Life After Bruce

[AU9377 4,935]

People forget just how pathetic our basketball program was before BP.

[Win4AU 4,052]

There is no reason Auburn shouldn’t be able to get whoever they want post Pearl.  Bama has been able to make decent to good hires their past couple coaches and I have a hard to believing they have anything to offer that is better than Auburn.  
 

The SEC has become a premier basketball league which it wasn’t 10-20 years ago.  Top coaches will run to Auburn with the success the program has demonstrated the past several years.

[arktiger1975 518]

20 hours ago, KillenTime said:

Wow. To have them competitive with total roster turnover and being on probation. I was just thinking what an amazing job that guy is doing. 

I just know that a sizeable faction of their fan base is constantly bashing him. Saying that long, slow rebuilds are a thing of the past. 

[NoALtiger 3,864]

10 hours ago, AU9377 said:

People forget just how pathetic our basketball program was before BP.

I’d wager literally no one on this board has forgotten how pathetic this program was pre- Bruce. 

[arktiger1975 518]

35 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

I’d wager literally no one on this board has forgotten how pathetic this program was pre- Bruce. 

I sure remember!

[gr82be 14,425]

As Auburn basketball fans we don’t need to be like Ole Miss football fans. We’ve had a little success recently and suddenly we think we belong among some of the best names out there. We’re good and we’ve had some great moments but we are still far from blue blood territory. I think Steven Pearl will get more than just consideration when the time comes. Auburn basketball has a lot going for it but Bruce made it the place for students to be on game day. He is such a promoter of all things Auburn. He’s given us a lot of fun memories and moments while we’ve were mourning our football program. 

[AU9377 4,935]

13 hours ago, NoALtiger said:

I’d wager literally no one on this board has forgotten how pathetic this program was pre- Bruce. 

Some sure don't act like it.....

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,673]

On 1/30/2024 at 10:32 AM, Win4AU said:

There is no reason Auburn shouldn’t be able to get whoever they want post Pearl.  Bama has been able to make decent to good hires their past couple coaches and I have a hard to believing they have anything to offer that is better than Auburn.  
 

The SEC has become a premier basketball league which it wasn’t 10-20 years ago.  Top coaches will run to Auburn with the success the program has demonstrated the past several years.

I think history matters tbh. Everybody still refers to Bruce as a wizard for rebuilding this program, and they mention how hard the job was 10 years later. I don't think there's a perception that this job just sells itself. I do think that pedigree of semi-consistent success can do something for your reputation, and we'll probably need the coach after Bruce to do solid to raise our floor in that regard

[Win4AU 4,052]

4 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I think history matters tbh. Everybody still refers to Bruce as a wizard for rebuilding this program, and they mention how hard the job was 10 years later. I don't think there's a perception that this job just sells itself. I do think that pedigree of semi-consistent success can do something for your reputation, and we'll probably need the coach after Bruce to do solid to raise our floor in that regard

Times have changed.  Bruce proved it could be done.  The expectations for the program have changed.  The day Bruce hangs it up there will be tremendous pressure to bring in someone that will keep Auburn at the top of the SEC.  I don’t think this attitude existed prior to Bruce.  Auburn used to hope to hire someone that would get Auburn to a winning season and maybe a tourney bid.  The expectation now is minimum tourney with championship aspirations.  

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,673]

1 hour ago, Win4AU said:

Times have changed.  Bruce proved it could be done.  The expectations for the program have changed.  The day Bruce hangs it up there will be tremendous pressure to bring in someone that will keep Auburn at the top of the SEC.  I don’t think this attitude existed prior to Bruce.  Auburn used to hope to hire someone that would get Auburn to a winning season and maybe a tourney bid.  The expectation now is minimum tourney with championship aspirations.  

RIght, that's Auburn's expectations. But that doesn't necessarily mean the people they'd be looking to get will have the same shift in how they value Auburn. 

I'm not saying Auburn can't get anyone that's a valued coach btw, I just haven't seen a real shift in the opinion of how much Bruce Pearl is doing in keeping Auburn where it is. At some point, you'd think the program would begin being applauded for what they're doing in raising its platform, if the platform itself was more to acclaim for that performance. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,673]

For example, Oats gets tons of props for getting Bama to the sweet 16, multiple SEC CGs. But he's also thought of as a continuation of the rise Avery Johnson had started. Tennessee isn't treated like Barnes is bigger than the program, even though he's been killing it for like a decade. Florida is treated with respect, up down or sideways. This is why I would think Auburn would need another coach that does well, to prove that the program itself has legs - even without Pearl.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,297]

I hate to break it to you, but Bruce doesn't have another 5-6 years as our HC. I bet we get 2-3 tops. He's tired, you can see it in his demeanor compared to a few years ago, and it's obvious that he's not enamored with the current college landscape. If we get Nike sponsorship/apparel, might add more time to his tenure. I don't expect him to be around much longer in that capacity, by his own decision. He would love to hand it off to Steven.

[tigeraddikt 1,610]

51 minutes ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

I hate to break it to you, but Bruce doesn't have another 5-6 years as our HC. I bet we get 2-3 tops. He's tired, you can see it in his demeanor compared to a few years ago, and it's obvious that he's not enamored with the current college landscape. If we get Nike sponsorship/apparel, might add more time to his tenure. I don't expect him to be around much longer in that capacity, by his own decision. He would love to hand it off to Steven.

