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(04/12/14 6:10pm)
With one week left to go before the annual A-Day Game, the Auburn football team headed to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for their third-to-last practice of spring camp.
While the Tigers were originally scheduled to have a full scrimmage Saturday, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn decided to call an audible.
"We didn't have a scrimmage today," Malzahn said in his post-practice press conference. "We came over here the first part of practice was a lot of clean-up. We even went back just to some basic fundamentals as far as our alignment, assignment stuff the first half of practice. Second half of practice we got after it pretty good, had a lot of 11-on-11."
Auburn starting quarterback Nick Marshall, who is Malzahn's first returning starter at the position in his collegiate coaching career, did not get as many reps Saturday as spring camp draws to a close.
Mixing and matching across the depth chart has been a theme in recent practices, and the quarterback position was no different on Saturday.
"We're just trying to get different guys looks," said left guard Alex Kozan. "Coach Malzahn is pretty confident in what Nick can do, and so are we. We're just trying to get different guys looks and find out what other guys can do."
One of the positions were there has been a lot of mixing and matching has been the defensive line. Due to injuries, a few defensive tackles have taken reps at defensive end in what Gabe Wright called the "Rhino" package.
Despite the depth issues, sophomore Carl Lawson says he has been impressed with his unit's progression this spring.
"It's been great," Lawson said. "We know we have some guys out, but every day is a blessing, and I'm glad I get a chance to come out here and work."
With two practices left before A-Day, several Tigers are excited to get back in front of the fans next Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Wide receiver Sammie Coates said he has been looking forward to hitting the field alongside a reloaded depth chart with several impressive newcomers.
"Everybody is going to turn your heads," Coates said. "All of the young guys are playing real good. They know all of the plays and are locked-in. They're making big plays. It's going to be eye-opening to see how good they do next week."
(04/11/14 8:00pm)
This week's happenings in Auburn sports.
(04/05/14 6:00pm)
The Auburn Tigers returned to action at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for the first time since Chris Davis' 109-yard field-goal return for a touchdown to knock off undefeated archrival Alabama.
While last weekend's rainy weather kept the Tigers from scrimmaging at their home stadium, Saturday's spring weather was perfect for a half-practice, half-scrimmage to wrap up Auburn's third full week of camp.
"With the older guys, they did the first half," said head coach Gus Malzahn. "With the actual scrimmage part, we let a lot of the younger guys go. Really, it was an emphasis on building depth. There were some of the guys who were starters last year, guys we knew a lot about, who didn't participate in the scrimmage."
Auburn invited former players and current high school coaches who were a part of the staff's coaching clinic during the week to watch Saturday's practice.
"We had a lot of people watching them today," Malzahn said. "Our lettermen were back today, and it's always good to see those guys. We had a coaches' clinic the last three days with almost 1,000 coaches. It was great to see that turnout, and they got to watch our practice today."
On the field, the biggest news of the day came on the offensive line.
Patrick Miller, who is competing with Shon Coleman for Auburn's starting left tackle job, moved over to right tackle for some reps Saturday. Avery Young, Auburn's returning starter at right tackle, moved inside to right guard and rotated with fellow returning starter Chad Slade.
"We've got a deep o-line," Miller said after practice. "It's a race, and everybody's fighting for a starting job...you have to be ready for anything. We've got six of the best offensive linemen in college football, and we've got five spots."
Miller was the Tigers' starting right tackle for the first five games of 2013 before a suspension because of a violation of team rules. Young took over for the final nine games, including the SEC and BCS Championship Games.
Young said he had never played at right guard before Auburn's last two practices, which were on Thursday and Saturday.
"Everything they put on my plate, I've got to handle it," Young said. "All offensive linemen should be able to play all positions, no matter who you are. Basically, if you're on that field, you should know how to play all five spots."
Several players said redshirt freshman running back Peyton Barber scored a rushing touchdown in Saturday's scrimmage.
Malzahn said he has been impressed with Barber's spring practices so far.
"He's getting a lot of reps, which is good," Malzahn said. "He definitely needs reps with different groups. You can see he's improving. He wants to be good, and he's a tough guy."
On defense, safeties Brandon King and Derrick Moncrief were said to have laid big hits Saturday. Moncrief, who was rated the No. 1 junior college safety by 247Sports.com last year, also had an interception in the scrimmage.
"(Moncrief) is picking (Auburn's defensive scheme) up well," said cornerback Jonathan Jones. "He's got around older guys like Jermaine Whitehead and Joshua Holsey. He's picking up the defense find and is making plays."
(04/04/14 8:30pm)
This week's happenings in Auburn sports.
(04/03/14 4:00pm)
It did not take long for Johnathan "Rudy" Ford to make an impact at his new position.
And that impact, according to defensive tackle Gabe Wright, was one loud "boom."
The rising sophomore delivered a big hit on a screen pass to an unidentified receiver during Auburn's first spring scrimmage on Saturday, March 29.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn did not share a lot of specific information on the scrimmage during his Saturday press conference, but he was quick to point out Ford's performance.
"Rudy Ford is a guy that had a really good hit playing defense," Malzahn said. "He's a new guy playing defense, and that was probably the thing that stood out to me the most."
Ford, a rising sophomore from New Hope, flipped his commitment as a four-star running back prospect from Vanderbilt to Auburn shortly before National Signing Day in 2013.
