Men vs Ole Miss Game Thread

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

13 minutes ago, Mikey said:

I'm glad we weren't playing a good team tonight, we'd have gotten waxed by 20 points.

Ole' Miss seems to bring out the worst in AU basketball teams. I remember back before many of y'all were born, AU coach Bob Davis got permission from the Ole' Miss coach to hold a practice in their gym after we lost over there, a two hour practice. Then when the bus got back to Beard-Eaves, he made the team walk around back, pile their uniforms on a spot of grass and they burned them there. Things haven't improved a lot over the years, we still seem to save our worst for the Rebels.

Yes, we had a big comeback and won in double OT over there this year. WTH was a team of our quality doing way behind and having to go into OT with them anyway? I'd like to drop them from the schedule forever!

Our recent record with them is abysmal to be sure. We seem to play down to our opponents and get up for the good ones, this season anyway. I can’t remember the amount of times we got to empty the bench last year due to blowouts, we can probably count on one hand this year the times we’ve been able to do that. But on the other hand, we don’t have the players we did to ensure that. We’ve got a gritty, grimy team this year that responds very well to adversity. 

[GwillMac6 20,744]

39 minutes ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Our recent record with them is abysmal to be sure. We seem to play down to our opponents and get up for the good ones, this season anyway. I can’t remember the amount of times we got to empty the bench last year due to blowouts, we can probably count on one hand this year the times we’ve been able to do that. But on the other hand, we don’t have the players we did to ensure that. We’ve got a gritty, grimy team this year that responds very well to adversity. 

We have swept them 2 of the last 3 years but it sure as hell don't feel like it!!! Lol. I swear it seems they have won almost all of those games. They still have win like 12 of the last 16 vs us I believe.

[GwillMac6 20,744]

 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

2 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

 

Please Bruce don’t ever die. 

[AUpreacherman22 3,889]

6 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

 

Let’s take a moment to soak that in.  
 

 Then thank the dear Lord in heaven for Bruce Pearl!!!!🙌🙌🙌

[Win4AU 4,054]

3 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Please Bruce don’t ever die. 

Or leave for UNC after Roy “retires”

[abw0004 10,134]

I am concerned that everyone passes the ball but Samir.  I have seen our players hold up their hand to indicate they are wide open to shoot and Samir elected to shoot a contested shot without even considering throwing.  He does make some difficult throws, but why risk it when you have an easy shot somewhere else?  What do you think @Tiger or @cole256?

[gr82be 14,472]

8 hours ago, Mikey said:

Yes, we had a big comeback and won in double OT over there this year. WTH was a team of our quality doing way behind and having to go into OT with them anyway? I'd like to drop them from the schedule forever!

A couple of things on this. Just like when some have said that they are tired of playing Clemson in football the thing is that they are really tired of losing to them, not playing them. You don't drop a team because you struggle with them. You have to start beating them which is what Pearl is finally doing. As for the double OT win in Oxford, I'm betting Duke would have loved a double OT win at Wake last night. Finding a way to win is what it's about. You don't have to lead a race from start to finish. Just being ahead at the end is all you have to do. Just win baby.  

[AUTigersfan89 256]

55 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

I am concerned that everyone passes the ball but Samir.  I have seen our players hold up their hand to indicate they are wide open to shoot and Samir elected to shoot a contested shot without even considering throwing.  He does make some difficult throws, but why risk it when you have an easy shot somewhere else?  What do you think @Tiger or @cole256?

This frustrates me too. Even if there are not obvious passes that will lead to buckets, I'd like to pass it around some on each possession to try and open something in the defense. It's almost as if you can see Samir make the decision that he's just going to try and do it all himself. He got a few to fall last night, but that type of play is a reason our losses have been blowouts. He also seems to chuck up 3's as if saying 'why not?' which usually don't go in.

[steeleagle 2,945]

45 minutes ago, AUTigersfan89 said:

This frustrates me too. Even if there are not obvious passes that will lead to buckets, I'd like to pass it around some on each possession to try and open something in the defense. It's almost as if you can see Samir make the decision that he's just going to try and do it all himself. He got a few to fall last night, but that type of play is a reason our losses have been blowouts. He also seems to chuck up 3's as if saying 'why not?' which usually don't go in.

