The effort is appreciated, Frankie.

And 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 game:

– We can dither about a lot of factors, but the game basically came down to one thing: Florida hit their three pointers. Auburn did not. Our Tigers basically never outshoot (outshot, excuse me) their opponent from 3, but the different between 4-for-25 and 7-for-15 is vast, vast, vast. Vast enough that Auburn never really had a chance of making up for it elsewhere.

– Especially with that kind of interior defense. Though I rarely thought the problem was Lett, Knox, Hargrove, or whoever happened to be “defending the rim”; the bigger issue was stopping Irving Walker (et al) on penetration. The Gators finished with 17 assists on their 27 baskets. (For comparison’s sake: Auburn notched assists on 10 of 28.) Total offensive points-per-possession: 1.18, even with Auburn mostly shutting down the Gators’ work on the offensive glass. Auburn’s been worse this season, but that’s not good, not good at all.

– Frankie Sullivan: man, what can you say? Still wish he’d knocked down a couple more of those wide-open deep looks he got, but he alone seemed to understand what was a good shot and what wasn’t last night. (Obligatory note that he was the only non-senior seriously involved with the offense goes here.) Recruiting job No. 1 for the new coach is keeping Sullivan on the roster.

– I’m sorry, but when you reach this point in the season, you shouldn’t still be dabbling with a 10-man rotation. Pick your guys and let ‘em play. No offense to Andre Malone, but what are we really going to get out of a two-minute first-half stint from him?

– Still can’t believe Brendon Knox got two shots in his final game. Two.

– It’s kind of obligatory to note how this one game reflects the entire season, right? So, yeah, of course Sullivan went off just as soon as Waller finally went cold; of course they kept things competitive but lost by double-digits in the end; of course the game essentially was decided when a tired Auburn team couldn’t quit fouling down the stretch.

– A final thanks to Lucas Hargrove, Johnnie Lett, Brendon Knox, Dewayne Reed, and Tay Waller for all of their hard work and their contributions to the fun of 2008-2009. Best of luck, guys.

All right, I’m off to enjoy a packed-full weekend of hoops. I’ll be back if there’s any more concrete Lebo developments. See you soon.

You could see it coming this week as rumors swirled and swirled and swirled and Jay Jacobs did precisely nothing to quell them, but now it’s more-or-less official: Jeff Lebo has been fired as Auburn’s men’s head basketball coach. Money graf from Goldberg’s story:

Lebo replaced Cliff Ellis at Auburn before the 2004-05 season, but was hurt when several of Ellis’ top players left. His first Auburn team finished 14-17. That was followed by records of 12-16, 17-15, 14-16, 24-12 and 15-17.

That’s right: years 4 and 6–both teams with rosters entirely recruited by Lebo–both resulted in losing seasons. Sorry, but that’s not enough.

The official WBE shortlist:

1. Mike Anderson, Missouri. The first thing I’d do if I were Jacobs would be to find out whether Anderson would be at all interested in coming back to Alabama, then find out how much money it would take, then find the money.

2. Gregg Marshall, Wichita St. Built the most rugged mid-major dynasty this side of Butler at Winthrop, moved to Wichita, and has since taken the Shockers from 11 to 17 to 25 wins in his three years there. Still young enough after 14 years as a head coach to do some serious program-building at Auburn … if we can pry him away from WSU. Marshall turned down multiple offers at Winthrop and has spoken frequently about his reticence to move his family.

3. Billy Kennedy, Murray St. Kennedy has been a head coach at three schools–Centenary, Southeastern Louisiana, and now Murray St. He’s taken the last two to the dance and given all three their best seasons in decades. This year’s Racer team is the No. 1 biggest threat to pull an upset out of the 13-or-worse seed line in the NCAAs, bar none … and he’s also way more likely than the first two guys to come to Auburn.

Those are the first three to come to mind; I’d be thrilled with the first two, with Kennedy a solid fallback. Amongst the names I’ve heard thrown around are John Brady and Rick Majerus, neither one of which I’d be excited about; Majerus would immediately improve the team but would be liable to depart at any moment because of his health, and Brady would be the second coming of the Cliff Ellis yo-yo (though hopefully without the probation). Amongst mid-majors, I’m not as high as you might expect on either Butler’s Brad Stevens or Siena’s Fran McCaffrey; the former may be a product of the program (as Todd Lickliter appears to be at Iowa) and the latter’s both too old to provide the energy I’d like and maybe a little fortunate with his perfect storm of MAAC recruits. We’re looking for a sure thing, and those first two guys look like the closest things to me.

Much, much more to come on this over the next few days.

UPDATE: First official media speculation comes from Andy Katz via Andy Bitter: Anderson, Chuck Person, UTEP’s Tony Barbee, UAB’s Mike Davis. You can read my gut reaction to Person and Barbee in the comments, and as for Davis …. eh, wouldn’t be the worst hire in the world, but he’d hardly get my blood pumping, either.

And oh yeah, the school’s made it official with a boilerplate “different direction” quote from Jacobs.

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.

Like Jake Holland, the last entry in this series, Shaun Kitchens served as more-or-less the model citizen of Auburn recruiting. He committed early (as in “committed the same day last April as Holland” early), never even sorta-wavered, and spent most of his multiple visits to Auburn selling the program to the uncommitted visitors sharing the weekend … including Banneker teammate Demetruce McNeal.

So all that’s pretty endearing. That Kitchens is a tight-end sized athlete with wideout-style athleticism is pretty endearing in its own right, though.

