conference. I believed that before we hired Barbee in 2010, that Auburn needed a proven winner, ala Tubby Smith, Bobby Knight, etc., someone who has proven themselves, not an up and comer. If Auburn is serious about basketball, stop getting these up and comers, this is not football. We need someone who can immdeiately revive the program, not someone who may or may not pan out....

[AUBourne 425]

Watching St Mary's vs Gonzaga. St Mary's plays in high school arena but either of these teams would crush AU and most other SEC schools because of coaching. There is no way a school like St Mary's could support a coach like AU could.

I am one of the biggest basketball fans there is, and like you, it baffles me how these small colleges are leaps and bounds better than Auburn and most of the SEC in basketball. However, we have to remember, most of these colleges main sport is basketball, but that is still not an excuse. I have heard too many Auburn fans give excuse after excuse on why Auburn basketball is struggling. The SEC is the worst power conference in Div. 1, and one of the worst conferences overall in Div. 1 basketball. There is no reason Auburn should be this bad. I hate to do this comparison, but look at Alabama. Their basketball team is pretty average, but they have a good record in the SEC right now because the SEC is terrible, and they beat the teams they should beat, as well as protecting home court. Auburn, if we had any kind of decent coaching, should be able to protect home court in the SEC, and then win a couple on the road, and that's 10 or 11 wins right there. Believe me, it is not hard to win in the SEC. There is UK and UF, and Missouri, and then everyone else is either below average to flat out terrible. Teams like Bucknell, Belmont, Butler, VCU, Montana, Weber St., Louisiana Tech, ( I could go on and on, but you get the idea) would have a field day against our conference. I believed that before we hired Barbee in 2010, that Auburn needed a proven winner, ala Tubby Smith, Bobby Knight, etc., someone who has proven themselves, not an up and comer. If Auburn is serious about basketball, stop getting these up and comers, this is not football. We need someone who can immdeiately revive the program, not someone who may or may not pan out....

Well said. Though I would be very happy to take a coach with proven tournament success at a smaller school.

[AUBourne 425]

Here is St. Mary's gym. Their RPI rating is 50. Auburn is ranked 205. Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 206. Ranked above us is teams like Sacred Heart, Southern, and Norfolk State. I am just saying, things are much worse than some people are willing to admit.

[AU64 10,122]

Watching St Mary's vs Gonzaga. St Mary's plays in high school arena but either of these teams would crush AU and most other SEC schools because of coaching. There is no way a school like St Mary's could support a coach like AU could.

I am one of the biggest basketball fans there is, and like you, it baffles me how these small colleges are leaps and bounds better than Auburn and most of the SEC in basketball. However, we have to remember, most of these colleges main sport is basketball, but that is still not an excuse. I have heard too many Auburn fans give excuse after excuse on why Auburn basketball is struggling. The SEC is the worst power conference in Div. 1, and one of the worst conferences overall in Div. 1 basketball. There is no reason Auburn should be this bad. I hate to do this comparison, but look at Alabama. Their basketball team is pretty average, but they have a good record in the SEC right now because the SEC is terrible, and they beat the teams they should beat, as well as protecting home court. Auburn, if we had any kind of decent coaching, should be able to protect home court in the SEC, and then win a couple on the road, and that's 10 or 11 wins right there. Believe me, it is not hard to win in the SEC. There is UK and UF, and Missouri, and then everyone else is either below average to flat out terrible. Teams like Bucknell, Belmont, Butler, VCU, Montana, Weber St., Louisiana Tech, ( I could go on and on, but you get the idea) would have a field day against our conference. I believed that before we hired Barbee in 2010, that Auburn needed a proven winner, ala Tubby Smith, Bobby Knight, etc., someone who has proven themselves, not an up and comer. If Auburn is serious about basketball, stop getting these up and comers, this is not football. We need someone who can immdeiately revive the program, not someone who may or may not pan out....

Well said. Though I would be very happy to take a coach with proven tournament success at a smaller school.