I tend to agree. I hope for 4-6 more years. But we will see. I think the transfer portal and roster management with NIL is gonna zap him, too.

[GwillMac6 20,683]

It’s going to be Steven and I’m perfectly ok with that. Bruce has done more than enough to warrant hand picking his successor. 

[GwillMac6 20,683]

3 hours ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

I hate to break it to you, but Bruce doesn't have another 5-6 years as our HC. I bet we get 2-3 tops. He's tired, you can see it in his demeanor compared to a few years ago, and it's obvious that he's not enamored with the current college landscape. If we get Nike sponsorship/apparel, might add more time to his tenure. I don't expect him to be around much longer in that capacity, by his own decision. He would love to hand it off to Steven.

He doesn’t? He still has the same fire and intensity he has always had. He’s a young 63. I haven’t seen a change in sideline demeanor that makes me think he is close to hanging it up. How things ended at Tennessee and being a outcast in the college bball world after he was fired from there give him extra juice to coach well in to his late 60’s.

[gravejd 3,270]

Life after Bruce is a dark place i don't want to go. I think it will be easier to sell then AU job but hiring a coach is such a crap shoot. Hopefully we don't fall off the map with the next coach but its going to be a step down. How many all time greats are followed by the next all time great?? 

[woodford 3,656]

On 1/28/2024 at 2:37 AM, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

I honestly think it's more about who would take Auburn, and that is dependent on where we are in the progression of allocating resources towards the type of stuff CBP has been asking for. Even though he is like a 60 year old conservative grandad, he seems to be at least good in terms of identifying what it takes to have a competitive b-ball program in today's game. And based on his public analyses, we seem to be behind and have been for a minute. You're not going to attract the high-stock guys that'd already be on the level of Pearl or better, if that's the case.

 

That being said, I do think it'd be easy to get the guys a couple rungs down from there. LSU got Mcmahon from Murray St while facing pretty tough extenuating circumstances, and he may have had one of the 5-10 best mid majors at the time of his departure. While LSU probably has better resources than us (just a guess) and a consistently enchanting athletic department, I don't think they'd be in a different tier than us as a b-ball program. All in all, I would think a top 25 mid-major coach would be the floor, atm 

Funny you say that, most people who cut the checks around Auburn (and Bruce Pearl) fall into that category.

 

[mustache eagle 2,406]

This thread … good grief …  I’m truly baffled … 

[tigeraddikt 1,610]

2 hours ago, mustache eagle said:

This thread … good grief …  I’m truly baffled … 

Please explain why you are truly baffled at this thread. I started it. Not taking your comment offensively at all, I just infer that you are under the impression that my original post implied that AU hoops deserves something it doesn’t and that I was ready to move on from Bruce or something. That’s not the case; I want him to do better, but that’s just me being a fan. AU men’s hoops was basketball purgatory before he turned it around. However, since the Final Four run, his upward trajectory has attenuated. I was just wondering what folks’ opinions were about where AU might look after he does decide to retire. 

[tigeraddikt 1,610]

10 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

It’s going to be Steven and I’m perfectly ok with that. Bruce has done more than enough to warrant hand picking his successor. 

I think I’m fine with giving SP a chance to continue a seamless succession. I think he can prep and scheme. I just hope he can hold players accountable (something Bruce seems to struggle with imo) and most of all, recruit. Recruit. Recruit.

[mustache eagle 2,406]

2 hours ago, tigeraddikt said:

Please explain why you are truly baffled at this thread. I started it. Not taking your comment offensively at all, I just infer that you are under the impression that my original post implied that AU hoops deserves something it doesn’t and that I was ready to move on from Bruce or something. That’s not the case; I want him to do better, but that’s just me being a fan. AU men’s hoops was basketball purgatory before he turned it around. However, since the Final Four run, his upward trajectory has attenuated. I was just wondering what folks’ opinions were about where AU might look after he does decide to retire. 

To keep it simple, yes I think he could do a few things better here and there - as we all could.  I don’t think he deserves the level of criticism he gets in some regards.

i think a whole thread, even well intentioned, still devolves into a higher level of criticism than deserves … particularly someone like cbp who has possibly done more for any sports program in Auburn history other than possibly Marsh in swimming (I’m not referring to championships but status) and Dye for football.  

I guess he deserves a smidge more leeway than a typical coach.

edit: and fwiw my first comment was not directed at you but just general negativity particularly in light of some of the comments in recent game threads.

Edited February 1 by mustache eagle

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,673]

On 2/1/2024 at 9:56 AM, woodford said:

Funny you say that, most people who cut the checks around Auburn (and Bruce Pearl) fall into that category.

 

Yeah and I think that goes into why we've been slower on the uptake than we should've been (in multiple sports)...

[woodford 3,656]

33 minutes ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Yeah and I think that goes into why we've been slower on the uptake than we should've been (in multiple sports)...

They’re no different than the boosters at Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, tOSU, etc. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,673]

10 minutes ago, woodford said:

They’re no different than the boosters at Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, tOSU, etc. 

They may, they may not (I would definitely say they’re much different than the ones at Ohio St for a ton of reasons, most obvious of which would be the type of education afforded by going to tOSU), but the boosters aren’t the only individuals that map out how to progress a program. My original post wasn’t only about boosters.