I don't post much but I've been around a long time. I love Auburn football but my passion has always been basketball. I was in school when guys like Wesley Person, Aaron Swinson, Wes Flanigan, and Franklin Williams were around. I made it to damn near every game my four years there and always watched or listened when I couldn't. Just like all of you, I have watched some real sorry basketball over the past 30 years or so. The frustration has been well documented here in regards to the fanbase being "all football, all the time" with the lower tier sports being seen as "offseason entertainment."
I've always been someone that could truly walk away from any Auburn game, win or lose, if I felt like whatever team I was watching showed heart, busted their ass, and represented Auburn with class and dignity. I'm here to tell you that this team has made my short list of all time favorite teams (from any sport) in terms of how I feel after watching them. For folks that are not hard core basketball analysts, you really can't possibly understand just how under manned this team is. On paper, we really shouldn't be able to compete with a single team in the conference. We are too short, too undisciplined, don't shoot a high enough percentage either from the floor or the line, and none of these guys have won enough at Auburn to have that "it" factor that the great teams do for winning.
That being said, it is brutally clear to me that every single damn one of these kids has bought into Bruce Pearl's program. Every one of them gives 100% effort for every second they are on that floor. No one can watch these games and say otherwise. Coach Pearl has taken a group of average to below average talent players and made them believe they are champions. He knows better than anyone that he can't win consistently with a roster like this. But oh....just wait until he does have some talent and can motivate those players in the same way.
As for today, we may get destroyed. I know the kids are exhausted. They have to be. But something tells me that we will not go down easy. This won't be Rupp part 2. And if Kentucky truly believes it will be, don't be surprised if today is our 2013 football moment. Perhaps crazier things have NOT happened, but if those kids believe, anything is possible. Either way, I couldn't be more proud to be an Auburn Alum and to have this program go into battle today.
War Damn Eagle
Z
This post was edited on 3/14 8:22 AM by Z
I've always been someone that could truly walk away from any Auburn game, win or lose, if I felt like whatever team I was watching showed heart, busted their ass, and represented Auburn with class and dignity. I'm here to tell you that this team has made my short list of all time favorite teams (from any sport) in terms of how I feel after watching them. For folks that are not hard core basketball analysts, you really can't possibly understand just how under manned this team is. On paper, we really shouldn't be able to compete with a single team in the conference. We are too short, too undisciplined, don't shoot a high enough percentage either from the floor or the line, and none of these guys have won enough at Auburn to have that "it" factor that the great teams do for winning.
That being said, it is brutally clear to me that every single damn one of these kids has bought into Bruce Pearl's program. Every one of them gives 100% effort for every second they are on that floor. No one can watch these games and say otherwise. Coach Pearl has taken a group of average to below average talent players and made them believe they are champions. He knows better than anyone that he can't win consistently with a roster like this. But oh....just wait until he does have some talent and can motivate those players in the same way.
As for today, we may get destroyed. I know the kids are exhausted. They have to be. But something tells me that we will not go down easy. This won't be Rupp part 2. And if Kentucky truly believes it will be, don't be surprised if today is our 2013 football moment. Perhaps crazier things have NOT happened, but if those kids believe, anything is possible. Either way, I couldn't be more proud to be an Auburn Alum and to have this program go into battle today.
War Damn Eagle
Z
This post was edited on 3/14 8:22 AM by Z
