aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 al.com 'No one feels worse': Auburn's Steven Pearl defends Chad Baker-Mazara after ejection Updated: Mar. 26, 2024, 10:40 a.m.|Published: Mar. 26, 2024, 10:37 a.m. 4–5 minutes Auburn Basketball Auburn coach backs Chad Baker-Mazara after ejection, says he’s apologized ‘6 or 7 times’ TUSCALOOSA, AL - JANUARY 24 - Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara (10) during the game between the #8 Auburn Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn TigersZach Bland/Auburn Tigers Auburn basketball associate head coach Steven Pearl believes the Tigers were the better team in Friday’s first-round matchup against the Yale Bulldogs. He especially believes that to be true had Auburn not been without junior guard Chad Baker-Mazara for the majority of the game. “We beat Yale by 20 points if Chad (Baker-Mazara) is in that game,” Pearl said Tuesday morning in an appearance with The Next Round. “I don’t want to dance around that. I’m not trying to, obviously, disrespect Yale, but we’re way better than they are and we should’ve beat them without him.” However, none of that ended up being the case after Baker-Mazara was ejected after just three minutes of play in Auburn’s NCAA Tournament opener against Yale — a game that ultimately ended Auburn’s season as Yale went on to win 78-76. Baker-Mazara’s ejection was the result of him being whistled for a Flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Yale guard August Mahoney in a play that Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said was an act of retaliation as Baker-Mazara was hit near the neck moments earlier. On Tuesday morning, Steven Pearl echoed those comments. “It’s incredibly frustrating, you look at the incident and if they look at the possession before, Chad gets hit in the throat on the way down. Whether it was incidental or not, it was contact close to the neck and face, which is why he retaliated,” Steven Pearl said. “He shouldn’t have retaliated though. Chad’s old enough and smart enough to know, especially how he’s been targeted this year, that that’s going to happen and he’s got to keep his cool.” Since Auburn’s loss — which Bruce Pearl called one of the “most disappointing losses” in his career — there has been plenty of discourse surrounding the situation with fans and even rival basketball coaches weighing in on the situation. And according to Steven Pearl, no one regrets the action more the Baker-Mazara. “No one feels worse about what happened than Chad Baker,” Steven Pearl said. “The kid was in absolute tears for three days following the game.” Once the Tigers returned to Auburn from Spokane, Washington, players and coaches immediately met individually. And according to Steven Pearl, one of the questions was about Baker-Mazara and how he was doing since getting home. “They’re like, ‘He’s apologized to us like six or seven times, separately, on different occasions,’” Steven Pearl said, echoing some of the answers from Auburn’s players. “Just because he feels so bad.” Losing Baker-Mazara in the opening minutes of Friday’s game against Yale proved critical. And anyone who paid attention to Auburn’s season up to that point knew it likely would be. Coming into the game, Baker-Mazara was averaging more than 20 minutes of play time, more than 10 points per game and more than three rebounds per game. “We don’t win 27 games, we don’t win an SEC Championship without Chad,” Steven Pearl said Tuesday. “He’s that big of a piece to our team.” In a more pointed quip, Steven Pearl also had a message to those being harshly critical of the junior guard. “If there are Auburn fans that are hating on Chad and have that strong of an opinion, just don’t watch us anymore because Chad Baker is an unbelievable young man and we love him to death,” Steven Pearl said. “And obviously we want him to be a big part of our program moving forward.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronCrazy 1,061 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I wish we could’ve seen Samir Doughty get his redemption in the 2020 NCAA tournament, but unfortunately COVID hit. We can only hope that CBM gets his redemption next year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic_zx 1,044 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 18 hours ago, aubiefifty said: “If there are Auburn fans that are hating on Chad and have that strong of an opinion, just don’t watch us anymore because Chad Baker is an unbelievable young man and we love him to death,” Steven Pearl said. “And obviously we want him to be a big part of our program moving forward.” This is the second time he has taken a shot at Auburn fans. The first when he called some of us ridiculous for criticism that they deserved. This criticism was warranted as well. Just because someone feels bad and apologizes doesn't absolve them from the act that got them in that situation. CBM is my favorite player on this years team but come on. Now I can strongly say that I hope Steven Pearl doesn't get the Auburn job if and when Bruce steps away. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 2 minutes ago, Chaotic_zx said: This is the second time he has taken a shot at Auburn fans. The first when he called some of us ridiculous for criticism that they deserved. This criticism was warranted as well. Just because someone feels bad and apologizes doesn't absolve them from the act that got them in that situation. CBM is my favorite player on this years team but come on. Now I can strongly say that I hope Steven Pearl doesn't get the Auburn job if and when Bruce steps away. i am pretty sure the coaches have to back their players and i bet cbm has been paying for it. they are not going to tell what what they have done to correct this as far as punishment goes. and i agree we do NOT win the sec tourney without him. shrugs........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 12,865 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 13 minutes ago, Chaotic_zx said: This is the second time he has taken a shot at Auburn fans. The first when he called some of us ridiculous for criticism that they deserved. This criticism was warranted as well. Just because someone feels bad and apologizes doesn't absolve them from the act that got them in that situation. CBM is my favorite player on this years team but come on. Now I can strongly say that I hope Steven Pearl doesn't get the Auburn job if and when Bruce steps away. When I see him interviewed I’m left with the impression he’s not at all ready for prime time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic_zx 1,044 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 9 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: i am pretty sure the coaches have to back their players and i bet cbm has been paying for it. they are not going to tell what what they have done to correct this as far as punishment goes. and i agree we do NOT win the sec tourney without him. shrugs........... You can back your player without taking the shot at fans. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 3 minutes ago, Chaotic_zx said: You can back your player without taking the shot at fans. i give all things auburn slack. maybe too much and i freely admit that. i like steven so i might be biased but have you by chance seen some of the horrible things they said about cbm? i am not going to google it but i saw some stuff and i stand by my comments............but you are welcome to you own chao. no hard feelings here for the record. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasTiger 3,248 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 19 hours ago, aubiefifty said: In a more pointed quip, Steven Pearl also had a message to those being harshly critical of the junior guard. “If there are Auburn fans that are hating on Chad and have that strong of an opinion, just don’t watch us anymore because Chad Baker is an unbelievable young man and we love him to death,” Steven Pearl said. “And obviously we want him to be a big part of our program moving forward.” If Auburn hires Steven Pearl they deserve the disaster they would have coming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 1 minute ago, KansasTiger said: If Auburn hires Steven Pearl they deserve the disaster they would have coming. are you miss cleo now? you are smearing him with no proof of nothing. good grief.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWALA Tiger 3,535 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 34 minutes ago, Chaotic_zx said: This is the second time he has taken a shot at Auburn fans. The first when he called some of us ridiculous for criticism that they deserved. This criticism was warranted as well. Just because someone feels bad and apologizes doesn't absolve them from the act that got them in that situation. CBM is my favorite player on this years team but come on. Now I can strongly say that I hope Steven Pearl doesn't get the Auburn job if and when Bruce steps away. Agreed. As a coach never tell fans to stay away. He could have handled that alot better and still stick up for his player. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfficiatingExpert 126 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 2 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: are you miss cleo now? you are smearing him with no proof of nothing. good grief.............. I just hope he fixed that hole in his nose lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 1 minute ago, OfficiatingExpert said: I just hope he fixed that hole in his nose lol which one? we all have two.and is it chad or steven? i would not pierce my nose for a thousand bucks. that stuff hurts........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 2 minutes ago, NWALA Tiger said: Agreed. As a coach never tell fans to stay away. He could have handled that alot better and still stick up for his player. i believe he is talking about the folks smearing and threatening cbm? am i wrong? serious............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWALA Tiger 3,535 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) 25 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: i believe he is talking about the folks smearing and threatening cbm? am i wrong? serious............ Not sure. IMO coaches have a thinner line to walk. Fan on fan is one thing. Coaches on fans is different. But, I get it. He is sticking up for his player. Wasn't aware CBM received any threats. If so, that's way over the top IMO Edited March 27 by NWALA Tiger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 12,865 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 25 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: i believe he is talking about the folks smearing and threatening cbm? am i wrong? serious............ Not threatening. He was kinda vague: “If they are Auburn fans and are hating on Chad and have that strong of opinions, then don’t watch us anymore.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustache eagle 2,402 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 48 minutes ago, TexasTiger said: Not threatening. He was kinda vague: “If they are Auburn fans and are hating on Chad and have that strong of opinions, then don’t watch us anymore.” I’ve warmed to SP and starting to sorta see his coaching style … like someone else said, more of a bro-like relationship with the players … but that was a dumb thing to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 1 hour ago, NWALA Tiger said: Not sure. IMO coaches have a thinner line to walk. Fan on fan is one thing. Coaches on fans is different. But, I get it. He is sticking up for his player. Wasn't aware CBM received any threats. If so, that's way over the top IMO sadly it is the times. remember when they called jalen hurt the n word because he lost a game? i cannot honestly say what all was said because i just skimmed headlines. the world is changing. cbm should have never done what he did and i am willing to bet he would run through a brick wall for steven now. i am not looking for sympathy but when you go through a cancer scare i just do not get worked up as much now. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 (edited) 1 hour ago, TexasTiger said: Not threatening. He was kinda vague: “If they are Auburn fans and are hating on Chad and have that strong of opinions, then don’t watch us anymore.” um it is my understanding he had some threats made. i am not sure where i saw it since i post so many articles. i am thinking it was on tigerland. do you re4alize how many people lost money on the auburn yale game? Edited March 27 by aubiefifty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasTiger 3,248 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 1 hour ago, aubiefifty said: are you miss cleo now? you are smearing him with no proof of nothing. good grief.............. I'm saying this based on his comments and nepotism generally working out bad throughout history. Some call it logic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 Just now, KansasTiger said: I'm saying this based on his comments and nepotism generally working out bad throughout history. Some call it logic. some of us call them assumptions......you know the drill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 guys i am just saying it is not fair to judge someone on a sound bite or an article. a lot of the players love the hell out of him and folks say he is very bright. i also doubt bruce would keep him if he sucked. anyway have a good one................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasTiger 3,248 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 7 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: some of us call them assumptions......you know the drill. You're right. Better to make a multi year millions of dollar gamble to find out instead of thinking about the situation and making a few inferences first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 16,791 Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 7 minutes ago, KansasTiger said: You're right. Better to make a multi year millions of dollar gamble to find out instead of thinking about the situation and making a few inferences first. that is not what i said but thanx for trying. i am not doing this with you all day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 12,865 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 22 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: um it is my understanding he had some threats made. i am not sure where i saw it since i post so many articles. i am thinking it was on tigerland. do you re4alize how many people lost money on the auburn yale game? Some moron may have made threats. My point was Steven was vague as to what behavior/criticism he was responding to. He didn’t mention threats. He mentioned “hating on” and “opinions.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasTiger 3,248 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 17 minutes ago, aubiefifty said: that is not what i said but thanx for trying. i am not doing this with you all day. Thats exactly what you said. But ok 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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