You guys kill me complaining about Samir. 
He is our best all round player. He can dribble drive, get a few rebounds, play good D, play the point, and shoot the 3(although not his best attribute). 
Yes, sometimes he gets stuffed on his drives or turns it over, but he IS our best dribble drive player outside of Okoro. He probably does it more and doesn’t pass off as much bc he thinks he can make those and in some many cases does a great job of either getting fouled or making that tough inside scoop and layin. 

He’s up for player of the year for a reason guys. 
ps. And yes I agree, he can be aggravating when he tries to do too much. But last night he did drive and pass off to Wiley a couple of times for some easy dunks. 

[gravejd 3,271]

Well glad we got the win but that is not a game that inspires me to think this team is destined for greatness. Ol Miss really shut us down when they went to that zone defense. They slowed the game down and sat back in zone and that is the recipe to make AU struggle. We played solid D and made just enough shots and plays to stay ahead of them but that was some ugly basketball. 

Big shout out to Wiley on his excellent game. I thought Okoro looked rusty so glad he could get that out of the way against ol miss so hopefully he is ready to go Saturday against Kentucky. Another nice game from Jaylin, i'm with everyone else who wants to see him get more and more minutes. He is very similar to Cambridge where he just seems to give the team an extra spark of energy when he comes into the game. It was pretty cool seeing the lineup early with Doughty, Flanigan, Cambridge, Jaylin, and was it JJ out there? Can't remember the 5th guy but we went on a nice run with Javon and Okoro on the bench early. 

I would like to see Turbo get a couple minutes going forward at the 2 spot. JJ has given us nothing for about 10 games now so time to give the next guy a shot at it.  

[Maverick.AU 13,281]

 

[BigSammyK 171]

It's pretty ridiculous how jaded some posters on here have become over the past few seasons. Auburn basketball is 24-4 and I swear some of you are mad that we aren't undefeated.

[Tiger 8,830]

2 hours ago, abw0004 said:

I am concerned that everyone passes the ball but Samir.  I have seen our players hold up their hand to indicate they are wide open to shoot and Samir elected to shoot a contested shot without even considering throwing.  He does make some difficult throws, but why risk it when you have an easy shot somewhere else?  What do you think @Tiger or @cole256?

I'm ok with the shots Samir shoots most of the time -- and the few times I don't like his shot selection IMO it isn't any worse than everyone else's shot selection on the team. But I think we need him to do what he does because he's really one of our only scorers so he has to shoulder that load.

However, my beef with him not passing comes mainly on the fast breaks. It'll be like a 2 on 1 and he just bulls his way into the defender trying to draw contact and go up for a layup rather than using the teammate running the floor with him. And it's been like that all season. He actually gave the ball up last night on the fast break to Danjel at one point and after Purifoy got the bucket Samir was pumping his fist so I was really glad to see that. I hope we see more of it.

Also, that particular critique of mine doesn't stop with Samir, Al Flan also does this on the break but, as a freshman, IMO he just needs to learn to slow down a little.

[abw0004 10,134]

41 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

You guys kill me complaining about Samir. 
He is our best all round player. He can dribble drive, get a few rebounds, play good D, play the point, and shoot the 3(although not his best attribute). 
Yes, sometimes he gets stuffed on his drives or turns it over, but he IS our best dribble drive player outside of Okoro. He probably does it more and doesn’t pass off as much bc he thinks he can make those and in some many cases does a great job of either getting fouled or making that tough inside scoop and layin. 

He’s up for player of the year for a reason guys. 
ps. And yes I agree, he can be aggravating when he tries to do too much. But last night he did drive and pass off to Wiley a couple of times for some easy dunks. 

I am not hating on Samir (although I respectfully disagree with you in the sense that Okoro is our best all around player).  But he needs to be less selfish come tournament play.  If you look at his statistics, his shooting percentage is down across the board from last year.  I think this is because he is taking more ill-advised shots.  He is also averaging 2.6 assists per game, which is outside of the top 250 guards in the country right now.  Think about last year, we were really good at causing turnovers and spreading the ball around.

What I have noticed is when the game is getting tight Samir loses trust in his teammates and tries to do it himself.  My favorite player, Russell Westbrook did this too.  I am just trying to bring constructive criticism to ask Samir to get the ball to the player with the best shot, and if it is him, take it.  If the clock is winding down, take it.  Jacking up a shot with 15 on the clock doesn't make as much sense.  Lean on Jared Harper's play at Auburn.  Harper took the hard shots, but also doubled Samir's average assists.