BASICS: Signing Day bio GO:

WR, 6-3, 211
College Park, GA (Banneker HS)

HIGH SCHOOL: No. 20-ranked outside linebacker by Tom Lemming on Maxpreps.com … Ranked as the No. 42 player in Georgia by SuperPrep … Named to the All-Southeast Region team by PrepStar … As a senior, named second team Region 5-AAAA as a wide receiver … As a junior, had 23 rushing attempts for 57 yards and two touchdowns, completed 5-of-11 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception and caught 16 passes for 289 yards and two TDs.

That’s right–it’s yet another Auburn recruit who spent some time at quarterback. That “second-team all-region” honor doesn’t seem all that terribly impressive, but I take it as a good sign that Kitchens adapted quickly to a larger receiving role after those 16 receptions as a junior. (Where’s his stas for his senior year, though?)

Also worth noting: 1. yep, he’s a 6-3, 211-pound receiver 2. yep, despite his “athlete” designation to the gurus and jack-of-all-trades role at Banneker, he’s a WR at Auburn. I don’t think, for now, there’s really any point in discussing Kitchens’ potential at other positions; by every account Chizik and Co. wanted him as a WR the day he committed and they want him as a WR now.

However, the listed 40 time for Kitchens–4.65 at Rivals–isn’t quite scorched-earth worthy. That’s fine, of course (did we mention he’s 6-3?), but it does seem like Kitchens is going to at least begin his career as something of a possession/over-the-middle guy rather than a deep threat.

RECRUITNIK HOO-HA: Scout doesn’t really see anything too useful in Kitchens; he’s a three-star, No. 33 outside linebacker. Their scouting report:

Kitchens is a very versatile athlete that could end up at linebacker, defensive end, or even wide receiver at Auburn. He has a lot of athelticism [sic] and could be effective any one of those positions. Naturrally [sic] you look at him and his aggressive nature and think defense, but he could be a big target at receiver as well. He is not a great speed guy, but he is tough, and a true football player.

Yeah, if the bottom line is “could be effective,” they’re not too thrilled. The other two services, though, are substantially more enthusiastic. Rivals gives him a high-three-star grade of 5.7, places him in their top 50 for Athletes, and the top 40 in hotly-contested Georgia. Unlike at Scout, Kitchens was way closer to four stars here than two.

But ESPN is even more impressed … like, way more impressed. They rank Kitchens No. 98 in their ESPNU 150 (i.e. in the top 100 players in the country), call him the No. 10 athlete in the class, and give him a high four-star grade of 81. They basically view Kitchens the way the other services view, say, LaDarious Owens. Their evaluation:

Kitchens is a wonderful athlete with a supreme blend of size, speed and athleticism. We feel he projects as a safety/outside linebacker hybrid initially, with a fulltime move to the front seven in time. He could also play as a physically-imposing wide receiver prospect on offense due to his excellent overall ball skills and offensive awareness downfield … It’s this same awareness that makes him a presence on defense. Displays the ability to generate power quickly and close on ball-carriers with good explosiveness … He is an explosive blitzer both off the edge and up the middle. Shows very good feet, can play off blocks and shows very good closing burst and a violent attitude upon contact. Moves well through the lateral trash avoiding blockers in space with his quick feet and ability to burst under cut-off blocks. Coverage skills and range are very impressive … Overall, it is Kitchens’ measurables that have garnered early attention as well as his ability to run. He does have skills to remain on offense, but he has a brighter future on the other side. He has ball skills and is a playmaker, but may not have the top-end speed for an elite wide out at the next level.

All right, so I guess they’re more excited about his linebacking ability than his receiving potential, but the point remains that they’re very high on Kitchens’ athletic ability. Combine that athleticism with Trooper Taylor’s coaching (and early-commitment seal of approval), and I think you’ll see something impressive.

Admittedly, Kitchens doesn’t have a top-line offer sheet: Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Kentucky. Then again, given how early Kitchens committed and how little attention Kitchens paid to any other schools after that commitment, it’s fair to assume he might have earned a few more down the stretch if he’d been on the market.

LINKS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST: 7:48 of junior year highlights ahoy (audio NSFW):

Wait … are we sure we want him to play wide receiver?

There’s surprisingly little useful information out there on Kitchens. But here’s what I’ve got:

– Kitchens was named to the Atlanta Touchdown Club’s All-Metro team … as a defensive back.

– ESPN noticed when he caught two touchdown passes in a Banneker rout back in September.

– Right about this time last year, Kitchens appeared to be highly intrigued by Tennessee, who had yet to offer him. At the very least, he got Vol fans reminiscing about Freddie Kitchens. You’ll notice at the AJC link that he also pulled a Duke offer; grades won’t be an issue with Kitchens, it’s fair to say.

– I’m still kind of wondering what it meant for Kitchens that his coach basically said Demetruce McNeal was the better athlete, but Kitchens still got his photo in the paper.

– Not actually a Kitchens link, but if you’re worried about his statistics, I’ll remind you that Kitchens doesn’t play in the sort of high school league where you’re going to rack up a lot of receiving yards.

Unless you’re interested in reading Bleacher Report wrap-ups of Auburn’s recruiting class, that’s about it.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS WE CAN DRAW, IF ANY: Let me ask you something: do you think Gus Malzahn’s offense could have used a guy who was slightly smaller than Tommy Trott but far more athletic?

Because that’s how I see Kitchens. Trott spent so much time split out, it was barely worth calling him a tight end; his primary use was as a blocker and on the occasional seam route. Kitchens could do both those things and be an even more agile blocker and offer even more of a deep threat and potentially be a huge weapon over the middle. There’s no question in my mind there’s room in this attack for a tall, thick, possession receiver who can get out and mow over corners on runs and swings to the edge.

And there’s not much question, for me, that Kitchens could be that guy. He’s got enough athletic potential to do a lot of other things; if Auburn’s coaches believe that’s what he’ll be best at, I feel plenty confident in saying that he’ll be plenty good at it. (And if he’s not … there is always linebacker.)

Photo via.

If hair quality translates directly to basektball quality, Alex Tyus may be able to cause Auburn some problems.

Let’s go ahead and call tonight’s first-round SEC Tournament game between Auburn and Florida what it is: potentially the final game of Jeff Lebo’s tenure on the Plains. Yes, Virginia, it’s kind of a big deal.

So for the first time this season, it’s time for a comprehensive hoops preview of tonight’s matchup.

Time and TV: 6:30 central tonight, on the “SEC Network” and most likely one of your local television stations; the AUfficial site has a list of affiliates carrying the game.

Stakes? For Auburn, no less than their coach’s continued employment. A win also keeps the ever-so-slim hopes of a winning season and last-gasp NIT bid alive. (A note about that NIT bid: even a run to the SEC final probably isn’t enough any more. A raft of mid-major regular season champions who have gone on to lose in their conference tourneys have claimed a big chunk of automatic bids to the three-letter tournament. Consecutive wins over Florida, Miss. St., and Vandy and a final record of 18-17 might be able to sneak Auburn in … but probably not. It’s more-or-less SEC title or bust.)

For Florida, the Gators are probably in the NCAAs even with a loss to Auburn, given that even the sad-sack resumes of teams like Memphis and Illinois are getting long looks. But in the event of Bubblepocalypse–bid thieves stealing spots out of conferences like the Atlantic-10 or C-USA, big runs out of teams like the Illini or Ole Miss–the Gators would have a long, long wait to Selection Sunday. They need this one.

So … how good are these teams, really? As we said when Auburn first drew the Gators in the opening round: there’s no real reason for the Tigers to fear this team. According to Kenpom, there’s virtually no difference between Florida and the two Mississippi schools, all three of which stand between the No. 48 and No. 51 spots in his ratings. In terms of efficiency margin, the Gators were sixth in the SEC at +.03 (1.06 PPP scored, 1.03 allowed). Kentucky they’re not.

Of course, all of those marks are far, far better than what Auburn managed. Just for fun, here’s the SEC tempo-free aerial:

As you can see, both teams are in the “good offense, bad defense” quadrant … but Florida’s offense is even better than Auburn’s and their defense isn’t nearly as poor. (Per-possession, Auburn finished with the worst defense in the SEC at 1.08 PPP allowed. Good work, Coach Lebo!) Auburn’s final efficiency margin was -.06, third-worst in the league. Kenpom? We’re down at No. 95, one spot ahead of Ohio Valley Conference runner-up Morehead St.

So: Florida isn’t in the upper echelon of the SEC and isn’t the kind of team Auburn needs to fear. But Auburn isn’t exactly the kind of team Florida ought to shake in their boots over, either.

When Florida has the ball: Auburn’s going to have to keep them off the offensive glass.

The Gators do a lot of things pretty well offensively: they don’t turn the ball over, they shoot very well inside the arc (50.6 percent), they hit most of their free throws. But what they do very well is rebound the basketball–36.8 percent of their misses, in fact, the 39th-best mark in the country. Overall the Gators don’t really shoot that well from the floor, because they’re miserable from 3–just 30.7 percent, 302nd–but between the offensive rebounding and the lack of turnovers, they just wind up getting off a ton more shots than their opponents.

As for how this matches up with Auburn, well … it’s not great. On the one hand, comparatively speaking, defensive rebounding is one of the Auburn defense’s “strengths”; they’re not good at it–producing steals and turnovers is the only thing Auburn’s defense is even above-average at–but at least facing a team that relies on the offensive glass is a lot better for Auburn than a team that relies on a ton of threes, sharp shooting, and getting to the line. If Auburn can just hold their own on the glass and force an abnormally high number of turnovers, which they’re capable of, they can neutralize the Gators’ usual FGA advantage. A spirited rebounding performance in the first meeting did just that.

Unfortunately, Auburn still managed to giver up 78 points (and 1.13 per possession) by sending the Gators to the line 40 times and giving up an even 50 percent from inside the arc. The Tigers will have to eliminate those problems (and force a few more turnovers) to hang with the Gators this go-round.

When Auburn has the ball: Again, ugly as it is to watch … Auburn’s offense is actually pretty good. 58th in the country good, only 17 spots behind Florida. That’s thanks to a glittering 2-point conversion rate: 52.1 percent, 34th-best in D-I. Florida’s good-but-not-great when it comes to defending the paint–they’re badly subpar at blocking shots–so that’s some good news. That the Gators’ greatest defensive strength is avoiding fouls and prohibiting free throws is another positive for Auburn, since the Tigers shoot free throws so badly as a team they don’t really cart if they go to the line or not.

So there’s some hope … but the difference between “solid offensive performance” and “victorious offensive performance” is likely going to be–as it always is for Auburn–how many of Auburn’s inevitable rain of three-pointers actually fall. The Gators were solid in the nonconference slate at defending the arc but collapsed in league play, finishing 10th in the SEC by giving up 36.2 percent from 3. Auburn didn’t have anything to do with that, unfortunately; they shot 7-of-29 from 3 in Gainesville.

The bottom line is that Auburn should have enough open looks–the Gators also don’t force a particularly high number of turnovers–and it’s just going to come down to whether they hit them or not. I’d suggest taking more of those looks from inside rather than outside the arc, but that ship obviously sailed a long time ago.