ROF reading comments that we should go out and hire a coach like Knight or someone proven....what world do some people live in? Taking an SEC basketball HC job is committing career suicide and just about every collegiate basketball coach in the country knows that. These proven coaches already make all the money they can spend and can easily recruit to their successful programs. So why needlessly put their career reputations on the line in the SEC where 3 schools out of 14 have a decent program and most students or fans don't care about basketball anyway.

The conference had a few good coaches maybe 10-15 years ago but as the conference turned into THE football conference and the SEC football wars heated up, those guys moved on. Now we are left with a couple good coaches and a bunch of "up and comers" as someone described them,who are hoping to beat the odds and actually turn the basketball program around at AU, UGa, USCe, or Bama, LSU or where ever.

A few weeks ago, someone spoke the absolute truth saying that "Auburn is a football school and that's the only important sport" and that JJ (and the rest of us) better understand that fact.

[Auburnfan91 1,407]

I am one of the biggest basketball fans there is, and like you, it baffles me how these small colleges are leaps and bounds better than Auburn and most of the SEC in basketball. However, we have to remember, most of these colleges main sport is basketball, but that is still not an excuse. I have heard too many Auburn fans give excuse after excuse on why Auburn basketball is struggling. The SEC is the worst power conference in Div. 1, and one of the worst conferences overall in Div. 1 basketball. There is no reason Auburn should be this bad. I hate to do this comparison, but look at Alabama. Their basketball team is pretty average, but they have a good record in the SEC right now because the SEC is terrible, and they beat the teams they should beat, as well as protecting home court. Auburn, if we had any kind of decent coaching, should be able to protect home court in the SEC, and then win a couple on the road, and that's 10 or 11 wins right there. Believe me, it is not hard to win in the SEC. There is UK and UF, and Missouri, and then everyone else is either below average to flat out terrible. Teams like Bucknell, Belmont, Butler, VCU, Montana, Weber St., Louisiana Tech, ( I could go on and on, but you get the idea) would have a field day against our conference. I believed that before we hired Barbee in 2010, that Auburn needed a proven winner, ala Tubby Smith, Bobby Knight, etc., someone who has proven themselves, not an up and comer. If Auburn is serious about basketball, stop getting these up and comers, this is not football. We need someone who can immdeiately revive the program, not someone who may or may not pan out....

Good post.

Before Barbee was hired there were different names being posted on here. The one I liked and still do think could do a good job at Auburn is Stan Heath. I know he's struggling at South Florida this year but he did take them to the NCAA Tournament last year. It was the first time South Florida had been to the Tournament in almost 20 years. Heath took Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament his last two years there and yet they fired him. Arkansas hasn't done much since Heath was let go.

What Auburn needs is a proven coach that has turned programs around.

[AUBourne 425]

Watching St Mary's vs Gonzaga. St Mary's plays in high school arena but either of these teams would crush AU and most other SEC schools because of coaching. There is no way a school like St Mary's could support a coach like AU could.

I am one of the biggest basketball fans there is, and like you, it baffles me how these small colleges are leaps and bounds better than Auburn and most of the SEC in basketball. However, we have to remember, most of these colleges main sport is basketball, but that is still not an excuse. I have heard too many Auburn fans give excuse after excuse on why Auburn basketball is struggling. The SEC is the worst power conference in Div. 1, and one of the worst conferences overall in Div. 1 basketball. There is no reason Auburn should be this bad. I hate to do this comparison, but look at Alabama. Their basketball team is pretty average, but they have a good record in the SEC right now because the SEC is terrible, and they beat the teams they should beat, as well as protecting home court. Auburn, if we had any kind of decent coaching, should be able to protect home court in the SEC, and then win a couple on the road, and that's 10 or 11 wins right there. Believe me, it is not hard to win in the SEC. There is UK and UF, and Missouri, and then everyone else is either below average to flat out terrible. Teams like Bucknell, Belmont, Butler, VCU, Montana, Weber St., Louisiana Tech, ( I could go on and on, but you get the idea) would have a field day against our conference. I believed that before we hired Barbee in 2010, that Auburn needed a proven winner, ala Tubby Smith, Bobby Knight, etc., someone who has proven themselves, not an up and comer. If Auburn is serious about basketball, stop getting these up and comers, this is not football. We need someone who can immdeiately revive the program, not someone who may or may not pan out....

