The Auburn Men's Basketball new head coach, Tony Barbee, is finally getting acquainted with The Plains.
"Today (Wednesday) was the first time I was able to get out on campus, it's unbelievable," Barbee said. "I went and had lunch at the Student Center and met some students."
Since being named Jeff Lebo's replacement March 24, Barbee has spent most of his time on the road recruiting and organizing a staff.
Barbee said he is already beginning to feel the connection to the "Auburn Family" outside of Auburn.
"Anywhere in the state you always run into somebody who went to Auburn, or their mom went to Auburn or their dad, uncle, coach or somebody," Barbee said.
His immediate challenge is getting to know, on and off the court, the current Auburn Men's Basketball players and recruits.
"In terms of the recruiting, it's been an evaluation process with the returning players, incoming signing class and any of the available seniors that we've been recruiting before or starting to look at now," Barbee said. "The reception has been unbelievable. There has been a positive response because of everything that Auburn has to offer. From the University, to the community, the brand new (Auburn) Arena, it's been amazing."
With the grand opening of the new Auburn Arena, Barbee hopes to change the tradition of Auburn Basketball.
He said he is excited about the "functionality" of the new Arena, that it is solely a basketball facility.
"The flip side of it is about recruiting, its got to have that 'wow factor,' what I call the 'bells and whistles,'" Barbee said. "There are so many bells and whistles over there I'm going deaf. It's going to help out tremendously in changing the culture and then obviously recruiting the best players in the country."
To help smooth the transition to Auburn and the transformation of the Auburn basketball program, Barbee said he is bringing over his entire staff from UTEP, including Randall Dickey, Tony Matlock, Milt Wagner and Mike Babul.
"How I do things is a little bit different in this business than other people; it's a big family to me," Barbee said. "You're part of a family. Loyalty is a big part of that. These guys have done a tremendous job for me personally and professionally, and they deserve the opportunity to do it again."
Although the full staff is not in place yet, Barbee said he is not keeping anybody from the previous staff.
Barbee is preparing to involve the Auburn community in a basketball makeover, especially the students.
"The biggest thing I want the students to know, and I've made this pretty clear, and I'm going to continue harping on this, they're a part of this program; they are not separate from it," Barbee said. "They are a part of my team. They are just as important as my leading scorerer and leading rebounder."
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