Corey Williams Set To Be New Mens Assistant Coach

[ellitor 33,110]

3 hours ago, toddc said:

I posted it first anyway and he’s trying to steal my glory! 😝 

Since you added the article to the OP, I deleted my post that came right after your OP so the credit it all yours.

[PoetTiger 1,899]

12 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Before y’all start with the doom and gloom…

Edited April 21, 2023 by PoetTiger

[AUINSY 2,228]

15 minutes ago, PoetTiger said:

Before y’all start with the doom and gloom…

This definitely helps, but losing 2/3 of your #3 class is not good. Hopefully they can get it back or get close.

[AUApostle 7,651]

4 hours ago, AUINSY said:

This is great news. Hopefully he can get Philon back on board.

I think we’ve moved on.

[AUINSY 2,228]

6 minutes ago, AUDevil said:

I think we’ve moved on.

Sure sounds that way 

[ellitor 33,110]

4 hours ago, AUDevil said:

I think we’ve moved on.

@AUDevil moved on from Marshall, but not even remotely close to stop fighting for Philon.

[NWALA Tiger 3,535]

22 minutes ago, ellitor said:

@AUDevil moved on from Marshall, but not even remotely close to stop fighting for Philon.

I cant see Philon following Wes To Ole Miss. I know they just hired Beard, but it's no where close to a premiere program in the league 

[bigbird 60,573]

4 hours ago, AUINSY said:

This definitely helps, but losing 2/3 of your #3 class is not good. Hopefully they can get it back or get close.

When they were as bad as they are it doesn't hurt.

[Tigger1985 809]

I think that this will be a great trade 

[SumterAubie 3,031]

[GwillMac6 20,692]

12 hours ago, AUINSY said:

This definitely helps, but losing 2/3 of your #3 class is not good. Hopefully they can get it back or get close.

Marshall wasn’t a loss. Mutual parting of the ways if you will. They used to call it processing. But yes philon hurts like hell for sure. No sugar coating it…. 
 

 

[bigbird 60,573]

4 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

Marshall wasn’t a loss. Mutual parting of the ways if you will. They used to call it processing. But yes philon hurts like hell for sure. No sugar coating it…. 
 

 

Not really, IMO.

 

The only reason it stings so much is he was the #1 player in Bama.  He is a slasher and destined for the 2, he didn't want to compete with Denver. That's not a quality I like in players.

[ellitor 33,110]

29 minutes ago, bigbird said:

he didn't want to compete with Denver.

It's also jumping the gun a year. If DJ has the same production here that he had last year he could very well be gone after next season.

[bigbird 60,573]

24 minutes ago, ellitor said:

It's also jumping the gun a year. If DJ has the same production here that he had last year he could very well be gone after next season.

Yep, very easily.  Patience would've been prudent. 

His defense has been questioned, Harper and Scott are better

[GwillMac6 20,692]

4 hours ago, bigbird said:

Not really, IMO.

 

The only reason it stings so much is he was the #1 player in Bama.  He is a slasher and destined for the 2, he didn't want to compete with Denver. That's not a quality I like in players.

Philon was a huge deal because we haven’t got a player with that rep and caliber in state since Wiley and he was a legacy. It was really exciting to finally land a player of his high stature in our home state after all those years. It was huge for status and perception.

[bigbird 60,573]

1 minute ago, GwillMac6 said:

Philon was a huge deal because we haven’t got a player with that rep and caliber in state since Wiley and he was a legacy. It was really exciting to finally land a player of his high stature in our home state after all those years. It was huge for status and perception.

I agree it was, but that's really the only reason to be saddened.  

 

How would you feel if we replaced Philon with Scott or Harper?

[GwillMac6 20,692]

Just now, bigbird said:

I agree it was, but that's really the only reason to be saddened.  

 

How would you feel if we replaced Philon with Scott or Harper?

Not going to lie to you. Philon was the recruit I have most wanted for AU in any sport since Cam. So for me it was really disappointing as a personal preference. There’s no doubt Bruce will replace him with a really good player. No one should be worried. It just would of been a lot of fun to watch him play for AU.