Well said. Though I would be very happy to take a coach with proven tournament success at a smaller school.

ROF reading comments that we should go out and hire a coach like Knight or someone proven....what world do some people live in? Taking an SEC basketball HC job is committing career suicide and just about every collegiate basketball coach in the country knows that. These proven coaches already make all the money they can spend and can easily recruit to their successful programs. So why needlessly put their career reputations on the line in the SEC where 3 schools out of 14 have a decent program and most students or fans don't care about basketball anyway.

The conference had a few good coaches maybe 10-15 years ago but as the conference turned into THE football conference and the SEC football wars heated up, those guys moved on. Now we are left with a couple good coaches and a bunch of "up and comers" as someone described them,who are hoping to beat the odds and actually turn the basketball program around at AU, UGa, USCe, or Bama, LSU or where ever.

A few weeks ago, someone spoke the absolute truth saying that "Auburn is a football school and that's the only important sport" and that JJ (and the rest of us) better understand that fact.

LOL Yeah that Billy Donovan is crazy to take a job at a football school like Florida. They will never be any good at basketball. And no way should USC try and hire a coach that just took Kansas State to the sweet 16 or elite 8 three years in a row because Frank Martin would never take a job in the SEC.

The SEC is not so tough that a coach making $200K a year at a program like St Mary's or Northern Iowa would not be willing to give it a shot for $1 or $2 million a year. If they can make noise at a small school with very limited resources they can match that success at an SEC school.

[AU64 10,122]

LOL Yeah that Billy Donovan is crazy to take a job at a football school like Florida. They will never be any good at basketball. And no way should USC try and hire a coach that just took Kansas State to the sweet 16 or elite 8 three years in a row because Frank Martin would never take a job in the SEC.

BD has been at UF for 15 years....arrived after two mediocre years at Marshall....we sure would not have hired him with that record. And, that was before the basketball downfall of the SEC. Certainly he has done a good job....but he is now the dean of SEC coaches and an exception.

And let's see how long FM lasts at USCe....he left KSU after a few years because he knew he would never beat KU. Prior coach Darrin Horn went to USCe with a great record from Western Ky...lasted four years at USCe and was fired.

Check Mark Gottffied....had some good years at Bama but then when the football program started to recover from probation and some bad coaches, the basketball program went down (wonder why that was?) and he was shown the door. After a couple years to re-hab his reputation he went to NC State and to the NCAA his first season.

Remember Trent Johnson at LSU..came from Stanford with a good record and lasted 4 years and then fired....and is at TCU. Man, I can bury you in stats of BB coaches who came to the SEC with good records elsewhere who could not beat the football mentality at their schools.

No sayin' not to try but folks gotta be realistic about the task.

[AUBourne 425]

LOL Yeah that Billy Donovan is crazy to take a job at a football school like Florida. They will never be any good at basketball. And no way should USC try and hire a coach that just took Kansas State to the sweet 16 or elite 8 three years in a row because Frank Martin would never take a job in the SEC.

BD has been at UF for 15 years....arrived after two mediocre years at Marshall....we sure would not have hired him with that record. And, that was before the basketball downfall of the SEC. Certainly he has done a good job....but he is now the dean of SEC coaches and an exception.

And let's see how long FM lasts at USCe....he left KSU after a few years because he knew he would never beat KU. Prior coach Darrin Horn went to USCe with a great record from Western Ky...lasted four years at USCe and was fired.

Check Mark Gottffied....had some good years at Bama but then when the football program started to recover from probation and some bad coaches, the basketball program went down (wonder why that was?) and he was shown the door. After a couple years to re-hab his reputation he went to NC State and to the NCAA his first season.

Remember Trent Johnson at LSU..came from Stanford with a good record and lasted 4 years and then fired....and is at TCU. Man, I can bury you in stats of BB coaches who came to the SEC with good records elsewhere who could not beat the football mentality at their schools.

