WarTiger 3,914 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Two Auburn freshmen have been released by Auburn and will transfer following the spring semester. Center Willy Kouassi and forward Bernard Morena, who both signed with Auburn out of Central Park Christian in Birmingham, Ala., in 2011, have been granted a full release by Auburn and will seek a transfer according to their coach and guardian Darien Knox. “The guys are very appreciative of the release and thankful for the support from the Auburn administration, faculty, student body, fans and coaching staff,” Knox said. Kouassi averaged 1.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 25 games this year as a backup to junior Rob Chubb and senior Adrian Forbes. Morena suffered a hand injury in preseason practice and redshirted this season. The departures of Kouassi and Morena along with the expected departure of point guard Varez Ward, who is the subject of a federal point-shaving investigation, will give Auburn room to bring in six players in the 2012 class. The Tigers signed four players in November and added a commitment from guard Brian Greene a couple of weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,668 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 What's up with this? Kouassi got more playing time as the season progressed and showed a lot of promise. Morena was injured and couldn't have expected to play. I'm getting more than sick of these "guardians". Seems like nothing good ever comes Auburn's way when the term "guardian" gets in the mix. Sorry, but I don't see this as a good thing. A high turnover rate every year doesn't help build experienced depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigeremt 6,660 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I don't know....AU Basketball has been jinxed since Ellis lead us to probation, so all I can do is sit back and see what Barbee is able to do that the last coach couldn't. Barbee has proven himself prior to coming here, so I have to give him time to show us what he can build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penguin149 391 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I have to trust that CTB has a handle on the situation. I was not impressed with the (lack of) progress this year from last or as the season progressed. I agree with autigeremt...every year we hear about how young the team is or how if {fill in the blank(s)} had not been injured... And again, I know I'm making an unfair comparison but UK has been playing freshmen for the past few years and seem to have a decent team! I wouldn't expect 16-0 in the SEC but we've won 9 SEC games in the past 2 years and been bounced from the SEC tournament in round 1 both years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzurd24 11 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I'm tired of hearing "once <insert coaches name> gets some talent in here, Auburn will be a force". I hope Barbee proves me 100% wrong, but I don't see any signs of things changing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weagl1 1,786 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Maybe Barbee is still "processing". We shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,668 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Barbee inherited an absolute, total mess. There was no roster management, with something like 8 seniors on a 12-man squad. I'm not saying he'll be great or he won't be great, but he does need more time considering what he took over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUtiger98 24 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Barbee inherited an absolute, total mess. There was no roster management, with something like 8 seniors on a 12-man squad. I'm not saying he'll be great or he won't be great, but he does need more time considering what he took over. I agree. We reached our previous years win total about half way through the season, so I would say there was some improvement, and we even had a player allegedly throwing games. Kouassi may not have been happy the the addition of Asauhn Dixon-Tatum, a 7 footer from Junior College. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared52 4,354 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 A full release tells me that Barbee recognizes they are not quite SEC talent. I didn't see anything out of Kouassi that makes me too upset he wants to play somewhere else. No offense to the kid. If he wants to go play somewhere where he will get more time on the court, good for him. Maybe this year's class will pan out better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzurd24 11 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I agree, he should get more time. I'm just saying if you assess after two years things are not much better if any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80Tiger 899 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 A full release tells me that Barbee recognizes they are not quite SEC talent. I didn't see anything out of Kouassi that makes me too upset he wants to play somewhere else. No offense to the kid. If he wants to go play somewhere where he will get more time on the court, good for him. Maybe this year's class will pan out better. Didn't Barbee sign these guys? Did he not know their talent level/potential? Just asking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared52 4,354 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 A full release tells me that Barbee recognizes they are not quite SEC talent. I didn't see anything out of Kouassi that makes me too upset he wants to play somewhere else. No offense to the kid. If he wants to go play somewhere where he will get more time on the court, good for him. Maybe this year's class will pan out better. Didn't Barbee sign these guys? Did he not know their talent level/potential? Just asking Talent, probably. Potential, doubtful. You see a kid in HS and you might THINK you know what they will be capable of at the next level but you won't really know until they are there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyehardaufan 0 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 A full release tells me that Barbee recognizes they are not quite SEC talent. I didn't see anything out of Kouassi that makes me too upset he wants to play somewhere else. No offense to the kid. If he wants to go play somewhere where he will get more time on the court, good for him. Maybe this year's class will pan out better. Didn't Barbee sign these guys? Did he not know their talent level/potential? Just asking Talent, probably. Potential, doubtful. You see a kid in HS and you might THINK you know what they will be capable of at the next level but you won't really know until they are there. I disagree. With aau, most coaches know what they are getting in a player before they get on campus. They know which ones will be stars, role players, and projects. With aau, players are going against better talent than high school ball so its easier to project how players will do at the next level. Basketball is the sport that easiest to project players results, players coming from nowhere to be a star are very rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey 16,668 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Their handler doesn't think those guys were getting enough playing time. That's pretty much the whole story. Barbee would have kept them but who wants a constant hassle with a guy that's their AAU coach/handler/guardian/ex-high school coach? Remember, the Cox guy found those kids in Africa, got himself declared their guardian and brought them over here. They are more or less at his mercy. He'd rather have them at UAB, so there ya' go. PS: Coach Dye had a policy of releasing any player that wanted a release to any school he wanted to go to. "I'll even help you clean out your locker". Barbee may feel the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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