Edit:  @Tiger did a better job of what I was trying to convey above this post.  My main issue was taking bad shots with half of the clock or running the floor with Mac or Purifoy open for a lob and electing to ignore them.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,368]

55 minutes ago, Maverick.AU said:

 

 

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,318]

3 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Or leave for UNC after Roy “retires”

Thanks for a NEW thing to worry about.

[Tiger 8,830]

This was a typical game for our team this year. Ugly at times, good at times, way too close for comfort. We aren't a very talented team top to bottom so we will need to win ugly games but it's almost March we know that now.

Austin Wiley was a grown man out there. We lose without him. Huge game from him he's a major difference maker. I was actually looking for Mac to be showing out tonight like he did in the last game while Austin was so-so but Austin put up a huuuge double-double. The progression he's made over the years has been awesome to see. Is he frustrating at times? Sure but this team is probably looking at 15 wins at this point without him.

I'm glad Okoro was able to play before the UK game. He did not look a step slow or anything but maybe a little rusty. He'll be back. He gave us a solid game but his lack of rebounds kinda surprised me.

Samir had an ok game IMO, solid, he only had 9 attempts but also had 5 turnovers. That's way too high.

J'Von didn't shoot well but had a pretty solid floor game, Danjel...man ya just feel like he's on shaky ground with Jaylin breathing down his neck but I suspect he's going to hit a flurry of 3s for us in a key game in the next few weeks. Speaking of Jaylin, this kid is electric. He makes the right passes, he plays hard as hell, and he's a highlight waiting to happen. He just injects life into our team that we had kinda been lacking. 

Mac played hard but didn't have his best game, Devan Cambdridge is starting to find himself and it's a beautiful thing. He's hit some biiiiiig shots for us in the last few games. Jamal had 3 minutes and yuuup that's about what it should be. Al Flan didn't really do anything of note on the stat sheet but he's flying around out there and giving us good defense

 

[Zeek 16,660]

51 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I'm glad Okoro was able to play before the UK game. He did not look a step slow or anything but maybe a little rusty. He'll be back. He gave us a solid game but his lack of rebounds kinda surprised me.

 

Probably trying not to jump more than necessary right now?

Nice to have a game with a little less drama but I would like to see us separate ourselves a little more from lesser teams. Feels like we're starting to see some dividends from our commitment to rotating the bench into the game. We have some fun young bucks.

[AUBwins 10,088]

4 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Or leave for UNC after Roy “retires”

Maybe I'm naive but I think Bruce would much rather have the legacy of making Auburn a "Blue Blood" by consistently having elite seasons than to be another coach leading an established blue blood. I just hope something like this FBI crap doesn't continue to handcuff Bruce to where he wants to leave. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,754]

12 hours ago, Mikey said:

I'm glad we weren't playing a good team tonight, we'd have gotten waxed by 20 points.

Ole' Miss seems to bring out the worst in AU basketball teams. I remember back before many of y'all were born, AU coach Bob Davis got permission from the Ole' Miss coach to hold a practice in their gym after we lost over there, a two hour practice. Then when the bus got back to Beard-Eaves, he made the team walk around back, pile their uniforms on a spot of grass and they burned them there. Things haven't improved a lot over the years, we still seem to save our worst for the Rebels.

Yes, we had a big comeback and won in double OT over there this year. WTH was a team of our quality doing way behind and having to go into OT with them anyway? I'd like to drop them from the schedule forever!

I feel like we've had more embarrassing road performances than that game, but yeah you are correct in the rest of your premise

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,754]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

This was a typical game for our team this year. Ugly at times, good at times, way too close for comfort. We aren't a very talented team top to bottom so we will need to win ugly games but it's almost March we know that now.

Austin Wiley was a grown man out there. We lose without him. Huge game from him he's a major difference maker. I was actually looking for Mac to be showing out tonight like he did in the last game while Austin was so-so but Austin put up a huuuge double-double. The progression he's made over the years has been awesome to see. Is he frustrating at times? Sure but this team is probably looking at 15 wins at this point without him.

I'm glad Okoro was able to play before the UK game. He did not look a step slow or anything but maybe a little rusty. He'll be back. He gave us a solid game but his lack of rebounds kinda surprised me.