The 5-foot-11 running back stood out in fall camp last season for his work ethic and team-first attitude -- a trait that was on full display just before the Tigers' season opener against Washington State.
Ford volunteered to move from running back to cornerback in order to help a thin unit on Auburn's defense.
"[Ford] came to us and said, 'Coach, I want to help the team win, [and] I want to win now,'" offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said last August. "And right now, that's what's best for our football team."
Ford's wishes came true, as the Tigers completed a remarkable turnaround season that finished with a SEC Championship and a berth in the BCS National Championship Game. He appeared in all 14 games of Auburn's 2013 season, playing both defense and special teams.
Ford returned to offense during Auburn's Homecoming rout of Western Carolina with a 38-yard touchdown run against the FCS-level Catamounts.
"It's been a blessing, really, to play two positions in college football--especially in the SEC," Ford said. "They say many people don't get that chance, period."
Many fans expected Ford to make the full-time switch back to offense this spring with the departure of Heisman finalist Tre Mason, but Malzahn and his staff had other plans. Ford will stay in the secondary for the 2014 season, but he will move to safety, a position that is missing former playmakers Ryan Smith and Ryan White.
Even though Ford is having to learn another position again during camp, he has made an impression on Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson.
"Other than making some mistakes just from lack of repetition, he's made some really good plays for us," Johnson said.
With the Tigers looking to reload their secondary from 2013's run to Pasadena, Ford has used the first two weeks of Auburn's spring practice to make an impact on Auburn's depth chart -- and on his fellow teammates.
"A lot of big hits," said defensive tackle Angelo Blackson. "I forget who was coming across on the screen, but Rudy laid the lick on him. That was good to see."
(04/02/14 5:50pm)
Although he claimed he would not do it in his opening press conference, it only took Bruce Pearl 15 days to take his shirt off at Auburn.
The new men's basketball head coach participated in Pi Kappa Phi's charity dunk tank in the concourse on Wednesday afternoon.
Pi Kappa Phi was raising money for Push America, the fraternity's non-profit organization aimed at serving people with disabilities.
"The water wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, so that was a really positive thing," Pearl said. "I think it was my first day on campus, a couple of students came up to me and asked if I was going to be in town [today]. Push America helps people with disabilities, so coming out today was really a no-brainer."
Students paid $2 each to throw balls at a target to dunk Pearl, but the new head coach came up with an additional offer to raise more money for the cause--$10 to run up and directly push the button for an automatic dunk.
Pearl joked his new offer was for those who did not want to throw a first pitch as bad as he did at Auburn's recent baseball game against Missouri.
In the end, though, Pearl said it was all about raising more money for the charity.
"We're going to ask students to come out and support us, maybe even travel to our games," Pearl said. "I can't ask them to engage in our program if I'm not willing to engage in their programs."
The new head coach said it was not his first dunk tank experience, but he is getting more cautious about participating in them as he gets older.
"I know tonight back in Knoxville, somehow my wife is going to see this on YouTube or on television and go, 'What in the world were you thinking?'" Pearl said.
Pearl said he enjoyed his time at the dunk tank and hopes it will get more people interested in Push America and on-campus events at Auburn.
"It's 75 degrees and sunny in Auburn, Ala., and I know it's a lot colder in a lot of place across the country," Pearl said. "I just need to get some prospects down here and check out this campus and enjoy it as well."
(04/03/14 1:15pm)
On an acre of land behind the East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Fu Zhao is living out his dream.
While he spends his days devoting himself to cancer research at Tuskegee University, the Chinese international's passion for helping others can be found just outside the four walls of the East Alabama Medical Center.
Although he holds a doctorate degree, Zhao's dream is in the dirt of Lee County, where the sandy loams of the Coastal Plains meet the red clay of the Piedmont Plateau -- thousands of miles from his near-Siberian birthplace in the northern Chinese province known as Inner Mongolia.
Zhao wants to be a farmer.
"I have opportunities here to work the land here and follow my dream," Zhao said with a smile.
Zhao talks of growing onions and garlic, staples of his homeland's cuisine. He remembers Chinese cucumbers and beans as long as rulers.
He sighs and stares off in the distance as he talks about the amount of land he currently farms in Opelika. The gears of a larger dream turn in his head.
"I have a farm of almost one acre now," Zhao said. "I need more money, but not for me. I want to help young Chinese students here who were just like me."
Zhao came to the United States in December 2008 with his wife Ting. Both received degrees in entomology, the study of insects, from Huazhong Agricultural University in central China. Zhao's specializes in the study of blowflies, and Ting specializes in mosquitos.
Those who know Zhao find it strange that a man with so much education would trade the research field for the vegetable field, but they know they cannot stop him.
His dream is about more than growing vegetables -- it is about growing relationships with Auburn's growing Chinese community.
"I want to support Bible study groups with young Chinese students here who don't have scholarships and can't afford to buy food all the time," Zhao said. "I want my garden to be able to give these students food each Friday night."
He pauses, thinking back to his first days in the United States.
"There are many students who were like me in the Auburn-Opelika area. I want to help them because we all need each other."
Zhao is one of seven children in his family, which grew before the Chinese government began stricter enforcement of its family-planning policy.
