This says it all about Lebo's effort!

[waregl87 0]

I know the Lebo era is in the past and we look to have hired a very good one in Tony Barbee, but here's one last thing about Lebo and his "recruiting efforts" that just made me shake my head. With all the talk about (whisper) Eric Bledsoe transferring in, I went snooping around the Internet to see if I could find anything with some substance. I didn't find anything about that situation, but what I did find made my stomach twist. I found an article on KetuckySports.com that was previewing this past season's UK-Auburn bball game. The emphasis of the article was Bledsoe and Cousins coming back to their home state and playing Auburn. The article talks about how Bledsoe had a chip on his shoulder heading into the game. Why? Well, let him explain it himself. The following is a piece of the article.

When asked Friday if the game held special meaning for him, Bledsoe said, "Yes, sir. It will. Because Auburn didn't recruit me."

Auburn made an "off-and-on" effort to recruit him and did not offer a scholarship, Bledsoe said.

Really, Lebo? Really? One of the most sought after players in the country lives in the state and sounded like he at least would've been somewhat interested in AU, and you hardly even recruit the guy and don't extend a scholarship offer?? That's ridiculous and lazy. It's kind of reminiscent of Tuberville's approach to recruiting during his final years on the Plains. Well, we can't get the best recruits in the country so why even try? We'll take what's left. The least Lebo could've done was extend him an offer and gauge his interest. I'm not saying Bledsoe would be at Auburn right now nor am I saying that he was heavily interested in Auburn. I have no idea. But Lebo, our head coach at the time, didn't even bother to find out. I'm just glad Lebo is out and we have a coach who is going to go after the best players. For a coach to not offer a tremendous talent in his own backyard is unfathomable. Welcome Tony Barbee. You are a welcomed breath of fresh air!

(If you wanna read the entire article, here's the link: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/01/16/1097554/uk-auburn-notes-bledsoe-motivated.html

[TheMayorOfChillville 31]

I know the Lebo era is in the past and we look to have hired a very good one in Tony Barbee, but here's one last thing about Lebo and his "recruiting efforts" that just made me shake my head. With all the talk about (whisper) Eric Bledsoe transferring in, I went snooping around the Internet to see if I could find anything with some substance. I didn't find anything about that situation, but what I did find made my stomach twist. I found an article on KetuckySports.com that was previewing this past season's UK-Auburn bball game. The emphasis of the article was Bledsoe and Cousins coming back to their home state and playing Auburn. The article talks about how Bledsoe had a chip on his shoulder heading into the game. Why? Well, let him explain it himself. The following is a piece of the article.

When asked Friday if the game held special meaning for him, Bledsoe said, "Yes, sir. It will. Because Auburn didn't recruit me."

Auburn made an "off-and-on" effort to recruit him and did not offer a scholarship, Bledsoe said.

Really, Lebo? Really? One of the most sought after players in the country lives in the state and sounded like he at least would've been somewhat interested in AU, and you hardly even recruit the guy and don't extend a scholarship offer?? That's ridiculous and lazy. It's kind of reminiscent of Tuberville's approach to recruiting during his final years on the Plains. Well, we can't get the best recruits in the country so why even try? We'll take what's left. The least Lebo could've done was extend him an offer and gauge his interest. I'm not saying Bledsoe would be at Auburn right now nor am I saying that he was heavily interested in Auburn. I have no idea. But Lebo, our head coach at the time, didn't even bother to find out. I'm just glad Lebo is out and we have a coach who is going to go after the best players. For a coach to not offer a tremendous talent in his own backyard is unfathomable. Welcome Tony Barbee. You are a welcomed breath of fresh air!

(If you wanna read the entire article, here's the link: http://www.kentucky.com/2010/01/16/1097554/uk-auburn-notes-bledsoe-motivated.html

He is a breath of fresh air...You said it brother. 

[AUBURN05 0]

A lot of people didnt offer Bledsoe because of his ACT scores.  Magically Kentucky got him elgible.

[Mikey 16,711]

A lot of people didnt offer Bledsoe because of his ACT scores.  Magically Kentucky got him elgible.

True. Plus, I don't believe Bledsoe's story, at least the spin he put on it.

I can see Auburn approaching him, Bledsoe saying "not interested, I'm talking to Kentucky" and Auburn moving right along.

To think that Lebo would ignore a top recruit less than 100 miles away to go pursue a lesser kid in the Carolinas doesn't make any sense. If Lebo were "lazy", he'd have wasted time on Bledsoe instead of hitting the road.

Usually, when things don't make any sense they aren't accurate as presented.

[jcggolfnut 0]

But the story came from the internet, so it's got to be true. 

[war76eagle 0]

A lot of people didnt offer Bledsoe because of his ACT scores.  Magically Kentucky got him elgible.

  05,xcjl had non-qualifiers in evry recruiting class.Why wouldn't he recruit EB?

