If Jeff Lebo is retained for another season as head coach of Auburn men’s basketball, I won’t complain, I don’t think. Dismissing him will be costly. Hiring a replacement will be even more costly. A change in the head coaching position will likely produce a series of transfers and recruiting losses that will necessitate another two-year rebuilding process before real improvement is possible. Finding a coach as likable, as principled, as in touch with his players will be difficult. For all of these reasons, I cannot argue that retaining Lebo shouldn’t at least be considered by Jay Jacobs and the Auburn administration.
But it’s my opinion that the best way forward for Auburn men’s basketball is to thank Lebo for his service, buy out his contract, and hire a new head coach. Lebo is a good man, and I’m going to wish him the absolute best of luck whether he’s coaching at Auburn or elsewhere. But we have asked many things of him which he has failed to deliver, things I do not believe have been too much for Auburn to ask.
It is not too much to ask for more than a single NIT bid in six years. We understand that the program was on probation and attrition-scarred when Lebo took the helm, that he has suffered injury luck that could best be described as “terrible,” that he is fighting against decades of losing history and a relic of a home arena. But an NIT bid is a low, low bar to clear, one that requires little more than keeping the team’s head above water in the SEC and not blowing games to the likes of Southern Miss in 2006-2007, Tulane in 2007-2008, Central Florida and Troy in 2009-2010. Mid-majors of all stripes across the country face just as daunting recruiting obstacles and put together teams that could make the NIT out of the SEC. One postseason berth in six years is not enough.
It is not too much to ask that a team with five seniors not play the worst defense in the SEC. Either tracked per-possession or via Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency numbers, Auburn’s defense resides in the league’s cellar, 12th out of 12. Regardless of the quality of player recruited, regardless of the size of the five on the floor, SEC-quality players–especially fourth- or fifth-year SEC-quality players–should be able to be taught to move their feet and keep opposing players out of the lane. They should be able to learn when to gamble and when to stay fundamentally sound. They should be able to avoid giving up seven dunks to one player in one game when the season is on the line. It has long been a tenet of Lebo’s tenure that his players give maximum effort at all times, and for the most part, that is a tenet I continue to hold as well. The problem, I believe, is simply Lebo’s failure to coach proper defensive technique and scheme.
It is not too much to ask for more than two winning seasons in six years. Again: this is hardly a difficult hurdle to clear for an SEC team. There is no way a major-college basketball program that takes itself even remotely seriously can find these results acceptable, under almost any circumstances.
It is not too much to ask for Auburn’s senior players to have some understanding of what is a good shot and what isn’t. I understand (and even endorse) that Lebo’s philosophy with his undersized team is to keep tempo quick, shoot an abnormally high number of threes (despite his lack of shooters), and keep the paint open for dribble-drives. But this can’t possibly mean that after four years, Lebo still wants Dewayne Reed–a career 32 percent three-point shooter–to pull up for a contested three with 15 or more seconds on the shot clock, as he did multiple times last night and has throughout the season. He can’t seriously want our best offensive post player to take two shots, or as third as many as Kenny Gabriel took. He can’t seriously want his team to take 42.7 percent of its shots from behind the arc. But they do. When all was said and done, Auburn’s offense was productive this season, and was last season as well. But remaining this perimeter-oriented without perimeter shooters is no formula for game-to-game consistency. There’s a reason Lebo’s 2008-2009 team managed to lose to Mercer and beat Tennessee in the same season.
It is not too much to ask to recruit one post player who can provide some level of usefulness on both ends of the floor. A large part of Auburn’s defensive problems this season stemmed from the fact that Brendon Knox could not be counted on to anchor the defense, while Johnnie Lett could be counted on to force the offense to play 4-on-5. Lebo had four years’ worth of recruiting to try and solve this problem. He could not.
Most importantly: it is not too much to ask that we feel some kind of excitement about this program.
