Auburn ended up losing 78-72 to the Blue Devils but played the best anybody had against them up to that point. The Tigers started slow and Duke who is more used to big time games took advantage. They jumped out to a 22-8 lead then 31-14. This was where just about every other Auburn basketball team would have folded and looked like they should not have been there but not this day. The Tigers fought back to get within six points before the half ended with Duke up 41-33. Duke would start quick in the second half pushing the lead to 49-33. Again Auburn fought back to get to within five points at 61-56 with eight minutes left in the game. Auburn could get no closer than that and ended up losing by six points. It was a phenomenal effort by the Auburn basketball team.
I am still looking around expecting something bad as it always seems to with Auburn basketball but so far so good. This might be Auburn's best basketball team ever. The job Bruce Pearl has done and continues to do is simply amazing. He took over an Auburn basketball program that was dead on the table and that is no exaggeration. He has worked and worked recruiting and improving the schedule. He led the team to an SEC Championship last season in one of the most unbelievable jobs of coaching I have ever seen. He did this in the shadow of an FBI investigation into his top assistant for crimes on the side. He now has taken Auburn to one of the big-time college basketball preseason tournaments in the Maui Invitational and finished third.
Most Auburn teams would never be considered for this tournament. This is a tournament for traditionally strong basketball schools. Auburn basketball simply does not play in tournaments that Duke plays in. Auburn did not just play in the tournament but beat two of those traditional basketball powers in Xavier and Arizona and played Duke to the wire. You just have to know the history of Auburn basketball to be absolutely blown away by that. Every Auburn basketball coach has done it the "Cliff Ellis way" as in scheduling a powder puff schedule to get some wins in the preseason. They all have avoided really good teams but not Pearl. He has continually improved Auburn's schedule and now has Auburn basketball ranked in the top ten in the country!!!
As for yesterday's Iron Bowl, I have already made my thoughts clear on Gus Malzahn. He will be fired after the Iron Bowl next season after going 7-5 or 6-6 again. I hope our athletic director is working feverishly on his plan to replace him. Let me be real clear though, Gus Malzahn will not be fired for his performances against Bama. My problem with Gus is the LSU, State and especially the Tennessee games this season. Nobody is going to beat Bama. I think everyone sees the problems. The recruiting has slipped which everyone has seen this season and will see even more next season plus the Malzahn offensive system grows more and more predictable. Go back and watch Bama defenders reading some of the plays. We all just have to watch one more season of this, sigh...
I want to end this season on a positive note football-wise as well as basketball-wise though. Lost in all the angst and frustration with our current football team was the fact that this season marks the 25th anniversary of the 1993 Auburn football season. I graduated from Auburn in 1992 and saw every single Auburn game home and away from 1991 to 1993 except at Texas '91, at Florida and Bama '92 and at Arkansas '93. The 1991 and 1992 seasons were played under the dark cloud of the Eric Ramsey allegations. They were the fall of Auburn coach Pat Dye. He had to step down and Auburn hired young Terry Bowden.
Let me say first that I do not think much of Terry Bowden now. I think time told the story on Bowden and it was not a good one. He has tried to destroy his legacy at Auburn (and pretty much succeeded) but nothing will take away how awesome and magical the 1993 season was. He did an incredible job in that one shining season. I mean it is a story without equal. A program that had lost its way losing their greatest coach. A program put under harsh NCAA sanctions of no postseason and NO TV. It is unthinkable these days but this Auburn team was never seen live on television this season. You add to that Bama had just won a national championship and it makes it more incredible.
Since I went to every game that season but one I decided to create a giant poster with all the ticket stubs and pictures from all the games. When I finished I kind of wanted to write something to put on it and this is what I wrote...
-----------------------------
WHY I LOVE SPORTS
The 1993 Auburn team started about as low as a team could start. They were shackled with: NCAA probation that prevented them from having anything to play for and being seen by anybody except the spectators, a new coach with no big-time experience, the loss of the greatest coach in Auburn history, a team that had not been ranked in 2 years, a team with supposedly no "talent" like a quarterback who was a "loser", a middle linebacker that was barely 210 pounds, a reciever that was supposed to be all mouth, a secondary that had lost their best player for the season, two senior fullbacks who were washed up, and with defensive and offensive lines that were "below average".
Basically, the same team that had endured two straight seasons of losing, two straight seasons of controversy, and two straight seasons of complete frustration. A team that was picked by almost everyone to have a losing record. And finally a team who's cross-state rival had just won a national championship. But with a new "Attitude" brought in by the new coach and put into action by the players, this team achieved perfection. This team went 11-0, the first Auburn team to ever do it. This "Attitude" was simply about believing in yourself, setting goals, working hard and persevering to achieve those goals, and not worrying about things you can't control.
To accomplish what they did this team prayed before and after every game; they started the season by beating a team that had crushed them the year before; they beat a team in a place where they had not won in over 50 years; they, in maybe their closest game, stopped a team on 4 plays at the goal line; they beat the 4th ranked team in the nation by coming back from 10-0 and 27-14 deficits and finally winning on a last second field goal in one of the greatest games I have ever seen; they won in below freezing weather; and finally pulled out one more mracle to beat their cross-state rival in maybe the biggest game ever played in Alabama.
There were so many reasons this season was special but one of the best was seeing little known and rarely used players step up and make their contribution: a tiny senior defensive end that makes 2 huge sacks against Florida; a little used senior defensive back makes a goal line interception to stop Georgia; a senior cornerback who's career had fallen short of all expectations gets to start due to injuries in the last game of his career against Alabama and makes 8 tackles; and finally a back-up quarterback who comes in (due to an injury) on 4th and 15 down 14-5 against Alabama and throws a 35 yard touchdown pass to bring Auburn back.
But it was also great watching: the quarterback, who had persevered through so much criticism, step up and help lead the team to victory, a bunch of linebackers who were supposed to be a weakness become a strength, a reciever become an all-SEC big time player; a secondary become one of the best in the nation, 2 fullbacks finish their career by contributing so much, the offensive and defensive lines become dominant, and finally an MVP tailback who just would not be stopped. Of course, these were just college kids, just regular people, and they had some luck but what they achieved and how they they did it showed why I love Auburn and I love sports.
Jeff Sallas
Class of 1992
Auburn University
-----------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment