Auburn Tigers (NCAA Men's)



The Auburn Tigers men's basketball program is the college basketball program that represents Auburn University, competing in the Southeastern Conference. The program began in 1905. Though they generally play under the shadow of the football program, the Tigers have had successes on the hardwood. Notably, the program is known for alumni such as Charles Barkley and Chuck Person. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide] *1 Team history
 * 1.1 Coaches
 * 1.1.1 Sonny Smith
 * 1.1.2 Cliff Ellis
 * 1.1.3 Jeff Lebo
 * 1.1.4 Tony Barbee
 * 1.2 Players
 * 1.3 SEC Tournament
 * 1.4 Postseason
 * 1.4.1 NCAA Tournament
 * 1.4.2 NIT Tournament
 * 2 Arena
 * 3 Current team
 * 4 See also
 * 5 References
 * 6 External links
 * }

[edit]Coaches
There have been 19 Auburn Basketball coaches since the program was started in 1905 by Mike Donahue. Donahue roamed the Tigers' sidelines for the next 16 years and also served as Athletic Director, football coach, baseball coach, and track coach while at Auburn.[1]

The school's all-time winningest coach was Joel H. Eaves, who was also a former Tiger basketball player and part-time football coach while leading the basketball program. Assisted by later-head coach Bill Lynn, he guided the Tigers to their first SEC title in 1960 and coached for 14 seasons at The Plains. Ralph "Shug" Jordan (pronounced JURD-an) was the winningest football coach at Auburn and also coached the basketball team for 10 seasons, compiling a record of 95-77 (.552). The university's Jordan-Hare Stadium is named in his honor.

[edit]Sonny Smith
Sonny Smith was head coach at Auburn for 11 seasons and compiled an overall record of 173-154 (.529) and was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1989. He coached the Auburn Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in five consecutive seasons, 1984-1988, including their best-ever finish in 1986, in which they reached the Elite Eight (before losing to eventual national champion Louisville). He also led the Tigers to their firstSEC Tournament Championship, in 1985.[2] During his years at Auburn, he coached NBA Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley as well as future NBA All-Star Chuck Person, and was the only coach in school history to have three consecutive twenty win seasons, from 1984-86.[2] On January 3, 2007, he was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

[edit]Cliff Ellis
Cliff Ellis coached at Auburn for 10 seasons while compiling a record of 186-125 (.598). Ellis brought a sense of excitement to the program, seen most notably through the "Cliff Dwellers," the student section at Beard-Eaves. He took Auburn to the NIT in 1994 and 1998, building up the program at the time

His most successful season was the 1998-99 season, when the team won their first 18 games and finished the season with a 29-4 record, setting a state of Alabama record for the most wins. This team, led by transfer Chris Porter and Doc Robinson, won the SEC regular season title and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The next season, the team had even higher aspirations, predicted by Sports Illustrated to win the national title. Auburn finished with a 24-10 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, advancing to the second round. Ellis also reached the NCAA Tournament in 2003 as the last at-large team admitted. Under much scrutiny, the team advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion Syracuse. After the 2004 season, Ellis was fired.[3] At the same time, Auburn faced NCAA sanctions for recruiting violations against assistant coaches, which resulted in scholarship restrictions. Ellis was not named in any NCAA investigation.

[edit]Jeff Lebo
Jeff Lebo was named the Tigers' 19th head basketball coach on April 8, 2004, moving to Auburn from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Lebo worked to rebuild the program, facing issues of probation and players leaving the program (Brandon Robinson, Marco Killingsworth, DeWayne Curtis). Despite the depth issues, continued attrition (Toney Douglas transferred to Florida State after a being named to the ALL-SEC Freshman team), and having undersized big men, Lebo steadily improved, having his first winning season in 2006-07. Lebo enjoyed the most success at Auburn in the 2008-09 season, leading the team to a 2nd place divisional finish and a top seed in the NIT. The team finished with a 21-10 regular season record and a 10-6 conference record. Auburn began the conference season with a 1-3 mark, but caught fire at the end of the season, winning 9 of their last 10 games. This team was led by seniors Korvotney Barber, Quantez Robinson and Rasheed Barrett. In the NIT they defeated UT Martin in the first round 87-82 after holding a 19 point lead. Then in the second round blew out Tulsa 74-55. Baylor defeated them 74-72 in the third round. Lebo was fired with two years remaining on his contract after the 2009-10 season. His cumulative Auburn record was 96-93 over his six-year tenure.

[edit]Tony Barbee
Tony Barbee was named the head coach of the men's basketball team on March 24, 2010. He was formally introduced the following day in Auburn Arena. Barbee previously coached at the University of Texas at El Paso, and he also served as an assistant at the University of Memphis under Kentucky head coach John Calipari. He led the Miners to the 2010 Conference USA championship and was named the 2010 Conference USA coach of the year. His cumulative record at UTEP is 68-35.

[edit]Players
In addition to its rich tradition in team accomplishments, numerous individual athletes began their careers at Auburn and went on to achieve worldwide recognition. From 1982-1984 Charles Barkley dominated the courts in the SEC. The former 1984 NCAA player of the year was a member of the "Dream Team" that captured the Olympic gold medal in 1992 and 1996. He was also the 1993 NBA league MVP and a member of 11 All-Star teams.