These should be thrilling times for Auburn basketball; the Auburn Arena is going to become one of the greatest hoops facilities in the country the day it opens, potentially transforming the culture of the program overnight. But if Lebo is kept, is there anything to look forward to other than the arena? The same coach whose tactics have looked so subpar this season. A gutted roster featuring Frankie Sullivan and a host of players who could blossom but who also didn’t give us a whole lot of reasons to think they would. Essentially, another lost year of waiting until the rotation matures in 2011-2012.
I like Jeff Lebo. I like him a lot. But I am tired of waiting. I am tired of not caring. I am tired of excuses*. I am tired of tissue-paper defenses and undisciplined offenses. I am tired of Auburn being completely shut out of league honors in what’s currently a second-tier conference. I see what Tennessee found in Bruce Pearl and what Mississippi St. has in Rick Stansbury and even what Georgia seems to have in Mark Fox, and how can I not want Auburn to at least try to have the same thing?
Certainly, there’s no guarantee that things will get better; John Pelphrey hasn’t done anything for Arkansas that Stan Heath couldn’t have done anyway. But I want Auburn to take that shot anyway. I want the new arena to open up with a sense of possibilities, not a sense of the same-ol’-same-ol’. I want the men’s hoops program to act like a program that wants to be better than it is, not like one that’s all right with mediocrity. I want a coach whose energy and charisma gives us reasons to hope and cheer, instead of one whose generic likability gives us reasons to hope he lands on his feet.
It’s not something I type easily at all, but: I want Jeff Lebo replaced. Sometimes, it’s just time.
*Re: those excuses, the Beav is a semi-legitimate one, but guess what, the Tad Pad is three years and Andy Kennedy–in his third year–will take Ole Miss dancing if they beat Tennessee today. Beave or no Beav, I refuse to believe recruiting to Auburn is more difficult than recruiting to Starkville, or even Vanderbilt given their academic restrictions. The facilities made the job harder, but it hardly made it impossible.
As regards the “lack of administrative support,” the administration is ready to open a new state-of-the-art $93 million arena. But they don’t care about basketball? Right.
And as for the fans, Auburn people have shown time and time again that we will come out in droves for a successful basketball team. Just last year we sold out games for both the women and men, the latter coming in what would be a highly nondescript season for any of the upper-tier SEC teams. Yes, there should be greater unconditional support, yes, attendance shouldn’t flag as badly as it does for the nonconference schedule or when it’s clear the season is in the tank. But that doesn’t mean the right coach couldn’t have packed Beard-Eaves multiple times a season.
Photo by Van Emst.
I’m gonna be honest. Last night when I saw Tay Waller bury his head under his jersey to hide his tears as he walked off the court, I wanted to punch Jeff Lebo in the face. As far as I’m concerned, that — THAT — can never happen again. Not to another career, not to another season, not even another game. Lebo’s not good enough. He can’t keep the promises he makes. He’s a failure. Business is business. Let him and all his supporters cry their way to the bank to cash his buyout.
Let’s try. Let’s just TRY. It can’t get any worse. It really and truly can’t get any worse. Besides, we, of all people right now, should know the excitement and fun a new coach can bring to an athletics program in the wake of the (frankly) stagnant ending years of a regime.
I’ve beaten this drum to death, but change has got to happen. What happens if we decide to keep Lebo? We wait around another year and then fire him? That’s yet another kid’s senior year, down the drain.
As far the actual game last night; one thing’s clear. Starting now, and for the next two years, this is Frankie’s team. He played a hell of a game.
And on that note, I was looking somewhere at some post game comments from the players on Lebo, and of course everyone was way supportive of him and said he should definitely be back, but it seemed like Frankie had a little less gusto than the rest of them. He was just like “I enjoy playing for him. It’s not in my hands. We’ll see what happens.”….. Maybe he’s less enthusiastic about Lebo coming back because, unlike the seniors, he would actually have to come back and play for him…
He’s out. Goldberg reporting.
Five names (with differing levels of unlikeliness, in alphaebetical order) I hope we go after:
Steve Alford (New Mexico)
Tony Barbee (UTEP)
Scott Drew (Baylor)
Bob Knight (ESPN) – okay, I know it’s not going to happen, but it would be awesome
Brad Stevens (Butler)*
*Stevens is easily my #1 choice. Young, great coach, would be just the spark we’re looking for, IMO
Looks like Jacobs agrees. Multiple reports coming out (3PM Eastern) that he’s gone.
Who will come to AU? We had a hard enough time finding a FB coach. What coach anyone wants will be willing to come to AU to be the next failed b-ball coach.
This does not look good.
[...] that, as they say, is that. The 2009-2010 Auburn basketball season is over. We’ve already covered the elephant in the room here, but a few more thoughts about last night’s [...]
J.D., I covered Barbee in the new “Lebo’s out” comment thread and sort of touched on Stevens there, but to expand on that: I’d really worry that Stevens and the Butler style wouldn’t translate to the SEC. That’s the sort of nonsense I make fun of when it comes to football hires, I know but Butler’s built on the backs of super-gritty, super hard-working, super-smart players the likes of which are found in high concentrations in Indiana and very few other places. Butler’s program strikes me as very much a product of Indiana and the Midwest, moreso than just about any other major program out there, and trying to move it even as far south as Iowa has so far been a disaster. Xavier had a lot more success getting Matta out of there, and certainly Stevens’ smashing success at his impossible age means someone’s going to take a chance on him sooner rather than later … but again, we know that Marshall, Anderson, and Kennedy aren’t products of their program and we don’t know that aobut Stevens.
Re: Alford, frankly, even I don’t think it’d be in his best interests. The Lobos just renovated their gym, are the only game in town for a major American city, and would probably elect Alford mayor if the election were decided today. I don’t see why he’d leave, and UNM would probably outbid us for him even if he started flirting.
Drew, however, is intriguing and is honestly a name I hadn’t considered. (I pretty much only pay attention to mids and Auburn, ya know.) Could we get him out of Baylor? Maybe not, since he’s got that program up and running VERY smoothly at the moment. But we could probably pay more and the arena has to be a hell of a carrot. Hmmm…
And yes, AO, the image of Waller walking off was disheartening and you’re right that Sullivan wasn’t nearly as supportive as his teammates. Which is actually a good thing–helps the odds that he’ll stay.
WBE -
I defer to you when it comes to anything basketball-related. I’m a casual-to-above average CBB observer, but you’re a die-hard. That said, I’ll take your word on Stevens. His age and success are blinding, though. I know we’ve had the back-and-forth about Alford, but I hope at the very least Jacobs calls and asks. I hadn’t considered Drew either, but the name just came to me earlier today. He inherited a situation worse than what Lebo inherited, and look at what he’s done: taken Baylor to the upper tier of an incredible basketball conference. He’s as close to a sure thing as we can get.
I don’t know much about Barbee other than his record at UTEP being pretty awesome. And Knight is a complete, laughable long shot who may not even be in Auburn’s best interests, but he certainly would pique interest in the program.
Looking forward to all your coverage of the hire.
PS – I should note that Mike Anderson would be my theoretical #1, but I’d put the chance at Auburn landing him at less than .01%
It’s a shame. Lebo had the track record to be a good coach, and he was a good coach. I don’t hate him, he’s never been a jerk or a sore loser. But we suck at basketball, and we have for a while. That’s the bottom line.
See I don’t think Auburn sucks at basketball. Sonny Smith had us winning games and getting into the tournament. Even Cliff Ellis had us playing in the NCAAs. And I think there are enough people from Auburn, Montgomery, and Columbus who would love a good team and fill the arena.
But we need to get a good coach who has a system that can be filled by players from the South. Lebo’s all wing offense was chaos.
I heard that Lebo never would play the AAU game. Well, that is where the players are. Don’t do anything to get us on probation, but you’ve got to be involved with those programs. I think our losing the coach to Tennessee St. (or some other program up there) really hurt us this year. At the few games I was able to attend over the Lebo era, he seemed to be in Jeff’s ear most of the game.