No sayin' not to try but folks gotta be realistic about the task.

So first you said no successful coaches from small programs will come to the SEC. Now I guess your saying they will come but they will all fail. Well I don't agree. Sure we AU fans know that coaches can fail. In the past AU did not have the support from the AD to make basketball a winner. I think there is a new level of determination to win and they showed that by building the arena and paying a guy top 25 type pay to run our program.

And I am realistic. I don't expect AU to hire someone and the next year be Kentucky or Florida. But I recognize the poor job and the terrible product that is the current team. Barbee's style and system was a poor fit and I blame JJ for that. It was a dumb hire. I don't blame CTB for taking the $1.5M though. But after 3 seasons there is zero proof that any foundation has been established for future success under Barbee. He recruited worse than the rest of the SEC so far the past 3 years. And why would any top recruit want to play for him now? Not happening. Next year looks like another 4-6 SEC win type season so what is the point in continuing on this route?

AU fans are desperate for a winning a basketball program and they will support a good team. Even the idea of possible success brings the crowds out. Despite the terrible preseason record AU fans still showed up for early SEC games. The students have been awesome all year. If CTB was showing signs of improvement the crowds would be there even now. But instead he goes out and losses to DePaul, Winthrop and Rhode Island and then bombs the SEC schedule. Sorry I wish his dribble drive offense would work at AU and that his recruiting was able to give him they type of players he needed. But it's a proven poor fit.

[Auburnfan91 1,407]

Remember Trent Johnson at LSU..came from Stanford with a good record and lasted 4 years and then fired....and is at TCU. Man, I can bury you in stats of BB coaches who came to the SEC with good records elsewhere who could not beat the football mentality at their schools.

Trent Johnson left LSU and went to TCU. He wasn't fired.

http://www.cbssports...ter-leaving-lsu

Andy Kennedy's done a good job at Ole Miss. He's taken them to the NIT a lot.

I don't see why Auburn can't at least make the NIT every couple of years.

[AU64 10,122]

" Trent Johnson left LSU and went to TCU. He wasn't fired."

Technically I guess that's true.. but he was on his way out....just a matter of time. He had about a 65 -65 record at LSU....and I don't think he considered TCU a step up from LSU....but I sure can't blame him for taking off when the chance came...and before he was considered a failure and relegated to some directonal school to rebuild his confidence and reputation.

You can just about plot a graph of the rise of the SEC as the dominant football conference against the decline of the SEC as a dominant basketball conference. I don't know the cause / effect relatioinship but not that long ago we usually had 6 teams in the NCAA and now if we have four, the last one will be a gift and the conference's best team (UF) lost to Arky last week.

I don't see why Auburn can't at least make the NIT every couple of years.

I agree and I'm hoping for the best....and I don't have an emotional investment in TB...just looking at history, etc. JMO, but dumping a coach (who came to AU with a good record and a good basketball pedigree) after 3 years is not the way to turn things around.

[AURules 0]

I'd like to thank everyone for their insight to this thread. Clearly you guys love Auburn Basketball and you're passionate about it!

I believe CTB to be a good coach although I don't get our offense....maybe the lack of execution is blinding me to what we are trying to do offensively or maybe as some have indicated; our players lack of control and all the turnovers, have me thinking this way but for me, it's just painful to watch our basketball team right now!!!

Whether it's recruiting, player development, coaching, schemes or whatever the problem, we can and should play better basketball than we're playing!!!

I brought a co-worker down to the AU vs. KU game and he's a KU fan. He said that he's been in most basketball arena's in the SEC but none are near as nice as ours.

If we have the best facilities, a coach with a previous successful pedigree and fan support; which I think is evident, I guess it boils down to talent!

I really believe it takes atleast 5 years for a coach to get his players in and the previous coaches players out and it's probably rare for previous coaches players to completely buy in to a new system. That said, Auburn has pride and tradition and I really think fans would pack out Auburn Arena if we could put a respectable product on the court!!!