[righty1975 0]

A lot of people didnt offer Bledsoe because of his ACT scores.  Magically Kentucky got him elgible.

True. Plus, I don't believe Bledsoe's story, at least the spin he put on it.

I can see Auburn approaching him, Bledsoe saying "not interested, I'm talking to Kentucky" and Auburn moving right along.

To think that Lebo would ignore a top recruit less than 100 miles away to go pursue a lesser kid in the Carolinas doesn't make any sense. If Lebo were "lazy", he'd have wasted time on Bledsoe instead of hitting the road.

Usually, when things don't make any sense they aren't accurate as presented.

Mike P, I understand that you feel a lot of loyalty to former coaches at Auburn- you seem to also be a big Tuberville defender, but you really have to look at the facts on this one. In seven recruiting classes that Lebo signed, there were 2 top 100 players. One of them was commited(Douglas) before he was hired. He let him leave. I know Toney's dad was a problem, but you have to figure out some kind of way to smooth that thing out. That kid was a program changer. The class that had Dollard, Barber, and one other big guy that I can not remember was a good class. That was his first real class. Dollard could not stay out of trouble and the other guy left as well. After that class, we honestly did not sign maybe 1-2 players the next 5 years that any SEC team wanted. You can say what you want but Lebo was the perfect storm of bad if you ask me. A lazy recruiter that also tended to run off his more talented guys because he had no people-skills, who also did nothing to promote the program or excite the fanbase.  I believe any negative recruiting stories about the guy as he showed me no effort in that category. I supported him while here as I would support any member of the Auburn family but the facts are that he took a team that was in the tourney 5 of the 7 years before he got here, twice in the sweet sixteen, and ran it completely into the ground. Any way you slice it, that is not defendable.

[SuperFlyEagle 0]

Into the GROUND. (thought that needed an echo Righty)

[AuburnEngineer 0]

Into the GROUND. (thought that needed an echo Righty)

lol

[AUMASTERS 555]

  Lebo took arguably Cliff Ellis's best team and ran off the best of the best

  and failed to coach up those remaining. Welcome aboard Coach Barbee!!!!!

[baldeagle05 0]

I think Lebo did an o.k. job; he did not get AU into any trouble, and his teams competed at least...

Tubs just laid down and died on recruiting the last three years he was here...

Anyway, goodbye to both of them and hello to two quality coaches..

The future looks to be in very good hands in all of our major sports now...

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Sounds like Lebo was a lot like Tuberville when it came signing top recruits every year. Phillip Rivers wanted to sign with AU but TT didn't want him as a QB.

[SuperFlyEagle 0]

Sounds like Lebo was a lot like Tuberville when it came signing top recruits every year. Phillip Rivers wanted to sign with AU but TT didn't want him as a QB.

It's not like Campbell or Cox were terrible.

[righty1975 0]

Into the GROUND. (thought that needed an echo Righty)

Kinda like the echo in Beard-Eaves you could hear during home games. We were at about 15% capacity at most of them.

[Orange and Blue 17211345162833 0]

Jeff Lebo did a fine job while he was here and i thank him for his services. Coach Barbee is inheriting a great situation: no probation, no restrictions with AAU coaches, a brand new basketball arena to play in and renewed excitement from the fans and administration in winning basketball.

Sometimes timing means everything.

[righty1975 0]

I think Lebo did an o.k. job; he did not get AU into any trouble, and his teams competed at least...

Tubs just laid down and died on recruiting the last three years he was here...

Anyway, goodbye to both of them and hello to two quality coaches..

The future looks to be in very good hands in all of our major sports now...

No offense BaldEagle, but his teams DID NOT compete! We never even won our division while he was here. And for the most part, the west was a pretty crappy division. I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but I don't think winning the conference was ever even on the mind of this team. They played hard, but I don't think they ever believed they could have big success- I truly don't- and that mindset starts at the top. He always got good effort from the guys, but he never had enough talent to get the job done, and that is Lebo's fault. I know he was handcuffed by a few things, but less scholarships only means you can not sign as many guys. It does not mean you can not sign quality guys. I have heard so many excuses about Lebo--Bad shoe contracts, AAU restrictions, probation, facilities, blah, blah, blah. The fact is the guy could not get it done. I could go coach the team if my main criteria was to play hard and not get in trouble. That is not hard to do and sets the bar way too low. We need a guy that dreams about winning championships, has a plan to do it, and gets his team to buy in to it all. Hopefully we have found that in CTB.

War Eagle Coach! Let's go after Kentucky!

[jonesc1_98 0]

Sounds like Lebo was a lot like Tuberville when it came signing top recruits every year. Phillip Rivers wanted to sign with AU but TT didn't want him as a QB.

NC State? I don't think Tommy was the only one who passed him by, so I don't think that was Tubby's fault. Some players just develop... A lot of the good QB's in the NFL came from no name schools and I don't think that means coaches overlooked them.