"When I was young, my family was poor," Zhao said. "Education is important to my family, but it was hard for my parents to get seven children through school."
Today, two of Zhao's siblings have doctorate degrees, and four are high school teachers.
As his wife began her education on the Plains, Zhao had no clear direction to his new life in America.
"When I came here, I had no job, no friends and no English," Zhao said.
That all would change in 2009, when he and Ting were invited to a Chinese Bible study taught by Auburn industrial design professor Tin-Man Lau.
When Zhao first came to the study, he wanted nothing to do with Lau's message.
"I remember when Ting brought him to our gospel class on Friday night for the first time -- obviously not by his own choice," Lau said. "We circled in a room, and Fu turned around his chair so that he literally turned his back on me. I guess it was a kind of protest that he was not willing to come."
As time passed, he continued to go to the Bible studies and free conversational English classes at Lakeview Baptist in Auburn.
"When I first came here five years ago, I had to learn my ABCs here like a small child," Zhao said. "I am grateful for my great teachers and the people who brought me here. Now I have a regular job."
Zhao said he also noticed how Americans treated one another, and he came to realize his life in this new country would not last as a solo effort.
"I saw all these people around me who had this smile that was so, so sweet," Zhao said. "It was totally different than people in China, like me. I came here thinking, 'Oh, where can I get a lot of money? How can I get another promotion in my job? How can I make my life better and better?' But I saw the people here were different, and I wanted to find out why they were different."
Five years after his first visit, Zhao still goes to English class every Wednesday night and Chinese Bible studies every Friday night.
"Although he has a full-time job, he has this odd passion to be a farmer," Lau said. "I have actually talked with him several times that he should put more effort in his research, which is his job. However, farming obviously is where his passion resides."
(03/31/14 12:17am)
A former Class of 2013 Auburn football signee and current junior college commitment was arrested on drug charges early Sunday morning in Mobile County.
Jason Smith, an athlete currently committed to play for the Tigers next season, was charged with second-degree possession of marijuana and two counts of attempting to elude police, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office website.
Calls made to the Sheriff's Office on Sunday evening were not returned.
The arrest took place at approximately 3 a.m.
According to Cassie Fambro of AL.com, Smith posted bond and has a court date set for May.
Smith signed to play football for the Tigers in 2013 but failed to qualify academically. He enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he redshirted for a team featuring current Tigers D'haquille Williams and Derrick Moncrief.
He threw for 1,566 yards and 19 touchdowns and ran for 849 yards and 16 scores as a senior at McGill-Toolen High School in Mobile.
The four-star receiver and backup quarterback is currently the No. 6 junior college player in the country, according to 247Sports.com.
Smith is the third player connected to Auburn to be arrested on drug charges in the last year for Auburn football. Demetruce McNeal was dismissed from the team after his arrest last August, and Class of 2014 signee Kalvaraz Bessent was arrested in February.
All charges against Bessent were later dropped and, according to Malzahn, will join the Tigers on a "probationary status" this summer.
(03/27/14 8:00pm)
Find out the happenings of this week in Auburn sports.
(03/21/14 1:52am)
The Tigers' traveling Tanner tandem will stay in town for at least one more game.
Auburn women's basketball team began what it hopes will be another deep run in the Women's NIT on Thursday night with a 78-64 victory against visiting Furman at Auburn Arena.
The Tanner sisters led the way once again for Auburn. Senior Tyrese scored 17 points and added 7 rebounds, while sophomore Tra'cee also had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
"Nobody ever wants it to be (the end), so we had to make sure everybody was on the same page so it won't happen," Tyrese said. "I think we did that tonight. We looked like a team out there -- moving the ball around, pushing it and getting our stops on defense. Tonight, after our first four minutes, I felt like it wouldn't be our last game together."
Auburn freshman guards Khady Dieng and Brandi Montgomery also posted double digits in scoring Thursday night. Dieng scored a career-high 16 points and hit all eight of her free throws in the victory.
"We were definitely ready to play, but after being out since the Southeastern Conference [tournament], you could see a little rust there," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "But I think we picked it up a lot better in the second half."
After a back-and-forth start to the game, Auburn opened up a double-digit lead with a 12-0 run midway through the first half. Three consecutive free throws from Dieng opened a run that featured three Furman turnovers and an air-balled 3-point attempt from the visitors.
"If you remember, (Dieng) finished the regular season strongly," Williams-Flournoy said. "Once we came back from spring break, she has been really focused. She did a great job in practice."
Tra'cee went 6-of-6 from the floor in the first half against an undersized Furman team whose tallest starter was listed at 6-foot-1.
"That's definitely an advantage we tried to emphasize," Tra'cee said. "We tried to work inside-out tonight, and that's what we did tonight."
The Paladins responded with a 7-0 run before the halftime whistle, but the Tigers quickly reinstated another big lead early in the second half.
Tyrese hit a jumper to pull her to the Top 10 ranks of all-time scorers at Auburn midway through the second half. The oldest Tanner now has 1,480 career points, but she said she was not focused on any awards before the start of the Thursday's game.
"I just like to win," Tyrese said. "I just want to keep playing this postseason and making the most of what will be my last season here."
Williams-Flournoy unloaded the Tiger bench midway through the first half and gave several reserve players extended minutes against the Southern Conference runners-up.
"At this point in late March, it's been a long season," Williams-Flournoy said. "Our starters have played a lot of minutes, so when you have the opportunity to get other people in, you want to rest your starters as much as you can."
Auburn's 3-point defense was suspect in the final minutes as Furman drilled three triples in less than a minute of action to threaten the potential rout.
However, the Tigers stayed true from the free-throw line and stiffened their defense to grab a 14-point first round victory in the annual postseason tournament.
Auburn will host Old Dominion in the second round of the Women's NIT. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. at Auburn Arena.
(03/20/14 9:00pm)
This week in sports is back, bringing you the happenings in sports this week in Auburn.
(03/19/14 6:11pm)
I still have the magazine.
It is sitting somewhere in a drawer at my grandparents' house outside of town.
The date on it reads Nov. 15, 1999 -- Sports Illustrated's college basketball season preview.
"Auburn is No. 1."
Chris Porter is flashing a massive smile at the camera while throwing down a dunk in that classic navy uniform.
Head coach Cliff Ellis' Tigers had their Sweet 16 run seven months before Porter's famous cover photo. The country's biggest sports magazine was picking Auburn to go all the way in the 1999-2000 season.
Doc Robinson thrilled at point guard, Scotty Pohlman drilled 3-pointers from the corner, Mamadou N'Diaye famously "packed lunches" for bucket-bound forwards coming against him and Porter -- well, Chris Porter did everything on his way to becoming Auburn's last All-American selection.
As the son of two passionate Auburn alumni, I have watched Auburn basketball since birth.
Even though I was in elementary school, I remember those teams around the turn of the millennium.
I remember Auburn basketball being fun.
Yes, the same program that lost four consecutive SEC Tournament games a little more than a decade later. Yes, the same program that has not been to the Big Dance in 11 years.
Fourteen years and some change after Auburn men's basketball graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, the program made its return to national attention.
Even though this season's NCAA Tournament was due to tipoff a few hours later, Auburn dominated the college basketball splash page of ESPN.com.
Bruce Pearl, arguably the most successful coach on the market in the young offseason, was coming to the Plains.
Pearl would be the fourth new head coach at Auburn since November 2012.
Athletic director Jay Jacobs has hired a football coach who led the team to a completely unforeseen BCS National Championship run, a baseball coach who had been to the College World Series and a softball coach who won a national championship on the other side of the country.
And after firing Tony Barbee after four fruitless seasons of Auburn men's basketball, Jacobs could have easily gone the traditional route in hiring Barbee's replacement.
With attendance and excitement at an alarming low rate in Auburn and throughout most of the conference, Jacobs could have picked another up-and-coming mid-major coach and hoped he would translate his success into the SEC.
He did not have to get a championship-caliber coach like baseball's Sunny Golloway or softball's Clint Myers. It worked out with Malzahn, and Auburn fans are generally not as passionate about men's basketball nowadays.
Not anymore.
In Pearl, Jacobs hired the head coach most basketball fans wanted -- someone who has won quickly and made a SEC program a consistent NCAA Tournament team.
Pearl showed Tuesday night inside Auburn Arena what he could bring to the program. Sure, anyone could look at Wikipedia to learn Pearl's career record and honors, but you had to be in the Arena for his opening press conference.
He was the ultimate showman, giving the few thousand fans what they wanted: energy and passion from a program that lacked both for most of Barbee's tenure.
He cracked jokes. He promised to play fast-paced basketball. He passionately spoke about his past issues with the NCAA and his appreciation of Auburn giving him a second chance.
Pearl knows he has a tough job ahead of him. He loses the team's leading scorer and inherits an undersized roster. Recruiting will be tough with his expiring show cause penalty.
But Pearl has done a lot with a little everywhere he has been. He knows how to build a program and how to get people fired up about it.
Tuesday night at Auburn Arena was the closest thing this campus has gotten to the days of Porter and Company in a long time.
With time, patience and a little luck, Bruce Pearl might be able to get Auburn back to those heights in a wide-open SEC.
-------------
Justin Ferguson is the sports editor of The Auburn Plainsman. You can contact him via email at jdf0014@auburn.edu or on Twitter @JFergusonAU.
(03/15/14 4:58am)
For the first time in a decade, Auburn softball recorded not one, but two no-hitters in one night.
Sophomore pitchers Marcy Harper and Lexi Davis each pitched a no-hitter Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field, helping the Tigers record a 9-0 win over Radford in five innings and a 10-0 win over IPFW, also in five innings, at the War Eagle Classic.
"I thought both of them pitched magnificent," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "They controlled the zone and they made pitches when they had to. Those are things we preach all the time. Attack and let the defense work for you and they did that."
Kristen Keys and Beth DiPietro are the only other Tiger teammates to record back-to-back no-hitters, which they did against Ole Miss in 2004.
Harper started the day against Radford with a 10-strikeout, five-walk no-no. Davis allowed one walk and notched six strikeouts in her no-hitter against IPFW.
Davis' no-hitter was her second of her career, with the last one coming in five innings against Army on Feb. 10, 2013.
The Tigers continued their explosive offensive output Friday night, putting up 19 runs combined on the Highlanders and Mastodons off 18 hits.
Sophomore Jade Rhodes and freshman Kasey Cooper finished the night with four RBI after going a combined 5-for-9 with two home runs.