The thing is, if we're having trouble getting good talent and it's SEC wide then shouldn't we be winning our share of SEC games because other SEC teams are facing the same issues that we're facing so where does that leave us? There may not be a simple answer to this problem but I do like what I'm seeing in some of our young players and that gives me hope for the future and I guess for now, that has to be enough!!! Thanks everybody and War Eagle!!!

[NoALtiger 3,868]

LOL Yeah that Billy Donovan is crazy to take a job at a football school like Florida. They will never be any good at basketball. And no way should USC try and hire a coach that just took Kansas State to the sweet 16 or elite 8 three years in a row because Frank Martin would never take a job in the SEC.

BD has been at UF for 15 years....arrived after two mediocre years at Marshall....we sure would not have hired him with that record. And, that was before the basketball downfall of the SEC. Certainly he has done a good job....but he is now the dean of SEC coaches and an exception.

And let's see how long FM lasts at USCe....he left KSU after a few years because he knew he would never beat KU. Prior coach Darrin Horn went to USCe with a great record from Western Ky...lasted four years at USCe and was fired.

Check Mark Gottffied....had some good years at Bama but then when the football program started to recover from probation and some bad coaches, the basketball program went down (wonder why that was?) and he was shown the door. After a couple years to re-hab his reputation he went to NC State and to the NCAA his first season.

Remember Trent Johnson at LSU..came from Stanford with a good record and lasted 4 years and then fired....and is at TCU. Man, I can bury you in stats of BB coaches who came to the SEC with good records elsewhere who could not beat the football mentality at their schools.

No sayin' not to try but folks gotta be realistic about the task.

So first you said no successful coaches from small programs will come to the SEC. Now I guess your saying they will come but they will all fail. Well I don't agree. Sure we AU fans know that coaches can fail. In the past AU did not have the support from the AD to make basketball a winner. I think there is a new level of determination to win and they showed that by building the arena and paying a guy top 25 type pay to run our program.

And I am realistic. I don't expect AU to hire someone and the next year be Kentucky or Florida. But I recognize the poor job and the terrible product that is the current team. Barbee's style and system was a poor fit and I blame JJ for that. It was a dumb hire. I don't blame CTB for taking the $1.5M though. But after 3 seasons there is zero proof that any foundation has been established for future success under Barbee. He recruited worse than the rest of the SEC so far the past 3 years. And why would any top recruit want to play for him now? Not happening. Next year looks like another 4-6 SEC win type season so what is the point in continuing on this route?

AU fans are desperate for a winning a basketball program and they will support a good team. Even the idea of possible success brings the crowds out. Despite the terrible preseason record AU fans still showed up for early SEC games. The students have been awesome all year. If CTB was showing signs of improvement the crowds would be there even now. But instead he goes out and losses to DePaul, Winthrop and Rhode Island and then bombs the SEC schedule. Sorry I wish his dribble drive offense would work at AU and that his recruiting was able to give him they type of players he needed. But it's a proven poor fit.

I've read this entire thread and this is what really caught my attention. $1.5 Million? Is that per year? You gotta be frickin kidding me or something. In all honesty, there are boatloads of coaches we could get for that kind of money, wow. If we were paying chump change or something would be one thing but c'mon folks, even the most die hard man crush Tony Barbee loving fans would have to admit something is off with that. Alright, one of you stats guys post what we've gotten so far for almost $5 million the past few seasons.

[jwmboom7 0]

LOL Yeah that Billy Donovan is crazy to take a job at a football school like Florida. They will never be any good at basketball. And no way should USC try and hire a coach that just took Kansas State to the sweet 16 or elite 8 three years in a row because Frank Martin would never take a job in the SEC.

BD has been at UF for 15 years....arrived after two mediocre years at Marshall....we sure would not have hired him with that record. And, that was before the basketball downfall of the SEC. Certainly he has done a good job....but he is now the dean of SEC coaches and an exception.

And let's see how long FM lasts at USCe....he left KSU after a few years because he knew he would never beat KU. Prior coach Darrin Horn went to USCe with a great record from Western Ky...lasted four years at USCe and was fired.

