Bruce Pearl to auburn

[chef dixon]

Not really sure how good a fit this is. You have to at least be excited as an Auburn fan because it couldn't be much worse. Wouldn't be surprised if its a lot like Frank Martin at South Carolina. So far he's not looking great and to say that South Carolina will be good next year is a huge stretch.

[Dawg61]

Well shit!! I wanted Pearl. He'll end up getting in trouble again though. In 10 years after like multiple elite 8s and having Auburn on the bubble or better in every single season after his first one. He made a lifetime enemy with some dude in the NCAA back when Pearl was at Iowa as an assistant and turned in Illinois on violations. Boys we have allowed Scott Stricklin and Mark Keenum to turn our basketball program into Poor Ol Little Miss State. Y'all can quit with the Malik Newman shit too. He ain't coming here. Auburn might get him now. They ain't afraid to spend money like Poor Ol Little Miss State is.

[shannondawg]

There is not much difference in the middle of the SEC and the bottom. We will be just fine

Just not in basketball..

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

why?

Because our team will not be as good as most teams in the league.

[Dawg61]

Not really sure how good a fit this is. You have to at least be excited as an Auburn fan because it couldn't be much worse. Wouldn't be surprised if its a lot like Frank Martin at South Carolina. So far he's not looking great and to say that South Carolina will be good next year is a huge stretch.

Frank Martin ain't no Bruce Pearl. That psycho did still beat Kentucky and get two wins in the SEC tournament though.

[Coach34]

OK, so Pearl's show clause is still in effect. He can't have interaction with recruits until this August!?! He can evaluate but have no contact with them at all. That may put a little damper on the recruiting for him year 1.

His assistants can recruit

[Raytoraid83]

Not really sure how good a fit this is. You have to at least be excited as an Auburn fan because it couldn't be much worse. Wouldn't be surprised if its a lot like Frank Martin at South Carolina. So far he's not looking great and to say that South Carolina will be good next year is a huge stretch.

At least they have something to gain some positive momentum on. A top recruit and a signature win over Kentucky. What does Rick Ray have that should make us excited for next year? Finally having a full roster his third year on the job? Travis Daniels? Beating a 7 scholarship Vandy team in the SEC tournament to end a 13 game losing streak?

[Dawg61]

At least they have something to gain some positive momentum on. A top recruit and a signature win over Kentucky. What does Rick Ray have that should make us excited for next year? Finally having a full roster his third year on the job? Travis Daniels? Beating a 7 scholarship Vandy team in the SEC tournament to end a 13 game losing streak?

No way Ray will have a full roster starting his third season. No way.

[NCDawg]

And we ended up with a no name with a more attractive job. I wish we had hired Joe Dean Jr when we had the chance after the Ninja left. Instead, we ended up with Loafers. Oh well...

We ended up with Loafers because he had the inside track with Dr. Keenum because of his father-in-law.

[dawgs]

OK, so Pearl's show clause is still in effect. He can't have interaction with recruits until this August!?! He can evaluate but have no contact with them at all. That may put a little damper on the recruiting for him year 1.

[maroonmania]

shit. One of the shittiest in the SEC gets a winner

Well we know Auburn has NO trouble with NOT doing things the right way so I am not surprised at all they hired him. Our milk toast admin wouldn't have touched him with a 10 foot pole.

[C222]

At least they have something to gain some positive momentum on. A top recruit and a signature win over Kentucky. What does Rick Ray have that should make us excited for next year? Finally having a full roster his third year on the job? Travis Daniels? Beating a 7 scholarship Vandy team in the SEC tournament to end a 13 game losing streak?

He sure as hell doesn't have support from most of you and never did have it.

[Raytoraid83]

Well we know Auburn has NO trouble with NOT doing things the right way so I am not surprised at all they hired him. Our milk toast admin wouldn't have touched him with a 10 foot pole.

If Stricklin told Pearl he could have the job but we won't be getting involved in the AAU program he would've laughed in his face.

[Raytoraid83]

He sure as hell doesn't have support from most of you and never did have it.

Haha ok. I went to almost every home SEC game this year. Sorry I try to be realistic when looking at the situation we are in.

[dawgs]

He sure as hell doesn't have support from most of you and never did have it.

i posted many times last year that ray got as much out of that roster as we could have expected. i honestly don't think coach K would have won more than 1 or 2 more games last season. however when 2 of our 3 signees don't clear and we are desperate for players, that's a huge red flag. then we come out with an embarassingly bad non-conference schedule and arguably got worse, even though the overall record improved. i'm looking at the incoming recruits, and i'm not seeing anything to get excited over. just because i don't put on blinders doesn't mean i don't support him. i hope i'm wrong.

[MadDawg]

He sure as hell doesn't have support from most of you and never did have it.

It won't be hard for Ray to win the support of the majority of the fans. It's all on him. He just has to show the fans something to be optomistic about. I thought he was on his way when we beat ole miss and started 3-2 in the league. But he couldn't capitalize on his good start.

No different than what I said toward the end of Stansbury's tenure. He was losing the fans (even though he never lost their support) and it was all on him. He was the only one that could change the direction he and the program were going. And in the end, he didn't do enough.

It's Ray's turn now. Can he do it? I don't know, but I sure as hell hope so. You think this has been a difficult 2-year stretch for MSU basketball? If Ray doesn't work out, it might turn into 5, 6 maybe even 7 years or more of abysmal basketball.

[Dawg61]

He sure as hell doesn't have support from most of you and never did have it.

We ain't putting our heads in the sand and letting Stricklin & Keenum turn back the clock on MSU to 1984. This shit is ridiculous.

[DawgInMemphis]

His Show-clause was in effect throughout the hiring process.

His show cause doesn't end until some time this fall. He won't be able to recruit until then.

[RougeDawg]

Ok for you Ray apologists and haters. There's one reason this hire isn't good for us. You have a University who's willing to and blatantly play the game in the face of the NCAA hiring a coach who is also willing to play the game. This does not bode well for our prospects of beating them anytime soon, unless Ray can find at least a couple diamonds in the rough.

[TrueMaroon]

He's got to win big in years 1 and 2 -- or he's a dumpster fire hire too according to many here. Just like Frank Martin has knocked it out the park... Oh -- wait**

Time will tell just how good Pearl is. It ain't nearly as easy to win at Auburn in hoops as it is to win on Rocky Top.

The point is that SC and Auburn, who were well behind Mississippi State in pecking order of the SEC two years ago, were able to go and hire Pearl with an Elite 8, two Sweet 16's, and a SEC Championship, and Frank Martin, who has been to an Elite 8 and brought Kansas State out of the ashes in the shadows of Kansas-a top 3 program.

They are great coaches with LEGITIMATE resumes. Trying to compare Rick Ray's resume to Martin's and Pearl's resumes is like comparing two Neurosurgeons to a freaking Nurse's assistant.

Auburn and SC lured SUCCESSFUL coaches to their programs. What did we do? We hired a nobody.