Intangibles: OK, maybe it’s disingenuous to say “outside of his three SEC Tournament titles” … but seriously, outside of his Oh Four-fueled three SEC Tournament titles, Billy Donovan hasn’t had a ton of success at the SEC tourney, going 8-10 overall with any number of flameouts against West division underdogs from LSU, Alabama, and, yes, Auburn (who’s gone 2-1 against Donovan at the SEC tourney). Again: this program is not Kentucky.

However, Auburn’s program is Auburn, and this year that’s meant beating all of one SEC opponent away from the Beav … that being horrible, horrible LSU by four. The Tigers’ total road/neutral record for 2009-2010? 3-11, with the other two W’s coming over IUPUI and Alabama A&M. Losses include Missouri St., Central Florida, and four different SEC West teams. Just sad.

Prediction? I think it’s going to be close. I think Auburn will give great effort. I think we will, as usual, be proud of how much they have given at the final whistle.

But predicting a win means predicting that Auburn will shoot accurately for 40 minutes away from home; will stifle one of the SEC’s best offenses despite having its worst defense away from home; will beat a clearcut better team, away from home. They haven’t done that a single time all season; why would you predict them to do it now?

Yes, Auburn could win. But it will be a surprise, even to me. Sorry.

Photo via.

This is the fourth and final post in a series assigning (largely arbitrary, somewhat from-the-gut) grades to Auburn’s coaching staff for their (on-field, non-recruiting) results during the 2009 season. Previously WBE has issued report cards for Auburn’s offensive position coaches, defensive position coaches, and the coordinators. Today: Gene Chizik his own self.

We’ll start with …

THE GOOD

I’m tempted to lead this section off with a paragraph about team unity. After the splintered horrors of 2008–with its rifts behind the quarterback situation, the open disgust from the players with the offensive coordinator (and the losing), the well-documented conflict between the offensive staff and that same coordinator–sometimes I think Gene Chizik’s greatest accomplishment was persuading the Auburn program to rally to the flag he’d planted. The defining moment of the 2009 season was either the win over West Virginia or the Last Stand (so to speak) against Alabama … but if you want to argue it was Burns’s speech in front of the team–the point at which it became clear how wholly Chizik’s charges had bought in to playing for Auburn, rather than themselves–then I sure won’t stop you.

Still, the point of this exercise is to grade on on-field results alone. Fortunately for Chizik, those weren’t half bad, either. From a head coaching standpoint, what we’re looking for is: Was the team prepared? Was the team focused? Did they play up to their potential? These are more subjective questions than the ones we’d ask for the coordinators, which are more along straight statistical lines, i.e. how many yards and points did Auburn gain/allow. But for the most part, the answer to those questions for Auburn in 2009 was a solid Yes.

Against the three truly lesser foes on Auburn’s schedule–La. Tech, Ball St., and Furman–the the Tigers dispatched the latter two with all requisite ease and saw off the first by 24 points after the typical season-opening jitters. Against the two roughly Auburn-equivalent nonconference teams, the Tigers earned two victories despite facing long odds at various stages of both; keeping the team’s confidence together despite the rocky opening against WVU was particularly nice work on Chizik’s part.  Against the two lesser SEC teams, Auburn laid one egg but also overcame a slow start to obliterate Miss. St. in a fashion even Florida could not. Against Auburn’s peers in the middle of the SEC pack, Auburn was on the road all three times–and won one of those games in fairly comfortable fashion and lost another on a dropped pass on the goal line. (The other we’ll get to in a sec.) And lastly, I’d say Auburn played three games against teams with a fairly substantial talent advantage: LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama. The first of those three was severely disappointing, yes, but the other two represented the most critical win of the season and an effort that will remain worthy of a standing ovation forever.

Add it up: nine quality performances, one that was OK-to-good, and three that were lacking. Not a bad ratio, that, and one I think that would look better than most of Tubby’s if we ran through them the same way. Remembering, too, that Chizik wrung those performances out of a team with substantial limitations in terms of its personnel and in the first year of a coaching transition, and it’s even more impressive.

THE BAD

We can talk all day long about how angry or not angry you want to be about the three midseason egg-layings, but there’s no doubt that those were three Tuberville-quality eggs. Seeing them back-to-back-to-back like that was especially dispiriting; responding to the Arkansas game with the Kentucky game was bad, and responding to the Arkansas and Kentucky games with the LSU game was even worse. In the future, Chizik will have to get the train back on the tracks in a week, not three.

From the head coaching standpoint, it was also disturbing to see how poorly Auburn played with a lead. If Chizik deserves plaudits for the comebacks against West Virginia, Ole Miss, and Mississippi St., he also deserves serious demerits for watching big leads evaporate against Georgia, ‘Bama, Northwestern, and even Ole Miss and Tennessee to a lesser extent … not to mention the smaller lead against Kentucky. Auburn has many chances to step on the throat of quality competition, and with the exception of Miss. St., they never did. That inability to keep the pedal down falls on Chizik’s shoulders.

FINAL GRADE: B+.

For a team with Auburn’s talent level, it’s my opinion that 8-5 with the wins over Tennessee and Ole Miss and the near-miss against the national champions wasn’t bad at all. Auburn had more games and more moments where they played over their heads than played under them. That’s what we want to see from our head coach and his staff.

But not far more. Nine wins was there for the taking, against Kentucky, against Georgia. It didn’t happen. I’m happy with Chizik’s on-field performance in his first season … but I’m also not quite thrilled. With a year under his belt and the victories on the recruiting trail, I suspect I will be down the road. But not yet.

Sign No. 1,931 that the thirst for college football coverage in the state of Alabama knows no bounds: yesterday’s Auburn Pro Day was a big deal. Every writer on the Auburn beat was there, Tweeting and writing and snapping photos and shooting video.