Check Mark Gottffied....had some good years at Bama but then when the football program started to recover from probation and some bad coaches, the basketball program went down (wonder why that was?) and he was shown the door. After a couple years to re-hab his reputation he went to NC State and to the NCAA his first season.

Remember Trent Johnson at LSU..came from Stanford with a good record and lasted 4 years and then fired....and is at TCU. Man, I can bury you in stats of BB coaches who came to the SEC with good records elsewhere who could not beat the football mentality at their schools.

No sayin' not to try but folks gotta be realistic about the task.

So first you said no successful coaches from small programs will come to the SEC. Now I guess your saying they will come but they will all fail. Well I don't agree. Sure we AU fans know that coaches can fail. In the past AU did not have the support from the AD to make basketball a winner. I think there is a new level of determination to win and they showed that by building the arena and paying a guy top 25 type pay to run our program.

And I am realistic. I don't expect AU to hire someone and the next year be Kentucky or Florida. But I recognize the poor job and the terrible product that is the current team. Barbee's style and system was a poor fit and I blame JJ for that. It was a dumb hire. I don't blame CTB for taking the $1.5M though. But after 3 seasons there is zero proof that any foundation has been established for future success under Barbee. He recruited worse than the rest of the SEC so far the past 3 years. And why would any top recruit want to play for him now? Not happening. Next year looks like another 4-6 SEC win type season so what is the point in continuing on this route?

AU fans are desperate for a winning a basketball program and they will support a good team. Even the idea of possible success brings the crowds out. Despite the terrible preseason record AU fans still showed up for early SEC games. The students have been awesome all year. If CTB was showing signs of improvement the crowds would be there even now. But instead he goes out and losses to DePaul, Winthrop and Rhode Island and then bombs the SEC schedule. Sorry I wish his dribble drive offense would work at AU and that his recruiting was able to give him they type of players he needed. But it's a proven poor fit.

I've read this entire thread and this is what really caught my attention. $1.5 Million? Is that per year? You gotta be frickin kidding me or something. In all honesty, there are boatloads of coaches we could get for that kind of money, wow. If we were paying chump change or something would be one thing but c'mon folks, even the most die hard man crush Tony Barbee loving fans would have to admit something is off with that. Alright, one of you stats guys post what we've gotten so far for almost $5 million the past few seasons.

It was about the long term not the immediate future with the contract when we signed him up.

[AUGoo 2,664]

If teams like Gonzaga and VCU can have good teams, an SEC team can. Basketball is a game unlike any other where teams with great fundamentals and a team unity that breeds an insane ability to play as a unit, can absolutely whip an athletically dominant team. Take NBA teams now and place them against the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Bulls, Knicks teams of the 80's, and today's teams would get destroyed on a level that would baffle the LeBrons and other players of these teams. Auburn is disjointed and either isn't buying in to Barbee and his plan, or they are just completely incapable of grasping the game. Playing winning basketball isn't that hard.

When we hired Coach Barbee, there was discussion about the dribble drive offense that he brought with him. It appears to me that that style is fine with at least one exceptional play maker on the team that can wreck the other teams D and dish or score. Without that player, you must play a fundamentally solid, complete team oriented game like a Princeton style O. Until we get that dominant player, we are doomed to this kind of season. I feared this at Coach Barbee's hiring and still hope to eat a lot of crow.

[AU64 10,122]

I just love to go back into the archives and see what people have said in the past. Take this comment when TB's hiring was announced. :

posted 29 March 2010 - 03:26 PM

Since he's an awesome coach and strong recruiter, I don't think it will take him long to make us into a winner.

Or this:

Posted 21 October 2010 - 02:35 PM

Look guys...It is obvious that it will take a few years for Barbee to get the talent level where it needs to be, but I am convinced until I see otherwise that his first team this year will scrap for every loose ball and play hard for 40 minutes every game and end up being a team we look back on very proudly. No, we are not going to win the championship, but we will fight and that is all I ask this season. We have to be realistic, it will take time to compete on the top level...