[bigbird 60,573]

4 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Not going to lie to you. Philon was the recruit I have most wanted for AU in any sport since Cam. So for me it was really disappointing as a personal preference. There’s no doubt Bruce will replace him with a really good player. No one should be worried. It just would of been a lot of fun to watch him play for AU.

I get it and agree, but he didn't want to compete. "Roster management" was his reasoning.

Looking at both tapes, I liked Pettiford 's game better.  Philon was the slasher that we've never really had, but his D and shooting weren't what I would've considered elite.

Either way, I wish he had stayed and competed. You can never have too much talent. That said, like you, I'm trusting the process 

[aubiefifty 16,824]

23 hours ago, ellitor said:

Since you added the article to the OP, I deleted my post that came right after your OP so the credit it all yours.

you know the fam pays more for whomever posts a story first right?   lol i admit i like to sling a scoop out there as well.

[toddc 13,194]

 

[toddc 13,194]

New assistant Corey Williams 'checks a lot of boxes' for Auburn

5 hours ago

ATLANTA — For the first time in five years, Auburn’s coaching staff has a fresh face heading into next season.

Former Texas Tech assistant and interim head coach Corey Williams was Bruce Pearl’s pick in his first coaching hire since 2018. Formally brought on staff last week, the Macon, Georgia, native replaces Wes Flanigan, who spent the past five seasons at Auburn before leaving to join Chris Beard’s staff at Ole Miss earlier this month.

“Really excited about Corey,” Pearl said Tuesday before an Auburn AMBUSH alumni event in Atlanta. “I like to say that if you want to judge me, judge me by the company I keep. Sometimes that can get me in trouble. But I'm very excited about Corey.”

A point guard at Oklahoma State, Williams returned to his alma mater for his first coaching gig in 1994, where he was an assistant alongside Bill Self. After stops at Oral Roberts and Florida State, Williams became the head coach at Stetson in 2013, where he compiled a 58-133 record across six seasons before being fired.

That led to his introduction to the SEC, though, when he became part of Eric Musselman’s inaugural Arkansas staff in 2019. Williams was credited as a strong recruiter for the Razorbacks, as Arkansas signed its best class in nearly a decade — No. 9 overall in the 247Sports Composite ratings — in Williams’ first year.

“Just the people he worked for — when you've got Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State) and Leonard Hamilton and Bill Self and that family tree on your resume, it speaks volumes,” Pearl said.

Williams spent the past two seasons at Texas Tech. In early March, Williams was named the interim head coach after Mark Adamswas suspended, and resigned three days later. Williams’ only game coached was a loss to West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament.

With Williams on staff, Texas Tech won 27 games and made the Sweet Sixteen as a 3-seed. With Williams’ help, the Red Raiders had the nation’s No. 1 transfer class last year, rated by 247Sports, including Texas transfer wing Jaylon Tyson, whom Auburn is now recruiting in the portal.

Pearl hopes Williams’ experience, recruiting prowess and connections to the state of Georgia are his pillars as Auburn’s first new assistant coach since Flanigan and Ira Bowman were hired in 2018 to replace Chad Dollar and Harris Adler.

“Very excited about him and his family,” Pearl said. “His family and his wife's family are from Macon, Georgia, so this is an opportunity for him to come closer to home. It just checks a lot of boxes for us.”

Flanigan’s intraconference move to Ole Miss may seem confusing on the surface, but he was on Beard’s staff as an assistant for two seasons at Arkansas Little Rock, then replaced him as the head coach in 2016.

The No. 2 all-time assist leader at Auburn, Flanigan’s departure was followed by a pair of 4-star decommitments — center Peyton Marshall and guard Labaron Philon — from a 2024 class that was previously ranked No. 3 nationally.

“I just think everybody's got to do what's best for themselves and what's best for their families,” Pearl said. “We appreciated Wes' time at Auburn.”

 

[aubiefifty 16,824]

New Auburn assistant Corey Williams 'checks a lot of boxes' for Bruce Pearl

Published: Apr. 27, 2023, 9:38 a.m.

5–6 minutes

Texas Tech assistant couch Corey Williams on the sideline against Texas Southern during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Justin Rex)AP

Bruce Pearl’s coaching staff has been remarkably stable since the 2018-19 season, just before the start of Auburn’s historic Final Four run that year. So, when Pearl finally saw some turnover within his program this offseason, he wanted to make sure he nailed the hire.