Nevermind that Pro Day amounts to nothing more than “departed Auburn players go through drills,” nevermind that it has nothing to do with Auburn’s actual, you know, team; it’s college football, kind of, and with the Winter Olympics just behind us and the annual March college hoops assault in full swing, even kind-of college football is something we need, dammit.

So here’s a recap and links galore from yesterday’s festivities:

– With Ben Tate ignoring most drills–even declining to have his height measured–and Antonio Coleman having gotten at least a half-shot at impressing the pro scouts at the NFL Combine, I’d say that of Auburn’s three legitimate draft prospects Pro Day was most important to Walt McFadden.

Little wonder, then, he seemed to have the best Pro Day amongst any of the Auburn athletes there. Achievements unlocked included:

1. A 4.39 40-yard dash that would have placed him first amongst all defensive backs at the combine, ahead of freaks like Taylor Mays, Eric Berry, the two Alabama cornerbacks, etc.

2. Measuring at 5-11 and just over 180 pounds. Apparently that’s bigger than McFadden had previously been listed at.

3. A performance in the “three-cone drill” that left scouts visibly impressed.

Projections have McFadden going as high as the third round, but last year’s Pro Day helped vault Jerraud Powers past even the most optimistic projections into the third round. McFadden was never quite as dominant as Powers was pre-injury in the early 2008 season, but after yesterday, maybe he can hope for a similar vault up someone’s draft board. (That Powers was so successful as a rookie has to help, you’d think.)

– Looking over the stories out of the Pro Day, Coleman may have been happy with how he performed, but it’s also pretty clear that his quad injury is still bugging him. That he’s dropped several pounds from his already on-the-slim-side-for-a-DE playing weight tells me he’s looking to catch on as an outside linebacker in someone’s 3-4 … as does the fact he mentioned precisely how many NFL teams (16) are running the 3-4 these days.

With McFadden stealing the show on the results sheet and Gabe McKenzie allegedly winning the “eyeball test,” Coleman might have been a bit overshadowed yesterday, which can’t help his stock. But when he says this:

“I’m just looking for an opportunity,” Coleman said. “Whatever opportunity presents itself — first, fourth, seventh — all I need is an opportunity. I know I’m a hard worker, and I know I’ll make the team.”

I have to think he’s right. Still: the higher up the draft ladder you go, the more embarrassing it is for a team to have to let you go after one training camp. Hopefully the scouts take a harder look at what he accomplished the second half of last year on the football field than in these workouts.

– The other headline story from yesterday was, as mentioned, Gabe McKenzie showing up having been chiseled out of granite. It wasn’t just looks, though: he tied with Brad Lester (!) for most bench press reps, finished second behind Lester in the vertical jump, and second behind Montez Billings in the broad jump.

What this means for his professional future, I have no idea. Maybe it’s enough for a free-agent invite. But it kind of begs the question once again: why did two straight coaching staffs have so much of a problem finding a way to get this guy involved as something more than a backup DE?

– Pretty cool that former Auburn track star and Jamaican decathlon Olympic representative Maurice Smith gave it a go, but it’s hard to see NFL teams taking a shot at a guy who’s never played football and only put up so-so numbers.

– Oh, Jake Ricks and Robert Johnson, getting beaten by Chris Todd in a 40-yard dash cannot be good.

– Here’s to hoping some NFL team gives Lester a free-agent shot. If he’s healthy and as in as good of shape as his numbers from yesterday seem to indicate, he’s got be worth a roster spot to someone. His ability was never the problem, was it?

– Pretty cool photo gallery at the bottom of this post, the highlight of which is definitely Todd performing the vertical jump. Lots of good quotes in the Evan Woodbery story here.

– Sly Croom sighting! Wonder if his presence is an omen that the Rams might be interested in Tate.

Photo by Van Emst.

Jake Holland wasn’t the first commitment of Auburn’s Class of 2010; that honor belongs to lifetime Auburn fan Cody Parkey, who committed so long ago Tommy Tuberville was still the head coach at the time. But Holland came close, committing along with Shaun Kitchens on the same day last April. And like Kitchens, Holland was a rock throughout the recruiting cycle, frequently turning up as one of the players working hardest to bring other recruits into the Auburn fold. By the time Signing Day rolled around, Holland had cemented himself as possibly the most well-liked recruit amongst Auburn fans in the entire class.

Not bad for a former Tide fan, huh?

BASICS: The Auburn Signing Day bio sheet will handle things as usual:

Jake Holland
LB, 6-1, 228
Pelham, AL (Pelham HS)

HIGH SCHOOL: Ranked as the No. 12 player in Alabama by SuperPrep … Named to the All-Southeast Region team by PrepStar … Ranked 20th among middle linebackers by Tom Lemming on Maxpreps.com … Selected to the 2009 6A All-State Team by the Alabama Sports Writers Association as a senior … Was a participant in the 2010 Under Armour All-American game … No. 10 on the Birmingham News’ list of the Alabama Super Seniors … Ranked 12th on the Mobile Press Register’s 2009 Elite 18 … No. 109 on the Mobile Press Register’s Super Southeast 120…Member of the Orlando Sentinel’s 2009 All-Southern football team … Finished his high school career with 351 tackles … Totaled 153 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, a sack, four pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries as a senior … Racked up 129 tackles (74 solo) as a junior to go along with two sacks, eight quarterback hurries, one interception, one fumble recovery and five forced fumbles.