And this from 2011:

Next year's team is going to be sick! We just have to get through this year's foundation building, and we will be on the right track. From what I have heard, that transfer from Clemson is a Chris Porter-type player. I can not wait to see him in Barbee's offense. Barbee's recruiting has been nothing short of impressive. We will take some lumps this year, but the program was left in shambles by Looser Lebo.

I see great things ahead for the AU BB team. This time next year, we will be fast on our way to the NCAA's.

[benjazz 0]

Pretty much I think that a lot of great points are8 made here. 1. Chubb's improvement the last couple of years was a mirage. He developed into a not too embarrassing back up. Not an SEC quality big man. 2. ADT is a project and when you look at the juco he came from and his start at a D 3 school I should have figured that out. While he can develop for next year with a year's experience and a bunch of weight, he isn't a 25 minute guy now. 3. Granger is more of a 3 and not a 4 and will need to put on much more weight. 4. Frankie has always been a great clutch player but a very streaky offensive player and he's only 6'1" and playing the 2 on defense is wearing at that size. 5. Denson and Price really never got back where they were after injury. 6. Shaq Johnson has been a developing player about like I thought. 7. Payne busts it but is playing out of position most of the time guarding much larger and physical players. 8. Wallace, much like Chubb is a good back up but is sometimes a liability in that he doesn't score much and has a hard time matching up with bigger guards.

The hope is this. Next year, we have Harrell, Denson, Price and Shamsid - Deen at guard. That should potentially give us a solid guard rotation. Payne and Shaq at the 3 should be solid which leaves us with the bigs inside. IF and its a big IF ADT and Granger develop and gain weight AND Delph and Griciunas come in as competent back ups, we may can do something. Reality is though we really really miss having a Vot Barber type inside guy who rebounds, doesn't get pushed around inside and is enough of a scoring threat that he has to be accounted for. Don't know if there is one out there, but I wish we had him if there is.

WDE!!!

[Teamplayer 0]

Pretty much I think that a lot of great points are8 made here. 1. Chubb's improvement the last couple of years was a mirage. He developed into a not too embarrassing back up. Not an SEC quality big man. 2. ADT is a project and when you look at the juco he came from and his start at a D 3 school I should have figured that out. While he can develop for next year with a year's experience and a bunch of weight, he isn't a 25 minute guy now. 3. Granger is more of a 3 and not a 4 and will need to put on much more weight. 4. Frankie has always been a great clutch player but a very streaky offensive player and he's only 6'1" and playing the 2 on defense is wearing at that size. 5. Denson and Price really never got back where they were after injury. 6. Shaq Johnson has been a developing player about like I thought. 7. Payne busts it but is playing out of position most of the time guarding much larger and physical players. 8. Wallace, much like Chubb is a good back up but is sometimes a liability in that he doesn't score much and has a hard time matching up with bigger guards.

The hope is this. Next year, we have Harrell, Denson, Price and Shamsid - Deen at guard. That should potentially give us a solid guard rotation. Payne and Shaq at the 3 should be solid which leaves us with the bigs inside. IF and its a big IF ADT and Granger develop and gain weight AND Delph and Griciunas come in as competent back ups, we may can do something. Reality is though we really really miss having a Vot Barber type inside guy who rebounds, doesn't get pushed around inside and is enough of a scoring threat that he has to be accounted for. Don't know if there is one out there, but I wish we had him if there is.

WDE!!!

You have a red shirt and a freshmen in the guard rotation.What happens to Brian Greene Jr. next year?

[mattarcara 0]

I look at it as the SEC is wide open right now. In the next few years, some top teams will develop to stay. I think Kentucky, Florida, turds, Arkansas, and Vandy will be the teams to emerge. We cannot fall behind in the SEC (a very bad conference right now). I also hate the inconsistency. We beat Florida State, LSU, and South Carolina, but lose to Winthrop, Dayton, and Boston College. I also believe that it is possible to win at a school that puts football first. Look at Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Miami, Notre Dame, etc. Auburn can win at basketball and needs to make necessary changes to win. I am sick of people saying that Auburn is only a football school and not caring about basketball for this one reason.