"The thing that is encouraging is that we are getting better at-bats," Myers said. "You're not going to get a hit on every swing, but if you are going up there with a plan and you're executing you're plan, it increases the chances of you having success and that is what we are starting to do. We have two more tomorrow and two teams that have played Top-25 teams really well so we have got to go out and do it again tomorrow."
Rhodes went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the first game against Radford and smashed a grand slam in game two against IPFW. Cooper hit her seventh home run of the season against IPFW in a three-RBI game.
Auburn will return to Jane B. Moore Field on Saturday for two more games of the War Eagle Classic. The Tigers will take on Savannah State at 3:30 p.m. and Ball State at 5:30 p.m.
(03/14/14 7:00pm)
After Jay Jacobs quickly pulled the plug on Tony Barbee's disappointing tenure as men's basketball head coach Wednesday night, the Auburn athletic director now has another coaching search to conduct, his fourth since December 2012.Jacobs said he wants a coach to compete for SEC championships in light of the department's major investment in the program with Auburn Arena, and he wants to move with this search as quickly as possible.With Jacobs' hires of Gus Malzahn, Sunny Golloway and Clint Myers this past year, one would think Auburn is going to go for a splash hire in men's basketball.We as the sports staff of The Auburn Plainsman have compiled a list of 10 coaching candidates for Auburn men's basketball. Some are big names, others are lesser-known up-and-comers in the coaching ranks, but we feel each of these candidates are improvements on paper from the program's last few hires.Bruce Pearl (231-99 in 10 seasons at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Tennessee)Bruce Pearl seemingly is the name at the top of everyone's short list, and for good reason. Pearl has a history of reviving SEC programs mired in mediocrity.After guiding Southern Indiana to a Division II National Championship in the '90s, Pearl made a name for himself at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he led the Panthers to 86 wins in four seasons, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2005. All in all, the Volunteers reached the NCAA tournament in six consecutive seasons under Bruce Pearl, a stretch that included three Sweet 16 visits and the program's first Elite Eight in 2010.Pearl's teams played at a frenetic pace and employed full court pressure, creating energy and passion both on and off the court for the Tennessee basketball program. Pearl doesn't come without baggage, though. Pearl was fired from Tennessee in 2011 after it was discovered he lied about recruiting violations and covered up a substance abuse violation by a player. In addition to sanctions, the NCAA gave Pearl a three-year show-cause penalty, meaning that sanctions would follow Pearl even if he was hired at another school.Pearl's show-cause violation is up in August, meaning he'll be one of the hottest names on the job market. There's certainly baggage here, but if Auburn is looking to make a splash and hire a proven SEC winner, there are few better options than this one.-Eric Wallace / Sports ReporterBen Howland (390-199 in 19 seasons at Northern Arizona, Pittsburgh and UCLA)Auburn fans are howling for Jay Jacobs to hire a winner, and few options have won quite as often as Ben Howland.The former Weber State guard had his first success at Pittsburgh, where he took the Panthers to back-to-back Big East Regular Season Championships and Sweet Sixteens in 2002 and 2003. Howland was then hired at basketball powerhouse UCLA, where winning is counted in NCAA Tournament Championships and not just appearances.Howland's Bruins won three consecutive Pac-10 titles from 2006-2008 and reached three consecutive Final Fours in that same span. In his time at UCLA, Howland was never short for talent. Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday, Darren Collison and Arron Afflalo are just a few of Howland's former players still making a name for themselves in the NBA today.Howland was fired from UCLA in 2013 following a "disappointing" 25-9 season, for a little context on UCLA's impossible standards, so he's certainly one of the most proven names on the market. There are good hires and then there are home run hires, and for Auburn, Howland would certainly be the latter.-Eric Wallace / Sports ReporterTommy Amaker (314-208 in 17 seasons at Seton Hall, Michigan and Harvard)Of all the long shots on this list, Tommy Amaker might be the longest shot. But I would make Amaker tell me he does not want the Auburn job, considering the current success he had at Harvard and the past experience coaching in major conference basketball.Amaker was a fixture at Duke during the Blue Devils' NCAA Tournament success of the late 80s and early 90s as a player and later as an assistant coach. After four consecutive postseason appearances as the young head coach of the Seton Hall Pirates, Amaker left for Michigan, where he consistently posted solid seasons but never was able to break into the Big Dance. Despite his NIT success, he was fired at Michigan and later picked up by Harvard.Amaker took the Ivy League school to its first Big Dance in 2011 after snapping the program's long streak of losing seasons the year before. Harvard has dominated the Ivy League the last four seasons, and Amaker could make the Crimson the next Wichita State or VCU with the recruiting classes he has hauled in recent years.Amaker would be far from the usual mid-major hire. He has experience at the highest level as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and he has taken a program from virtually nothing into one of the most feared teams outside the power conferences. Amaker is a long shot, but I think he deserves at least a call to see if he wants to rebuild a program in a bigger conference.-Justin Ferguson / Sports EditorTubby Smith (525-244 in 23 seasons at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas Tech)Tubby Smith, the current head coach of Texas Tech, has led a long and successful career as a head power-conference coach.Smith has won regular season conference titles nine times, while winning his conference tournament five times.While at Kentucky, Smith led a dominant teams, winning the SEC Tournament in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004. Smith was also named the SEC Coach of the Year in 1998, 2003 and 2005.Although he has been in Lubbock for one year as the Texas Tech head coach, Auburn could realistically make a run at the former SEC coaching giant. With his success at Georgia and Kentucky, Smith definitely knows what it takes to win in this conference.-Taylor Jones / Sports Writer