[Mikey 16,711]

Sounds like Lebo was a lot like Tuberville when it came signing top recruits every year. Phillip Rivers wanted to sign with AU but TT didn't want him as a QB.

Also passing on Rivers: UAT, Tenn, UGA, Vandy, Kentucky, Ole' Miss, MSU, Ga. Tech....the list goes on. As noted above, Rivers developed, much to the surprise of most.

Yes, I defend Tuberville. He was and is a great coach. As recent as his next to last recruiting year (2007), Auburn's class was rated #7 nationally so the tales of him stopping recruiting are bogus. Check out this year's starting O-line and tell me CTT quit trying to recruit.

Lebo is a different story. He accomplished little while he was here and most of the great players that did come here, he ran off.

However, to believe Bledsoe's tale, as presented, simply defies common sense. Do you think Lebo LIKED to lose? Do you suppose he'd rather have inferior players? No matter how bad he was here, thinking those things is silly.

I think Bledsoe told Lebo/Auburn he wasn't interested and we went our separate ways. Now Bledsoe is insulted because Auburn didn't keep begging him so he wanted to say something. Maybe he wanted to fire himself and his team mates up? Who knows why, but to think it's because Lebo didn't want him on Auburn's team is simply not reasonable.

[righty1975 0]

Mike P, I completely agree with most of your points.  Tuberville accomplished a lot at Auburn and throwing him under the bus is stupid. He did flame out a bit at the end after he got his big contract with a lot of guarantees. No shame there, just happens sometimes. I have lost my fire for a job before too. About Lebo, you are right, he accomplished almost nothing while here. Your scenario about Bledsoe though, to me, is exactly the point. A good recruiter would not give up on a recruit because they are interested in Kentucky. These guys are paid a lot of money to recruit the best of the best, and sometimes that means showing a lot of attention to a kid who may not have interest in you at the time. Recruiting is a pride-swallowing job, but it must be done. Guys like Trooper Taylor and people like him have figured out how to make these kids feel really special without looking or sounding completely desperate for their services. If Lebo was not up to this task, he should have either learned how to do this, or hire someone that was fantastic at it. No excuse at all for not going really heavy at the top players. Heck, we were not even offering most of them.  What is the harm in offering?  I think Jeff's ego would not let him recruit effectively. I don't think he wanted to chase these kids around because it was beneath him. His attitude was he was only gonna get kids that really wanted to play for him. Guess what Jeff, you are not Dean Smith. The average kid does not know who you are and you will have to sell him. Jeff would not sell anything. He would not sell Auburn to top recruits and he definitely did not sell his program to fans, media, students or alumni. Makes me mad just talking aboutit.

[yeaauburn 21]

It all worked out..."pass and repass" as my grandmother would say...let it go. Barbee is the man of the hour. How cool is it going to be coming off football season and heading into basketball this year. :cool:  

[Tiger Growlin 0]

A lot of kids that are apart of the Bham school system got overlooked by our state teams. Stanley Robinson didn't get recruited by the bigs here until it was too late. Once they did try and step in he was already committed to UCONN and wasn't about to change. However his teammate D. Jemison benefited from the attention brought by Robinson and eventually signed with Bama. The kid from Woodlawn High that signed with us in football was overlooked. Bledsoe was no different coming out of Parker High. He was however recruited to UAB and was seriously considering signing there to play along side D. Cousins who was committed to UAB at the time. He is also from Bham and went to Erwin High. Until Bham Schools get it together this will continue to happen.  Bham used to be a hot bed for bball talent and can be once again with the right resources. Montgomery is not much different. V. Ward of Texas, C. Fortson of Arkansas, J. Sanders of UAB were teammates at Jeff Davis High and all three got away. Sanders played elsewhere and transferred back closer to home. The other two went to prep school to improve their grades to get to D1 schools. Part of is on the kid and his parents and the other part is on the school system failing them. Stop cheering them on on the court and cheer them on in the classroom. Thats where the encouragement is needed.

[marshallcotiger 0]

Lebo did recruit Bledsoe but he saw that it was a waste of time. Bledsoe wasn't coming to Auburn with Lebo as the head coach and no amount of time Lebo spent recruiting him would have changed that.

[pram92 0]

Im almost positive Duke offered Bledsoe, but ive also heard he and his dad were asking for money

[kingofhill1 2]

If Lebo can't recruit then why are some people so worried that some of the people that he signed in this year's class might go someplace else? If he signed them and he can't recruit then they must not be any good, right?

[pram92 0]

If Lebo can't recruit then why are some people so worried that some of the people that he signed in this year's class might go someplace else? If he signed them and he can't recruit then they must not be any good, right?

his last class was pretty good.. besides rob chubb.. but also were a young team next year and were going to need depth at a lot of positions so most of them need to stay,unless of course CTB is going to replace them accordingly.