One thing that has provided motivation for the men's basketball team this summer is proving doubters wrong.
Auburn was picked to finish last in the SEC this summer, and all that has done is motivate the team to rebound from last season's disappointing 9-23 record.
"All we are worried about is just winning and proving people wrong this year" said senior guard Chris Denson. "They've got us picked last in the SEC and that's just motivation for everybody in the locker room."
Head coach Tony Barbee does not put too much effort into worrying about preseason predictions.
"What other people think about you I never thought mattered," Barbee said. "It's what you think about yourself and what you believe you can accomplish. This group as a whole believes we can accomplish something special this year."
With the first official practice of the season being held Saturday morning, Sept. 28 at Auburn Arena, the Tigers are looking to continue from what has already been a successful summer.
Auburn traveled this summer to the Bahamas to participate in the Bahamas Basketball Federation Summer of Thunder Tournament, and the positives coming from the trip according to Tony Barbee were invaluable.
"Playing the games was invaluable, but more importantly the 10 days of practice we had for all the new guys puts us so far ahead of the curve right now, and it's good to be in that position," Barbee said.
Denson believes the time in the Bahamas was important because it allowed the team to hit the ground running on the first day of practice.
"It was real important, because we don't have to teach all the drills like we used to," Denson said. "With all the freshman coming in we didn't have to reteach stuff we just went right to it."
Being able to have the new players will be important for the Tigers after losing two of their best players from last season in Frankie Sullivan and Josh Wallace.
Six of the Tiger's 14 players are either freshman or transfers who have not seen much playing time. The extra time this summer will be much needed to get them acclimated to playing SEC basketball.
However, extra practice and game time was not the only benefit that came from the trip this summer.
Last season one of the biggest problems Auburn had was team chemistry. The goal of the Bahamas trip was to help build the team's chemistry and use it on the court this season.
"Last year it seemed like they didn't have that much chemistry, but this year that's our big thing is becoming brothers and building chemistry so we can be successful on the court," said freshman guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen.
Barbee can already see a difference from this year and last year's team.
"This is a hungry bunch, we've got competitors and guys that love competing and want to play at a high level and do it together," Barbee said.
Auburn will have another practice on Saturday afternoon, and will continue with two-a-days into next week.
Friday, Oct. 4 Auburn will host the inaugural Jungle Jam as a celebration of the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
Jungle Jam will not only include an introduction to the team, but will also feature entertainment by Mike Epps and Ludacris. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Auburn Arena.
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