Rick Stansbury (293-165 in 14 seasons at Mississippi State)Another potential target for Auburn could be former Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury.Stansbury was hired at Mississippi State in 1998 after serving as an assistant coach for the Bulldogs since 1990.He led the Bulldogs to two SEC Tournament Championships in 2002 and 2009, while winning the SEC Regular Season Championship in 2004 and winning the SEC West Division Championship five times.Stansbury was named the 2004 SEC Coach of the Year and also led the Bulldogs to their highest win total in Mississippi State history during the 2001-2002 season with 27 wins.With an impressive 11 postseason appearances in his 14 seasons in charge of Mississippi State, Stansbury reportedly has expressed interest in returning to the SEC with the Auburn job. An established name in the conference, Stansbury could be the name to lead Auburn back up the ladder.-Taylor Jones / Sports WriterJeff Capel (175-110 in nine seasons at Virginia Commonwealth and Oklahoma)Jeff Capel, a former standout player at Duke University and current assistant coach there, could be another strong candidate for the Auburn men's basketball head coaching job. He became a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University at 27 years old and was the coach there for four years. Capel led them to a record 79 wins with a .658 winning percentage.Capel has also been an assistant on the USA Men's team when they won the gold medal in the 2005 FIBA Tournament in Turkey.Capel was named the head coach of University of Oklahoma in 2006 and lasted there until 2011. During his tenure there, he recruited multiple McDonald's All Americans, including current NBA All-Star Blake Griffin. While at Oklahoma, he made two NCAA Tournaments and even advanced to the Elite Eight once. He also averaged 21 wins per season there.-Kyle Van Fechtmann / Sports Reporter
Seth Greenberg (367-276 in 22 seasons at Long Beach State, South Florida and Virginia Tech)
Although Seth Greenberg's coaching tenure ended in April 2012 at Virginia Tech, I think he deserves a solid look as the next Auburn basketball head coach. Greenberg led the Hokies to a No. 5 seed in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and also led them to multiple victories over No. 1 teams in the regular season. Greenberg left Blacksburg with the second-most wins in program history compiling a 170-123 overall record.Despite the fact that Greenberg only made the NCAA Tournament once at Virginia Tech out of nine seasons, several of his assistants left for head coaching jobs elsewhere and he had to fill coaching jobs during each offseason.Even though Greenberg is an analyst for ESPN now, and it may take a lot of money for Auburn to hire him, I believe it's finally time for Auburn to shell out some money and hire a coach who had a good record at an impressive basketball conference like the ACC.-Kyle Van Fechtmann / Sports Reporter Michael White (70-29 in three seasons at Louisiana Tech) \0x200BMichael White is simply the hottest up-and-comer in college basketball at the moment. A former player and assistant coach at Ole Miss who excelled at recruiting the Southeast, the 37-year-old White has spent the last three seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he has posted back-to-back regular season conference championships. White has ties to the SEC and the state of Alabama, where he was a top assistant at Jacksonville State, and his up-tempo, full court-pressing style of basketball would play to Auburn's guard-heavy roster for next season. I know Auburn fans would be wary of hiring another hot mid-major candidate after the failed Tony Barbee experiment, but unlike the former Tigers head coach, the energetic White has had more than just one good year at a smaller school and would come with great coaching and recruiting experience in the SEC. \0x200B-Justin Ferguson / Sports EditorDonnie Tyndall (167-99 in eight seasons at Morehead State and Southern Miss)Donnie Tyndall might not be the most well known name for Auburn fans, but the Southern Mississippi head coach would bring a proven track record of winning to the Plains, should he get the job.The 43-year-old Tyndall inherited a 4-23 Morehead State team as his first head coaching job in 2006 and rapidly turned the Eagles into an Ohio Valley Conference power. The Eagles made the NCAA Tournament twice under Tyndall, including a Third Round appearance in 2011.Now at Southern Miss, Tyndall's Golden Eagles are 53-15 in his two seasons in Hattiesburg and are currently poised to make the NCAA Tournament at 26-5.Tiger fans are certainly tired of mid-major hires, and deservedly so after the failures of Jeff Lebo and Tony Barbee, but Tyndall would bring a more sustained track record of success to the Plains than either of those two. Considering the current state of the program, Jay Jacobs could do a whole lot worse. -Eric Wallace / Sports ReporterTod Kowalczyk (200-175 in 12 seasons at Wisconsin-Green Bay and Toledo)This mid-major, less-intriguing name is completely out of left field for most Auburn basketball fans, and for good reason. Kowalczyk has spent his entire coaching in the Midwest (including an assistant coaching stint at Marquette when NBA star Dwayne Wade was on campus), but his track record with rebuilding programs is stunning.Kowalczyk took over a dreadful Wisconsin-Green Bay team in 2002 and rattled off five winning seasons in eight tries. He never broke into the NCAA Tournament in a one-qualifier conference like the Horizon League, but he is on the verge of a remarkable transformation at Toledo.Following a dismal rebuilding season, Kowalczyk took a senior-less Toledo team from 4-28 to 19-17 and a couple of wins away from the Big Dance. His up-tempo 2013-14 Rockets are on the verge of making it to the NCAA Tournament this season with an impressive 26-5 record in a competitive MAC league.But another thing that sticks out about Kowalczyk is that he has turned around the Toledo program while being sponsored by Under Armour. After Allen Payne's tweet Wednesday night about Auburn continuing to struggle with the Maryland-based apparel company sent Auburn fans and writers in a frenzy (I for one think the UA ordeal is a minor issue that people are blowing out of proportion, but that's all for another post), Kowalczyk is proof that you can succeed in this game while being an Under Armour school.-Justin Ferguson / Sports EditorWhat do you think of our list? Have any more candidates you think we should add? Who is your pick for Auburn's next men's basketball head coach? Tweet your responses @TheAUPlainsman or email the staff at sports@theplainsman.com.