[benjazz 0]

Pretty much I think that a lot of great points are8 made here. 1. Chubb's improvement the last couple of years was a mirage. He developed into a not too embarrassing back up. Not an SEC quality big man. 2. ADT is a project and when you look at the juco he came from and his start at a D 3 school I should have figured that out. While he can develop for next year with a year's experience and a bunch of weight, he isn't a 25 minute guy now. 3. Granger is more of a 3 and not a 4 and will need to put on much more weight. 4. Frankie has always been a great clutch player but a very streaky offensive player and he's only 6'1" and playing the 2 on defense is wearing at that size. 5. Denson and Price really never got back where they were after injury. 6. Shaq Johnson has been a developing player about like I thought. 7. Payne busts it but is playing out of position most of the time guarding much larger and physical players. 8. Wallace, much like Chubb is a good back up but is sometimes a liability in that he doesn't score much and has a hard time matching up with bigger guards.

The hope is this. Next year, we have Harrell, Denson, Price and Shamsid - Deen at guard. That should potentially give us a solid guard rotation. Payne and Shaq at the 3 should be solid which leaves us with the bigs inside. IF and its a big IF ADT and Granger develop and gain weight AND Delph and Griciunas come in as competent back ups, we may can do something. Reality is though we really really miss having a Vot Barber type inside guy who rebounds, doesn't get pushed around inside and is enough of a scoring threat that he has to be accounted for. Don't know if there is one out there, but I wish we had him if there is.

WDE!!!

You have a red shirt and a freshmen in the guard rotation.What happens to Brian Greene Jr. next year?

Good question. Barbee has to decide if Greene is a point guard or a 2 and let him compete at one or the other. Harrell, the redshirt is supposedly if you listen to the players talk, the best shooter on the team and played the point at UVA so the upside is there. The freshman would seem to be in line to be the change of pace point guard regardless of whether its Harrell or B Greene, Jr.

[Teamplayer 0]

IMHO college basketball is on a different level then high school and AAU basketball.We have a good group of freshmen this year and hope to add to them with next years class.But just like this years class has struggled at times next years freshmen probably will struggle.The question is will CTB give them the opportunity to play thru their mistakes?Or will he give them a short leash like he has given this years class.IMO you have to let these young guys play thru some mistakes so they can get better for next year.I do'nt believe the seniors should sit the whole game but they should'nt be getting monster minutes neither.The remainder of this season should be dedicated to getting these young guys ready for next year.

[juscAUse 1]

If teams like Gonzaga and VCU can have good teams, an SEC team can. Basketball is a game unlike any other where teams with great fundamentals and a team unity that breeds an insane ability to play as a unit, can absolutely whip an athletically dominant team. Take NBA teams now and place them against the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons, Bulls, Knicks teams of the 80's, and today's teams would get destroyed on a level that would baffle the LeBrons and other players of these teams. Auburn is disjointed and either isn't buying in to Barbee and his plan, or they are just completely incapable of grasping the game. Playing winning basketball isn't that hard.

WOW!! I thought I was the only one. In the 1970's I played rec league ball with a guy that led the SEC his freshman year in rebounding and a player that made all SEC at uat. The 1st player was 6' 11" . The second was 6'10" and 278 lbs. I was 5' 11" and average speed,and their favorite guard was 5' 10" and barely fast. Our "small" forward was 6' 8" or so. If we had been the same ages,we would have ruled HS ball. The point guard and I were ALWAYS open. You had to double our bigs. In the rec league and the SEC. All we had to do was make shots. Open shots. There was no 3 point line. Everybody could shoot,and everybody knew the game. Larry Bird would not get a scholly in the SEC today. He would play for Gonzaga or UAB and kick the heck out of all the "athletes" in the game today. I was in no way good enough to play in the SEC or any college ball for that matter. But I played pick-up and rec ball withe several name athletes,and they would be superstars in the SEC today.