The Bodda Getta

Its hard to get excited about the future of Auburn bb when you switch from all the 4 star guys in football to the guys we are looking at in bb.

The good thing - you only need five or six really good ones in bb to succeed.

Not anywhere near the level of talent I thought we would be recruiting with a new arena and a new coach. Go ahead and flame away 1st graders. We are not gettin what we are paying for in basketball. Any other conclusion is BS.

Seems to me the program was a mess when Barbee took over.I think we need to give him a chance to get some momentum going.

Most of the guys in that notebook are going to be highly recruited and rated and would be an upgrade in talent over what Auburn currently has on the roster.

We are not any farther along than 3 years ago when we hired him. Most of his recruits are gone. Who is to say that trend won't continue? We are told this class coming in is a top 25 type class yet I haven't seen it ranked in any top 35. I would hope with a new arena, full support by the admin, and a good coach that it would be no problem to compete for a winning SEC record by his third year. With our returning players and all freshman coming in, I don't see this happening. Hope I am wrong.

The Sky is not falling in basketball, it has been on the ground for a long time. Don't worry about what I think, there are some very influential basketball supporters who are keeping a very close eye on everything from a background perspective. When they get fed up with what's going on, changes will be made.

So aufan89, you are in charge. What do you do? Fire the coach again? Nope, we've done that over and over. Hire a hot shot up-and-coming coach? Nope, we've tried that. Build a new arena and upgrade our facilities? Nope, we've done that. Place emphasis on upgrading recruiting? I think we are doing that and doing it well. Disband the bb program at Auburn? Just continue to bitch and complain? (seems to be the choice of most) No coaching staff will rebuild the Auburn bb program in less than five years. Tony Barbee and staff are doing the job right and if we are patient, we might get there. Most really good bb prospects are more interested in getting to the NBA than where they go to college. Why would you pick Auburn if you can go to Kentucky, Duke, NC, Florida, UCLA, Texas, U Conn., etc. etc. That makes it very difficult to get the really good guys. We can't even get the best in-state prospects - most prefer to go across the state or go out of state.

Just what leads you to believe it's getting better Joceefus? Explain it to me enlightened one. Where is all your proof?

It does appear the talent will be upgraded this year. This is Barbees 3rd year, let's see some no doubt, guaranteed, on the court improvement. I'm talking 8-9-10 SEC wins. That would be the improvement needed to show long term potential. Not another 4-6 win sec season. That is what we have averaged around here since Ellis left. So, yes, the program was in shambles, and the improvement in all aspects of our mens basketball has been minimal to say the least after 2 and a half years.

I see both sides of the discussions above. Bottom line, bb has achieved way less than anyone around Auburn should be safisfied with for many years now.

Has there been a substantial change on the court by Barbee and his staff thus far? No, obviously not. Can he still turn things around? - Definitely.

Until we actually see change on the court (hell, even off the court for that matter) there is no real basis for a lot of optimism, based on the past decade. I like Tony and all the things he promises and what he says.

Auburn can win in basketball. It has been done before, but there are apparently problems below the surface that outsiders can't see. Either that or the wrong people are in place in key positions.

All I can do is say War Eagle and hope for the best. I support Barbee as long as he is coaching the Tigers.

Barbee has had only two seasons - not three. There was definite improvement from year one to year two. I'm not saying Barbee is the answer - we certainly have a long way to go. But after being a season ticket or scholarship donor for more than 30 years, I think I have a pretty good feel for the program, and right now, more than anything else, we need patience and support from the fan base. I expect slow but continued progress, and that is something we haven't had for a long time.

For what it's worht, here are my observations from the camp Saturday. First, the staff did not make a favorable impression on coaches/parents by starting over an hour late. Not the first time I have seen this with this staff. Second, there were a couple of very good players at the camp but the majority of the kids were not SEC level talent. My son will likely play low D1 basketball and the coaches were spending a lot of time with kids my son has a lot of success against in AAU tournaments. It seems as though we can't get talent to show up or we can't spot talent. Don't know which it is but I was not impressed with the talent level at the camp given that we are an SEC school with incredible facil ities. Hope Coach and his staff prove me wrong but I am concerned about the future. My 2 cents, TIFWIW.