Auburn wheelchair basketball had its best finish in school history last season, but head coach Robb Taylor and his team have sights set even higher when the 2023-24 season begins on Thursday, November 2.
After falling by one point to runner-up Arizona in the National Semifinals last season to finish at No. 4 in the country, Auburn is looking to take another step forward behind a talented incoming class meshed with six veteran leaders.
“Top four was great, but I think the guys have their eyes on the championship game this year,” Taylor said. “I know everyone says that at the beginning of the year, but I can tell you that the feel of this team is different than any team we’ve had here at Auburn. That makes me excited for the future and what we can do this season.”
At the start of their schedule is reigning National Champion and Auburn’s biggest rival: the Alabama Crimson Tide. Taylor named last year’s championship participants, Alabama and Arizona, as the two teams with the most returning talent.
With a young, talented roster that includes six freshmen and a transfer, Taylor is grateful for the opportunity to face top talent from the start and have a chance to test his best lineups early in hopes of peaking late in the season in March. He will also how the newcomers pair with veteran leadership like seniors Luke Robinson, Jake Eastwood and Joe Rafter.
“The first game for us on Thursday against Alabama is going to be a big game for us,” Taylor said. “What better way to start your season than against the top team from last year to see where we measure up.”
Auburn’s schedule consists of three home tournaments: one a piece in November, December and February. In between the home slates are two tournaments in Tuscaloosa in January and March, one at Missouri to start December and a tournament at Edinboro University in February.
The team’s fall semester schedule runs through December 16, and the season picks back up in 2024 on January 19 in Tuscaloosa, where Auburn will see the other four of the top five teams from last season with No. 3 Illinois and No. 5 UNC Whitewater in addition to the two championship teams.
That tournament will be a chance for Auburn to apply what it learns from the season opener and reevaluate after the freshman class has a semester under their belt. According to Taylor, the development of the freshman class brings a lot of new skillsets to the table, but the team has to learn to use them efficiently.
“One of our freshman, Ben Edwards, he’s the tallest guy on our team and probably the tallest we’ve had in program history; he’s going to give us the ability to play inside,” Taylor said. “Another freshman, Jude Hiley, is a left-handed shooter and can stretch the floor with a three-point shot. We’ve got some freshman that are quick; they’re going to allow us to push the tempo and, defensively, allow us to go into a full court press.”
With a skilled team that’s looking to bring another championship to the Plains, Taylor and the Tigers are hoping for fewer empty seats in Beard-Eaves Coliseum that holds 10,500 people. The Tigers will spend three weekends at home throughout the season, but each tournament consists of multiple games across multiple times.
Auburn has Alabama circled on the calendar, but another match for fans to watch for is on Saturday, November 4 at 6 p.m., a team from Tampa that’s associated with the Wounded Warrior Ranch is coming to the Plains. On that team is Paul Schulte, three-time U.S. Paralympian and wheelchair basketball standout.
“If there’s a game to come and watch, that would be the one to come to,” Taylor said of the game with Tampa’s Wounded Warrior Ranch.
Auburn wheelchair basketball begins its path to the National Championship Tournament starting on November 2 at 6 p.m. CST versus Alabama in Beard-Eaves Coliseum. The end destination is in Marshall, Minnesota, for the National Championships on March 13-16.
“Yeah, it’d be great to win every tournament we play in, but our goal is to win at Nationals, and we always do a good job of preparing our student-athletes to peak at that time,” Taylor said. “We peaked when we needed to last year, but we just kind of ran out of time against Arizona.”
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