Pearl believes he did precisely that with the addition of Corey Williams, who last week was named the Tigers’ newest assistant coach. Williams comes to Auburn after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech, where he also served as the program’s interim coach in the Big 12 Tournament, and before that was an assistant under Eric Musselman at Arkansas.

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“Really, really excited about Corey,” Pearl said Tuesday evening in Atlanta before the first stop on the AMBUSH tour. “I like to say that if you want to judge me, judge me by the company I keep. Sometimes that can get me in trouble, but I’m very excited about Corey.”

Williams fills the vacancy on staff left by the departure of Wes Flanigan, who spent five seasons back at his alma mater before leaving earlier this month for a role on Chris Beard’s inaugural coaching staff at Ole Miss. Flanigan previously worked with Beard at Arkansas-Little Rock during the 2015-16 season.

Ole Miss has yet to announce Flanigan’s hire.

“I just think everybody’s got to do what’s best for themselves and what’s best for their families,” Pearl said. “We appreciated Wes’ time at Auburn.”

Pearl didn’t waste much time in filling that position on his staff heading into Year 10 with Auburn. Between working to reconstruct the Tigers’ roster following a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and second-round exit, Pearl tapped Williams for the role less than two weeks after Flanigan’s departure.

The 53-year-old Macon, Georgia, native brings more than two decades of coaching experience with him to Auburn’s staff. That includes his most recent stop at Texas Tech, where he was part of a Red Raiders program that advanced to the Sweet 16 two years ago while finishing 12th in the final AP poll, going 18-0 at home that season and ranking first in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Prior to his time at Texas Tech, Williams worked on Musselman’s inaugural staff at Arkansas. The Razorbacks went 20-12 in that first year before the postseason was canceled due to the pandemic, and in Year 2 they went 25-7 overall and advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual-champion Baylor.

A former standout point guard at Oklahoma State, where he played for legendary coach Eddie Sutton, Williams was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1992 NBA Draft. As a rookie, he was part of the Bulls’ first threepeat team with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen under coach Phil Jackson.

“He was a great student-athlete,” Pearl said. “Such a great athlete that he got drafted both by the Chicago Bulls and the Kansas City Chiefs. He played alongside Michael Jordan, carried his bags for a couple of years for the Bulls, got himself a ring. Played with one of my former players at Iowa, BJ Armstrong.”

Williams was a student assistant at Oklahoma State in 1994 when the program advanced to the Final Four, but his coaching career began in earnest in 2000 as an assistant at Oral Roberts. In 2007 he joined Leonard Hamilton’s staff at Florida State, and then was named head coach at Stetson in 2013, serving in that role for six seasons before joining Musselman at Arkansas.

“Just (look at) the people he worked for,” Pearl said. “When you’ve got Eddie Sutton and Leonard Hamilton and Bill Self and that family tree on your resume, it speaks volumes. And he’s a better person, so very excited about him and his family. His family and his wife’s family are from Macon, Georgia, so this is an opportunity for him to come closer to home. It just checks a lot of boxes for us.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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[aubiefifty 16,824]

al.com

 

Corey Williams wants to be at Auburn for long haul, help Bruce Pearl win a title

Published: May. 17, 2023, 9:32 a.m.

6–8 minutes

---

A week before Wes Flanigan left Auburn’s staff for a role at Ole Miss, Bruce Pearl was in Houston — site of this year’s Final Four — for the NABC Convention.

It’s an annual tradition for college coaches across the country, as they descend upon the Final Four host city for clinics, presentations and networking. It also happens to be the time of year when there’s the most movement within the industry, so naturally, it’s the site of plenty of job interviews — both formal and informal. That was the case this year for Pearl, who had an inclination that an assistant role would soon come open on his staff.

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So, while in Houston, he met with Corey Williams, the former Texas Tech assistant and interim coach who was in the market for a new opportunity after the coaching change in Lubbock, Texas. Though Pearl didn’t have an official opening until about a week later, when Flanigan left on April 8 to join Chris Beard at Ole Miss, Williams knew right away that Pearl was someone he wanted to work for and with, if given the opportunity.