I believe that even in high school, 282 tackles in two seasons is a fairly impressive number, don’t you? 16 TFLs for a middle linebacker–better than one a game–against 6A competition? Also impressive. Three or more PBUs, picks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries? Yes, impressive. Put all that impressiveness together, and you’re looking at a guy that was around the ball as often as the guys on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

FYI: Rivals lists his 40 time as 4.53 and his bench-press max as 345 pounds. Just so you know.

RECRUITNIK HOO-HA: When Holland first committed, the gurus saw just another smart, fundamental, run-of-the-mill three-star player. By the time his senior year was done–what with the 153 tackles and trip to the ESPN Under Armour All-American game–things were a little bit different.

Not totally so at Scout, where he received three stars, was named the nation’s No. 12 middle linebacker, and the No. 12 player in Alabama. But at Rivals, Holland wound up with four stars, a grade of 5.8, and the No. 8 inside linebacker ranking. Holland also got shout-outs as the nation’s No. 5 run-stopping LB and the No. 10 player in the state.

ESPN bumped Holland up to a just-shy-of-four-star grade of 79 and called him the No. 8 ILB. Their evaluation says:

It’s difficult to find many fundamental flaws in Holland’s game at linebacker. He is smart, tough, instinctive with the versatility to play inside or outside at the next level in our eyes. Has good size with his bulk and compact, durable frame … Between the tackles he is very reactive and finds the football quickly. Mirrors the ball carrier well with good short-area redirection skill and lateral agility. Stays square to line of scrimmage helping him limit cutback creases and avoid being turned out of the hole. Shows good downhill quickness and burst filling his middle and backside run gaps; often beats blockers to the point of attack and makes plays on the ball inside-out … A guy who can hold his base. Displays good hand technique and strength shedding and keeping blockers off his body when scrapping. Pulverizing tackler who drives through the ball carrier from his hips but does not always get his head around. Flashes good chase speed and closing acceleration when supporting the outside run. Plays with a high motor and pursues well sideline-to-sideline. What really stands out his hip-fluidity and athleticism in coverage for a thicker linebacker. Doesn’t lose a lot in transition opening and turning. Ball and awareness skills are very good. However, he does show some stiffness at times breaking down in space and is a guy with good football speed but is not overly fast … Lacks sharp change-of-direction skill. When projecting inside, he does need to add some size and improve his short-area power at the point of attack to remain productive and durable. Moves well laterally but we have not seen great fluidity slipping or sidestepping the trash which he will need to do until he gains the required bulk. Overall, we still feel Holland projects to be a very solid and productive linebacker at the next level in a blue-collar type style. Potentially the leader of his defensive unit and a guy with invaluable intangibles.

Scout also mentions Holland’s intangibles; when the gurus (which usually stick strictly to the athletic side of things) are able to notice those sorts of things, you know they’re, well, noticeable. One of those intangibles was Holland’s mad academic skillz, which got him offers from Duke, Stanford, UCLA, and–you guessed it–Vandy. Tennessee and both Mississippi schools also offered.

So maybe Holland wasn’t one of the top-rated players of Auburn’s class, but for a guy without that high-end athleticism, a boatload of BCS-level offers and a fairly high level of guru acclaim should tell you how polished and productive he already is.

LINKS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST: Visit YouTube and you’ll there’s a mysterious user named “JakeHollandLB5” who fortunately for us has spent a good bit of time uploading Jake Holland highlights. A 2008 mixtape:

From his senior year, you can watch Holland take on Vestavia Hills or Tuscaloosa County or Wetumpka. Thanks, “JakeHollandLB5,” whoever you are!

Holland received multiple “Shelby County Player of the Year” profiles, one of which came from the Birmingham News:

“You have to want to achieve your goals and give it everything you have to get there,” said Pelham linebacker Holland, who has committed to play for Auburn. “I knew I had to give it my all to make sure I was fast enough and strong enough to get to that level. I wanted to be the best I could be” …

Pelham’s Holland began working with a personal trainer as an eighth-grader and by the time he was a freshman for the Panthers, his dream of playing college football was firmly entrenched. No matter the time of the year – Holland even spent extra time working out during football season – Holland attacked his goal with the same zeal he assigned to opponents on the field.

The 6-foot-1, 229-pound Holland weighed about 200 pounds when he began his road to success as a freshman. He maxed out on the bench press at 275 pounds and could squat about 315 pounds while running the 40-yard dash in 5 seconds. Those numbers have improved to 350 pounds maximum on the bench with a 480-pound squat and 4.53 time in the 40.

He got the same honor from the Shelby County Reporter:

Growing up as an Alabama Crimson Tide fan, Pelham senior Jake Holland never imagined that he would one day suit up for the cross-state rival Auburn Tigers.

But that day became a reality in April when Holland became the first defensive commitment for first-year head coach Gene Chizik.

“I really fell in love with the coaches and the environment. It felt right,” Holland said. “Everything fit for me.”

By committing in April, Holland was able to concentrate solely on football and academics this fall, both of which he dominated …

“I felt a lot more comfortable out there with the experience,” said Holland, who started for three years. “I had fun out there. I really had nothing to lose with already being committed to Auburn” …

The highlight of his season came in week 4 when the Panthers outlasted Vestavia Hills in triple overtime to hand the Rebels their only Class 6A, Region 6 loss of the season.

Holland had 24 tackles in the thrilling victory, including 15 solo and nine assists with four tackles for a loss.

For his career, Holland finished with 351 tackles in 31 games played.

I’ll do the math for you: that’s 11.3 tackles per-game. Over three years. Holy crap, man.

Holland was pretty straightforward about how he was going to help Auburn from the very beginning. As in, the day he committed beginning:

“I’m not interested in going through all the recruiting hoopla. That stuff doesn’t win championships, players do. I want to help Auburn recruit the best players in the country,” he told AuburnSports.com.

