The Bodda Getta

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/Theres-growing-pains-64165

Tony Barbee talks about the basketball program's future and the upcoming SEC Tournament.

We are heading in the right direction. He did not inherit a program that could simply reload. Much like the new coliseum, Barbee is having to lay and build a new foundation upon which future programs will be based. He was successful at UTEP and comes from a successful coaching pedigree.

I know this is unpopular, but folks will have to be a little patient before a proven and consistent winner will be put on the court. But Barbee is the mand to do it. One would have to think that certain games would have ended differently had injuries and suspensions not gotten in the way. The overtime loss at LSU, 3-point losses at Arkansas and Mississippi State, and a 5-point loss at Alabama, if things go a little different in those games we have a winning SEC record.

I know: coulda, woulda shoulda, but with all the injuries and depth issues, this season could have been a pleasant surprise.

The future for AU basketball is bright, so everyone better have their shades.

War Eagle!

SORRY ABOUT DOUBLE POST--GOT ERROR MESSAGE AND IT POSTED TWICE.

Barbee has us going in the right direction. I love the defense and the team intensity in the first half . Next year we have to do it also in the second half. Really I feel like this team could win the tourney. The only team better than us is Kentucky. If 22 would wake up with more consistency we could beat any team.

Barbee is doing something that I have never seen any other bball coach at AU do. This year AU has had decent attendance and atmosphere at home while fielding not that great of a team to be kind. The truth is it is very difficult to win in bball at AU due to the culture and support. Some folks say win and they will come. But how do you win if you have to get recruits to commit to a team with little support. This is why AU has been through numerous bball coaches with very limited success over the past 30 years. Alternatively, the huge support that AU football enjoys has helped to ensure that every coach AU has hired since Barfield has been very successful. Anyway, my point is I think Barbee is doing a remarkable job of addressing the AU bball culture problem like I have never seen another AU coach do.
I think Barbee is on his way to doing remarkable things for AU bball.

Building a solid BB progran in the middle of SEC football dominate country takes time....Coach Barbee is the man that can do it , Given ENOUGH Time. A season is coming at Auburn where all the chips/psices will fall into place(player depth , healthy players , etc) and Auburn will seem to come out of nowhere, with a strong winning season and then be a competitve BB program consistantly!....IMHO

War Eagle

Thnx Brian, do you have UTEPs record before he got there? I'll bet that his second year 6-6 conference record is a Big improvement over the year he got there. My point is that I fully believe Lebo would have won 9 games the last 2 years and most likely more. Coach Barbee walked into a new era of Auburn basketball, new enthusiasm, new direction of the admin, brand new, state of the art arena etc, etc and IMO, we have shown very little improvement. The records speak for themselves, if one were to compare Lebos last 2 years, in a pile of crap place to play, and Barbees first 2 years.

Thnx, Brian, but that may be even more frightening. I truly believe Barbee can at least get the team back to NCAA Bubble status, but I did think we would be much improved on the court by now. I guess it's just been 8-10 years of "Growing Pains" that has me very weary.

We all need to remember that Lebo didn't recruit any decent players his last 3 years. He did absolutely nothing to garner fan support. Barbee came into an almost impossible situation and I think he has done a remarkable job. Couple that with all the injuries we have had and I think he has done an exceptional job! While the record was not that good, our play is much improved. At least we put out max effort and he doesn't sit down the whole game like Lebo did. The guys that Lebo left had good ball skills for Wofford and Liberty and the like and it's going to take some time to teach the new talent what to do (ask Gene Chizik).

There is a reason Barbee isn't happy (" but nobody is going to be more frustrated or disappointed than I am"), and most of us aren't happy for the same reasons.

He expected to have a better season than he had. I expected us to go anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 this season. We were 2 to 3 wins off that pace and you could easily say that we were one good, consistent shooter from being there.

Had we won those 3 games, we would have been 8-8, looking to go to 11-5 next year in a natural progression up. You can't blame the coaches for injuries causing problems (especially when he hasn't had time to recruit the whole team yet.) You can lay some blame for the discipline issues of the kids he recruited. And he recruited the two who were suspended...

This season isn't over yet - go get em Tigers!

The FACTS are, nobody wanted to keep Lebo, OR get rid of Barbee.