Other famous Auburn hoopsters include current NBA hoopsters Marquis Daniels of the Boston Celtics, Moochie Norris of the Houston Rockets and Wesley Person of the Denver Nuggets.[5]

Former Auburn stars such as Jamison Brewer, Bobby Cattage, Marquis Daniels, Matt Geiger, Adam Harrington, Cedrick Hordges, Eddie Johnson, Darrell Lockhart, John Mengelt,Mike Mitchell, Chris Morris, Moochie Norris, Mamadou Ndiaye, Myles Patrick, Chuck Person, Wesley Person, Stan Pietkiewicz, Chris Porter, Pat Burke and Aaron Swinson have gone on to play professional basketball after leaving The Plains.[6]

[edit]SEC Tournament
Main article: SEC Men's Basketball TournamentThe SEC Men's Basketball Tournament (often simply the SEC Tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records. The winner receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA basketball tournament.

Auburn has won the SEC Tournament only once, in 1985 under coach Sonny Smith.[1]

[edit]NCAA Tournament
Main article: NCAA Men's Division I Basketball ChampionshipAuburn has participated in the NCAA basketball tournament eight times with an overall record of 12-8 (.600).[1]

In 1985, Auburn reached the Southeast Regional at Birmingham Coliseum in Birmingham, losing to North Carolina 62-56.[1]

In 1986, they made the West Regional Semifinals and Finals at The Summit in Houston. They defeated UNLV 70-63, but lost to Louisville, 84-76.[1]

In 1999, Auburn reached the South Regional Semifinals at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, losing to Ohio State, 72-64.[1]

In 2000, they made it 2nd round at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN, losing to Iowa State, 79-60.

In 2003, they made the East Regional Semifinals at Pepsi Arena in Albany, losing to eventual champion Syracuse 79-78.[1]

[edit]NIT Tournament
Auburn has participated in the NIT Tournament six times, with a record of 5-5 (.500).[1] In 2009, they received a number one seed and lost to Baylor in the third round.

[edit]Arena
Main articles: Auburn Arena and Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum

Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, a 10,500-seat multipurpose arena, was home to the Auburn men's and women's basketball teams. The building's exterior is primarily nondescript concrete, but its entry plaza is recognizable for the large "War Eagle" statue which also faces not only the rest of the university, but also nearby Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn boasted an impressive 198-73 record (.731) over the past 20 seasons, and a 285-135 (.679) overall record at Beard-Eaves Coliseum. Only five times in the 34-year history of the Coliseum has Auburn experienced a losing record at home. Auburn's 30-game homecourt winning streak from the 1997-98 season to the final game of the 1999-2000 season is the longest in Coliseum history. It was the nation's second longest current winning streak at the time and the second longest home winning streak in Auburn history.[7]

On June 29, 2007, Auburn announced plans to build a new basketball arena and practice facilities that would eventually be completed for the 2010-11 season. The new arena, officially known as Auburn Arena, offers a state of the art, intimate environment for the Auburn team, with a seating capacity of 9,600. [2]

[edit]Current team
Starters Bench
 * G 11 Josh Wallace (Jr) 5'10 170
 * G 20 Frankie Sullivan (Jr) 6'1 206
 * F 22 Kenny Gabriel (Sr) 6'8 209
 * C 41 Rob Chubb (Jr) 6'10 242
 * F 45 Adrian Forbes (Sr) 6'8 232
 * G 0 Josh Langford (So) 6'7 209
 * G 1 Varez Ward (So) 6'2 208
 * F 2 Allen Payne (So) 6'6 210
 * G 3 Chris Denson (So) 6'2 172
 * G 4 Cedrick McAfee (Fr) 6'3 175
 * F 5 Bernard Morena (Fr) 6'8 190
 * G 15 Tony Neysmith (Sr) 6'5 217
 * G 24 T.J. Rice (So) 5'9 160
 * F 25 Jake Drum (Sr) 6'5 253
 * G 32 Noel Johnson (Jr) 6'6 200
 * G 44 Dylan Spencer (Jr) 6'4 190
 * C 50 Willy Kouassi (Fr) 6'10 219

[8]

[edit]See also

 * Auburn Tigers football

[edit]References

 * 1) ^ a b c d e f g h "Auburn Hoop History". AuburnTigers.com. Retrieved 2007-03-29.
 * 2) ^ a b ashof.org, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, retrieved, April 4, 2007.
 * 3) ^ "Auburn Head Coach Cliff Ellis To Be Inducted Into Mobile Sports Hall Of Fame". Test.com. 2003-04-22. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
 * 4) ^ "Chuck and Wesley Person, Rex Frederick To Have Jerseys Retired". SECSports.com. 2006-01-25. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-10.
 * 5) ^ "Auburn Tradition". AuburnTigers.cstv.com. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
 * 6) ^ "NBA/ABA Players who attended Auburn University". databasebasketball.com. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
 * 7) ^ "Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum ". AuburnTigers.cstv.com. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
 * 8) ^ [8] http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/aub-m-baskbl-mtt.html retrieved Nov. 7,2010