By all accounts Holland did just that … and if you believe this second-hand report from Mark Murphy at Track ‘Em, so did his Mom and Dad.

There’s another worthwhile commitment article at the Shelby County paper.

The highlight of Holland’s trip to the Under Armour game–aside from maybe leading his team in tackles, with four–was showing off that he could play coverage as well as stuff the run. What he had to say about that:

“I feel like people kind of pigeon-hole me as a white linebacker in the SEC, as just a run-stopper,” said Holland, a 6-foot-1, 220-pounder from Pelham. “I’m not bragging or anything, but I’m pretty good at coverage.”

Even so, it’s Holland’s strong, textbook-sound play against the run that is his calling card, as he racked up 153 tackles this season.

“He’s a yard dog — one of those guys who is going to fight and scrap for everything he can,” ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Luginbill said. “He’s running on 93 octane. He’s a tackling machine.”

You can also hear Holland talk to the paper before the Under Armour game about why he chose–and stuck with–Auburn.

Something to remember is that Holland was the leader and clearcut best player on a defense that also sent a player to Florida St. Sent a linebacker, in fact.

Lastly, there were a lot more Jake Hollands out there on teh Intarwebs than I’d expected. Here’s the strangest Jake Holland-related thing I found.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS WE CAN DRAW, IF ANY: The number of positive indicators on Holland kind of borders on staggering:

1. First linebacker heavily pursued and committed by Auburn staff in desperate need of linebackers

2. Maximum guru approval, more or less, for player of Holland’s position and athleticism

3. Monster production at highest level of Alabama high school football

4. By every account boasts the intangibles triple-threat of work ethic, intelligence, and leadership qualities

5. Proved himself against highest level of competition at Under Armour game

6. Do I really need to go on?

The one caveat might be that Holland should have picked up one or two more high-level offers … but he committed so quickly and so firmly to Auburn, what would have been the point of any other team trying to make a late play for him?

Truthfully, so many of Holland’s stock arrows have been pointing up for so long that it’s awful hard to see any real failure in his future. The only question is how much he’ll contribute and how soon … and the guess here is that with Josh Bynes departing after next year, Holland will take over as Auburn’s starting MLB as soon as 2011.

Photo via.

He sings the songs that remind him of the best times. And so the curtain has fallen–literally, if you remember The Curtain from the Ellis era–on Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Track ‘Em has a nice piece of nostalgia for the BEMC that’s well worth a read:

Today she stands only as a tribute to past glories.  Like so many of us in our twilight years, all she has left is her memories.  To mention just a few:  Both men’s and women’s SEC Basketball Championships, NCAA Wrestling Tournament, NIT games, Mengelt, Barkley, and Person, the King, the Boss, the Temps, the Commodores, and of course the most college wins (29) for a single season in the state of Alabama.  She has been placed on life support and it is only a matter of time before they pull the plug and put her down for good… just like was done to the Braves’ Fulton County Stadium.

No, to me she is NOT an Old Gray Lady, for in my mind’s eye she is still young, beautiful and exciting.  I understand the reasons given for leaving her, yet I can’t help but feel sad for her.  She has given her best years and is now cast aside for a younger, slimmer, and more attractive suitor.

The winningest Basketball coach in Auburn history, Joe Ciampi, said “This place is special.  With all the memories in there, I haven’t even been able to the new arena, and I don’t know when I’ll walk into it”.  Well coach, I know what you mean.

Me personally, I can’t get into the Auburn Arena fast enough. But that doesn’t mean we can’t share some of the good times at the Beav–including the first time Auburn beat Kentucky there, as Jeremy (and some classic photos has documented). There’s also some good stuff in the Track ‘Em comments, and as for me, the first thing I’ll think of were the women’s games in the 80s.

My grandparents, God bless them, had been big Ciampi supporters from the get-go and got our entire family season tickets. Attendance rarely even broke four digits in those days, so as Vickie Orr and C.J. Jones and one of the Bolton sisters ran some hapless team clean off the floor, my brother and I would climb to the very top of the coliseum and do laps around the back row, timed with a calculator watch. (Truth!) That’s the way I’d like to remember the building: colossal, stately, but fun, ours, and home to a team you knew would win the game before you ever stepped over the threshold.

Notes from the Beat. Lots of non-hoops related stuff to get through after last weekend, like …

Baseball sweeps. Cole Nelson continued to establish himself as the team’s top pitcher and Hunter Morris snapped out of his early-season funk in a big way as Auburn took all three games from visiting Miami OF OHIO (they hate that), 14-9, 13-5, and 5-4. PPL’s got your recaps here and here.

You may have noticed that to date, Auburn has been the baseball equivalent of your church league softball team: lots of runs scored, not so much with the lockdown pitching (Nelson excepted). At least they’re getting awards for it.

Krootin’. Charles Goldberg has a useful rundown of last weekend’s developments, the two big headlines from which are:

– Danny Woodson Jr., member of Rivals’ watch-list and the son of a former Tide quarterback, says “I think Auburn is where I’m going”

– RB Demetrius Hart says his finalists are Auburn and Florida … and that he’ll decide before summer.

Good times. And because it’s a QB and always worth mentioning, Auburn has also apparently offered North Carolina quarterback Christian Lemay.

Softball wins. The Tigers won a 6-3 nine-inning barnburner over 12-4 Valparaiso Sunday, improving to 13-6 overall and capping a 4-0 weekend at the inaugural War Eagle Classic.

Friends in high places. I’m sure you’ve seen both this and this by now, probably in many different places, so all I’ll say is this: hot damn it’s fun being part of a rivalry nasty enough to make people with this much power this schoolyard petty.