(03/13/14 5:46pm)
In journalism, you sometimes have to ask questions to which you already know the answers.
This concept of asking the obvious was on full display Wednesday night in a side room of the Georgia Dome.
The latest Auburn men's basketball season had just ended in eye-opening fashion.
Although they had beat South Carolina twice during the regular season, the Tigers' chance at ending their long postseason losing streak drowned in a rain of 3-pointers from the Gamecocks.
South Carolina outshot, outrebounded and simply outhustled Auburn on its way to dominating almost every major statistical category.
Shortly before Director of Athletics Jay Jacobs told Tony Barbee that he was fired, head coach Tony Barbee took to the press conference podium.
What did you think of your team's performance, Coach?
"Overall, proud of the fight that the guys showed tonight," Barbee said in his postgame press conference. "But just a disappointing end."
Even though the Tigers put up their second-worst offensive performance of the season, Barbee still liked his team's effort.
No surprise there. Same answers, different game.
Find any Barbee press conference from this season, and you will most likely hear the now-former head coach talk about how proud he was of his team's "fight."
He said that at the end of Auburn's road loss at now-No. 1 Florida, a game in which the Tigers completely mangled the final minute of what could have been a monumental upset.
He also said that at the end of Auburn's incredibly flat home finale against bubble team Tennessee, who beat the Tigers by 28 points but could have won by a whole lot more.
In the close losses, the blowouts and even the few wins of the Barbee tenure, the message was always the same.
You got "the team's fighting hard" or "we're about to make that breakthrough" or, if you asked him the right question, silence.
For the last several games of this regular season, the Auburn head coach walked out of his press conferences whenever someone asked him a question about his future on the Plains.
But on Wednesday night, at a tournament press conference following his team's last game of the season, Barbee stayed and gave an answer to a question about his future -- and he knew that those in attendance already knew what he was going to say.
"Well, what do you want me to say?" Barbee asked.
No coach on the planet will ever lean back and say, "Yeah, I deserve to be fired." He is obviously going to say that he deserves to keep his job.
But Barbee took it a step further at the Georgia Dome, minutes before Jacobs delivered the news at the team hotel.
"This season was a bounce back year from our previous year," Barbee said. "Obviously, we won more games in the previous year...we doubled our SEC wins...our RPI was double what it was the year before."
I agree, Coach, those were definitely "positives," but they do not exist in a vacuum.
The Tigers' 14-16 record this season was Auburn's second-best season in the four-year Barbee era. Their six SEC wins this season marked the highest total since Barbee took over, but they were accompanied by a dozen conference losses.
Tony Barbee never had a winning season at Auburn. He was also 0-4 in SEC Tournament games.
Twelve players, including some of the program's highest-rated recruits in recent years, transferred from Auburn during Barbee's tenure.
Barbee was hired in 2010 to usher in a new era of Tigers basketball at the sparkling Auburn Arena.
Even though this was arguably Barbee's "best" season, attendance dropped to an arena-worst in 2013-14. For the first time in the building's short history, Auburn did not sell out a single game -- and the highest-attended one coincided with an Iron Bowl trophy presentation with the football team.
So was a slight uptick on a low plateau really substantial improvement?
Of course Tony Barbee said it was.
But it wasn't.
One hour and 40 minutes after the team's quick SEC Tournament exit, we heard something new come out of the Auburn men's basketball program.
In the end, that's what fans expected -- or at least hoped -- to hear after this season.
Just like the majority of Barbee's answers during his tenure.
The same questions were always asked. The answers never changed.
And if Tony Barbee stayed at Auburn, I don't think the program would ever have a chance to change.
The monotony had to stop.
I don't know what Auburn's next head coach will bring to the table. I believe Auburn is one of the toughest jobs in power-conference basketball.
A new coach will not guarantee success, but the change was definitely needed.
It's time to hear something new out of Auburn men's basketball.
(03/09/14 9:23pm)
Just like in Saturday's home victory against LSU, the Auburn softball team grabbed home runs Sunday from Branndi Melero and Kasey Cooper.
But this time, Auburn's defense and pitching prevented another close game and turned the rubber match into a rout.
Auburn defeated No. 24 LSU 7-0 on Sunday to take its first SEC series of the season from the visiting Bayou Bengals.