“Meeting with him, talking with him, I knew right off the bat he was someone I wanted to work for,” Williams said this week on the Talking Tigers podcast. “I made that known.”

Williams was hired at Auburn on April 21, nearly two weeks after Flanigan’s departure. He became the first new full-time assistant to join Pearl at Auburn since 2018, the offseason when Pearl brought in Flanigan and Ira Bowman to reshape the staff and provide a boost to the program, which went on to its first Final Four the following season.

Now Williams is joining the Tigers, fresh off a second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (and second straight second-round exit), as Pearl reloads and restructures the program heading into his 10th year at Auburn.

“All I want to do is enhance what they’ve already established,” said Williams, who added that he believes in working hard but prides himself in working smarter.

With 24 years of coaching experience, including a run as a head coach and familiarity with the SEC, Williams had his share of suitors this offseason. Still, he knew Auburn is where he wanted to be.

“Other schools offered me as well, but (Pearl) was the guy I wanted to work for,” Williams said. “…I was so excited for the opportunity, and we talked; it was a great conversation. I think I bring something—a different skillset that hopefully works well with this staff.”

Shortly after hiring Williams, Pearl said during an appearance in Atlanta that his newest assistant “checks a lot of boxes” for the program. There’s the aforementioned 24 years of coaching experience, which includes six seasons as head coach at Stetson, the last two years as an assistant at Texas Tech, with stints working under Eric Musselman at Arkansas and Leonard Hamilton at Florida State also dotting his resume.

Williams, who played at Oklahoma State under Eddie Sutton before returning to the program as a graduate assistant, also has championship experience in the NBA. He was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1992 and was part of the franchise’s threepeat during the 1992-93 season with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and coach Phil Jackson. Though he played a small part in that title run, Williams — who earned the nickname “Peewee” from teammates — was among the first names uttered by Jordan during the championship celebration for his role in helping the Bulls achieve greatness.

Williams’ time in the NBA was short-lived; he was out of the league by 1994, after a brief stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and proceeded to play overseas for a few seasons. But that experience, and that championship ring, still carry weight.

“I’ve been around,” Williams said. “I’ve got NBA experience. Most kids want to get to the NBA; I’ve been there, done that, got the T-shirt. So, I can talk about that in a manner that other people can’t.”

RELATED: Bruce Pearl dishes on Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson and Auburn’s fluid roster makeover

It’s just a small part of the larger skillset that Williams believes he brings to the table for Auburn as it goes through a transformational offseason. He also brings with him familiarity with the recruiting landscape in Texas and Florida, given his experiences coaching in those states, plus ties to Georgia—which has been the bread and butter for Pearl and his staff recruiting-wise over the years. Williams hails from Macon, Georgia, which is about an hour and a half southeast of Atlanta. It’s also about 2 ½ hours from Auburn.

“Even though I didn’t go to Auburn, I feel like it’s ‘welcome home,’ because it’s just that close to my family, and that’s important to me,” Williams said.

Also important to him is the opportunity to win and win big.

He enjoyed success as an assistant at Oklahoma State, serving as a graduate assistant on the Cowboys’ Final Four team in 1994. He was part of a Sweet 16 team at FSU in 2011. At Arkansas, he helped Musselman lead the Razorbacks to an Elite Eight appearance in their second season together. Texas Tech made another Sweet 16 when he was there during the 2021-22 season.

Williams has seen from afar what Pearl has accomplished at Auburn, and now he hopes to help the Tigers take it a step further.

“I’ve always tried to pride myself in really trying to stay in a place for a while,” Williams said. “It’s just the last four years I’ve moved twice. That’s not something I enjoy doing. I’d like to be here for a long time and help Coach Pearl win a national championship. That’s my goal. I felt like, even when I talked to him and I watched him over the years, he is someone that will win a national championship, and all I wanted to do was be in the car with him. He’s driving the car; I just want to be a passenger and help him on the journey.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

[AuburnNTexas 7,159]

This is a great hire. He is a proven Recruiter, with great work ethic. Players improve under his tutelage and he has recruiting chops in 3 key states Georgia, Florida, and Texas.  I am sure he is hitting the trail now for both future HS players and still working on getting 1-2 more from Portal if we can find players to help this year.

Edited May 18, 2023 by AuburnNTexas