Ain’t over ’til it’s over. This is a week old by now, but just for the record, we now have an official statement that Tyrik Rollison’s Auburn career might not be completely kaput after all:

Trooper Taylor said Tuesday during an interview with The Star that redshirt freshman QB Tyrik Rollison has not made a final decision on whether or not to transfer to Sam Houston State, as has been widely reported …

Though Taylor said Rollison has not yet made up his mind, he did say that Rollison’s status for spring football remains uncertain. It will continue to be unclear until Rollison reaches a decision.

We’ll all be watching Facebook.

We’ll also of course be listening to Taylor, whose well of interesting things to say never seems to run dry. If you missed his interviews last week with Jay Tate and Luke Brietzke, read ‘em now.

Speaking of interviews … Antonio Coleman talks about his leap to the NFL with Southernpigskin.com.  “Tweener” my orange-and-blue ass.

Etc. Harry Adams might be gone from the football team, but he’s hardly forgotten on the track team … War Eagle Atlanta reminds us of how monumentally short-sighted the decision to tun down the Chick-Fil-A opener against UCLA was … I am not one of the “there’s too many bowls!” gripemongers–the more kids get to have their season of hard work rewarded with a week of fun, the better–but geez, if there’s more bowls than there are teams to fill them, we really will have reached some kind of a tipping point.

Morgan "The Future" Toles.

So part of my absence last week was spent traveling back in time to the middle of last November, where I met with myself to discuss Auburn’s women’s basketball team.

“Wait, you’re only telling me about the Auburn women’s hoops team? Really? Former Jerry asked me. “You can’t tell me how Auburn does in the Iron Bowl? Whether we land Marcus Lattimore? What bowl game does Auburn play, Music City or Liberty? I bet we play East Carolina and it’s a really boring game, am I right?”

“Sorry,” I told me. “Just women’s hoops. And I hate to break it to you, but Reneisha Hobbs is going to tear an ACL and be lost for the year. Two other returning rotation players are going to seriously injure themselves preseason, too.”

“Ouch,” Former Jerry said. “Guess it’s going to be a rough year.”

“Not so fast,” I told him. “Keke Carrier’s going to have a breakout year at center, becoming arguably the biggest game-changer on the team in her admittedly limited minutes. Alli Smalley’s going to overcome an early slump to essentially do her Alli Smalley thing. And though she’s going to have her iffy moments like every freshman point guard, Morgan Toles is going to firmly establish herself as Fortner’s starting 1 for the next three years.”

“Oh,” Former Jerry said. “Then I guess they don’t turn out all that bad after all.”

“Actually,” I told me, “they wind up losing to Alabama for the first time in God only knows how long and fall by 15 points at home to Arkansas, those being the two worst teams in the league.”

“Good Lord,” Former Jerry said. “Must be a total waste of a season. I can’t imagine Fortner taking real heat, but there must be some level of disappointment there, huh?”

“Well,” I said, “you have to take into account that the Tigers finished the year with three upsets of ranked teams, including whippings of top-20 Kentucky and Georgia and an overtime win in Baton Rouge. They also strangled one-time top-25 team Mississippi St. on the road and came within whiskers of beating Vanderbilt at home and winning at Florida and Ole Miss.”

Former Jerry ran his hands through his hair. “OK,” he said. “So they didn’t always show up against the weaker teams on their schedule. But they were competitive against the top teams on the slate, right?”

“Sometimes,” I said. “The Vols beat them by 29 points up in Knoxville. Overall, they lost six different SEC games by 14 or more points.”

“I’m so confused,” Former Jerry wailed. “What about the SEC Tournament? What happened there?”

“They thumped Florida 74-61 in a first-round game. Smalley went off for a career-high 29 points on just 14 shots. Toles added 11 points and 7 assists as the team combined for 18 helpers on their 27 baskets. Four different Tigers finished in double-digits.”

“Sounds like a great start,” he said. “But that seems like a lot of other info you’re leaving out. What happened next?”

“They fell behind by double-digits early in the second half and never challenged the same Kentucky team they’d drilled just a few days earlier, losing by 11. Smalley took 14 shots to score 11 points, Toles turned it over 7 times for the second straight game as the team totaled 20 turnovers, and though Carrier had 9 points, 4 boards, and 3 blocks, thanks to fouls she only played 16 minutes in her final game as a Tiger.”

“Um … all right,” Former Jerry said. “Does that mean … look, can’t you just tell me their final record?”

“Sure,” I told me. “15-16, 6-12 in the SEC.”

“15-16? But with Carrier the only departure and every other major contributor returning in ‘10-’11, along with Hobbs? So the future under Fortner still looks plenty bright enough?”

“Yep.”

“You idiot!” he yelled. “Why the hell did you come back in time to tell me that?!? That’s what I’d have guessed would have happened before the season ever started! OK, yeah, I might have said they’d have least snagged a women’s NIT bid–guess that’s where those losses to Arkansas and Alabama really hurt–but overall, the team pretty much performed exactly to expectations. This year, rebuilding, next year, back to the NCAAs. That was really worth showing up from the future and not even telling me if Gus Malzahn takes some other job or not?”

“Well,” I said, “I figured I’d get a clever post out of your response.”

“Hmmmm,” Former Jerry said. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll remember that come March.”

“I bet you will,” I said.

———————————-

On a final, serious note: thanks and a big War Eagle to Keke Carrier, who leaves Auburn having been a part of two NCAA Tournament teams, one SEC champion, and a major part of this year’s big victories. Wishing her the best.

Photo by Van Emst.