Samir had an ok game IMO, solid, he only had 9 attempts but also had 5 turnovers. That's way too high.

J'Von didn't shoot well but had a pretty solid floor game, Danjel...man ya just feel like he's on shaky ground with Jaylin breathing down his neck but I suspect he's going to hit a flurry of 3s for us in a key game in the next few weeks. Speaking of Jaylin, this kid is electric. He makes the right passes, he plays hard as hell, and he's a highlight waiting to happen. He just injects life into our team that we had kinda been lacking. 

Mac played hard but didn't have his best game, Devan Cambdridge is starting to find himself and it's a beautiful thing. He's hit some biiiiiig shots for us in the last few games. Jamal had 3 minutes and yuuup that's about what it should be. Al Flan didn't really do anything of note on the stat sheet but he's flying around out there and giving us good defense

 

I feel like Purifoy is still their best defensive option out of Jaylin or DC at the 4, and that's what helps him. He's also a better...looking... shooter than Mac, which I mean form shouldnt decide why you play someone, but both of them have been getting rushed out of their spots with good close outs as of late, so I guess you'd take the dude with the quicker trigger there. Plus Im sure DP is getting some extra burn to ensure he's in shape after the flu and all that. He hasnt looked good in a while, but his shot has opened up quite a few important games in the past so you have to have him ready 

[tgrogan21 6,198]

2 hours ago, BigSammyK said:

It's pretty ridiculous how jaded some posters on here have become over the past few seasons. Auburn basketball is 24-4 and I swear some of you are mad that we aren't undefeated.

Absolutely no one is mad that we're 24-4. What everyone's doing is having a simple discussion about the game that took place last night and what could have went better or worse. If you don't like people having a discussion about something then being on a forum isn't the best thing for you.

[tgrogan21 6,198]

5 hours ago, Win4AU said:

Or leave for UNC after Roy “retires”

I really don't think Pearl is going anywhere until he retires. With the culture and enthusiasm that he has brought to this program he is set for the rest of his life. He knows that everyone here at Auburn loves him and loves his family. He also knows that he CAN build this program into a blue-blood before he retires. The type of legacy he can build here before he retires is something he can't build at another blue blood. At UNC, he'll just be another coach that can recruit and bring them a title. At Auburn he is the man, period. If things continue the way they have for the past 2+ years, he will go down as the BEST Auburn bball coach. I don't see Pearl as the guy who wants to jump ship at a moments notice. I felt like if things went better for him, he would still be coaching at TN until he retired. Luckily, for us, we're stuck with Pearl until he's older and grayer.

[triangletiger 1,599]

2 hours ago, Tiger said:

This was a typical game for our team this year. Ugly at times, good at times, way too close for comfort. We aren't a very talented team top to bottom so we will need to win ugly games but it's almost March we know that now.

Austin Wiley was a grown man out there. We lose without him. Huge game from him he's a major difference maker. I was actually looking for Mac to be showing out tonight like he did in the last game while Austin was so-so but Austin put up a huuuge double-double. The progression he's made over the years has been awesome to see. Is he frustrating at times? Sure but this team is probably looking at 15 wins at this point without him.

I'm glad Okoro was able to play before the UK game. He did not look a step slow or anything but maybe a little rusty. He'll be back. He gave us a solid game but his lack of rebounds kinda surprised me.

Samir had an ok game IMO, solid, he only had 9 attempts but also had 5 turnovers. That's way too high.

J'Von didn't shoot well but had a pretty solid floor game, Danjel...man ya just feel like he's on shaky ground with Jaylin breathing down his neck but I suspect he's going to hit a flurry of 3s for us in a key game in the next few weeks. Speaking of Jaylin, this kid is electric. He makes the right passes, he plays hard as hell, and he's a highlight waiting to happen. He just injects life into our team that we had kinda been lacking. 

Mac played hard but didn't have his best game, Devan Cambdridge is starting to find himself and it's a beautiful thing. He's hit some biiiiiig shots for us in the last few games. Jamal had 3 minutes and yuuup that's about what it should be. Al Flan didn't really do anything of note on the stat sheet but he's flying around out there and giving us good defense

 

Is Jaylin Williams going to be our new, improved Malik Dunbar?