"It's a long season," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "We have a lot to go. We are heading in the right direction. If we can play like we played today, I will be happy. It is a young ball club, and we have to come out and have that type of execution, mentality and mindset every single day."
Melero, who leads the SEC in RBI, got the host Tigers going with a three-run bomb in the bottom of the first inning. After Auburn stretched its lead to 5-0 in the second inning on some unselfish sacrifice hitting and walking, Cooper hit a two-run shot of her own that bounced off the scoreboard at Jane B. Moore Field.
Cooper, a freshman, went a combined 4-for-10 against LSU with two home runs and seven RBI. She now has 30 RBI on the season, good enough for second on the team.
Starting pitcher Lexi Davis scattered eight LSU hits in her ninth victory of the season, but the sophomore did not walk a single batter and struck out two for the complete game shutout.
"That was a great team win because the fact that the defense was so instrumental," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "We are gonna attack and not give them free opportunities to score. We are gonna play as good a defense as we can. We did the little things great today."
Auburn softball returns to action at Jane B. Moore Field this Wednesday to face Troy, who the Tigers tied 5-5 in a rain-ended game to open the 2014 season. First pitch against the Trojans is scheduled for 6 p.m.
(03/08/14 4:32am)
Auburn women's basketball team could not stop Texas A&M's hot shooting from the field Friday at the SEC Tournament as the Tigers were defeated, 86-54, in Duluth, Ga.
"I thought [Texas A&M] came out and played extremely well right as the game began," said Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy. "We didn't start the game like we wanted to start the game. Just didn't play well tonight."
The Aggies finished the night shooting 58 percent from the field and out-rebounded Auburn, 43-26.
"We didn't push back on rebounds," said senior center Peyton Davis. "Coach told us from the get-go we got to push them back. We're not going to win the jumping war with them. It's obvious they out-rebounded us."
Texas A&M started out the night of 12-of-17 in the opening 12 minutes to race out to an early lead. A&M's Courtney Walker finished the first half with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
The Aggies extended their lead in the second half with a 12-0 run to go up 59-30.
Tyrese Tanner posted 10 points in the first half to lead the way for Auburn.Tanner finished with 14 points to lead Auburn in scoring for the 11th straight game, while freshman Brandy Montgomery scored 12 points.
The Tigers shot 33 percent in the contest and finished the night 5-of-12 from 3-point range.
Auburn finishes the regular season and conference tournament schedule with a 17-14 record. The women's national tournament fields will be announced Monday, March 17.
"I'm disappointed in how we played today," Tanner said. "I'm looking forward to the post-season. Hopefully we can play in the NIT."
(03/08/14 2:35am)
After winning 17 out of its first 22 games to open the season, it is safe to say the Auburn softball team's SEC opener did not go as planned Friday night.
Auburn (17-4-1) dropped the first of a conference-opening three-game series with LSU (16-6) by a score of 4-1 at Jane B. Moore Field.
The host Tigers' McKenzie Kilpatrick hit a solo home run in the bottom of the second inning that stood up for most of the game, but Auburn pitcher Lexi Davis lost control of her shutout in the sixth inning.
LSU strung together a few hits to put three runs on the board in the top of the sixth and grabbed one more insurance run in the top of the seventh and final inning.
"[Davis] missed location in the sixth and they took advantage," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "But she pitched well. The key things are not so much what she did, but what we didn't do."
The Auburn offense, which left seven runners on base in the loss, was unable to generate any runs for a comeback of its own.
LSU's Baylee Corbello was effectively wild in her victory, striking out seven batters while walking six more. Auburn only managed two hits on Corbello, who moved to 8-2 on the season.
Auburn will look for revenge on rival LSU Saturday at 1 p.m.
"I told them what we learned from this game will be evident in the next performance, so if you were a little nervous, if you were a little scared, then the first one is out of the way," Myers said.
(03/05/14 4:25am)
Auburn baseball will have to wait an extra day before getting first crack at in-state rival Alabama.
The MAX Capital City Classic at Montgomery's Riverwalk Stadium scheduled for Tuesday night was postponed until Wednesday due to heavy rain in the area.
Tickets for the game will still be honored Wednesday night, and first pitch is still scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Tigers have won all five Capital City Classics, the annual neutral site showdown between the two Alabama rivals. Auburn is coming off two victories against Presbyterian last weekend at Plainsman Park.
(03/01/14 2:29am)
A low score on uneven bars was the Auburn gymnastics team's downfall Friday night in its road trip to Lexington, Ky.
The No. 11 Tigers lost to No. 24 Kentucky 196.275-194.825 for their third consecutive loss in SEC meets.
The Tigers posted a 47.625 on their opening rotation at the uneven bars. Although the team struggled as a whole, Caitlin Atkinson posted a 9.9 on the bars to equal her career high Friday night.
Auburn responded with a 49.150 on vault, led by a 9.9 from MJ Rott, a 9.875 from Atkinson and a 9.85 from Lexus Demers.
On floor, Auburn posted a total of 49.200. The top scores went to Brittany Webster at 9.9, Atkinson at 9.875 and a career-high 9.825 for Megan Walker.
Auburn scored 48.85 on balance beam in the final rotation, with Walker posting a team-best score of 9.875.
Atkinson won the all-around with a total of 39.475
Auburn will host its final home meet of the season next Friday, March 7, against Missouri.