Cothron & Kemp Ruled Ineligable - Sullivan & Armstrong w/ Season Ending Injuries

[AUChizad]

 

Auburn's Tony Barbee adjusts strategy after key losses; tells students they are 'on my team'
Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 9:53 PM

Evan Woodbery

AUBURN -- Signees Luke Cothron and Shawn Kemp Jr. failed to qualify academically and will not play at Auburn this year, men's basketball coach Tony Barbee said Thursday.

"I look forward to them at some point joining the Auburn program, but it's not going to be this season," Barbee said.

Cothron, a native of Huntsville, averaged more than 30 points a game for a Flora MacDonald Academy in Red Springs, N.C., and was considered one of the highest rated players in Auburn's class.

The loss of Kemp and Cothron, combined with potential season-ending injuries to projected starters Frankie Sullivan and Ty Armstrong, has made Barbee's first-year rebuilding task even more daunting.

But he exuded energy while hosting a pep rally -- dubbed a "Barbee-Q" -- for roughly 800 students in the new Auburn Arena.

"You are on my team," he told the students, many lured by the promise of free food and a tour of the new arena. "Who creates the atmosphere? Does the 80-year-old season ticket holder in the top row? No, you do. Look at your seats. Think about this place if you don't come."

Student tickets wrap around three-fourths of the floor seating, and Barbee told students that all seats would be free this year after he fought "the administration" to stop charging for tickets.

Barbee also introduced a popular local disc jockey, DJ Holleywood, and promised he would be at every home game.

Why?

"We want it to be an event, not just a game," he said.

He met with 40 student leaders before speaking to the larger group and said they shared ideas to increase student participation.

"Everybody strives to be like the Cameron Crazies (at Duke), but you've got to have a starting point, and this is a starting point," he said.

The Tigers were facing a long year even before the loss of Sullivan, Armstrong and the two signees. And Barbee acknowledged that he's had to adjust his vision for Year 1.

"Everybody asks about style of play and how we're going to do things, and that changes due to personnel," he said. "I've got an idea in my mind of how I want my team to look and how I want them to play. That's not going to change. But how we're going to get there, that's going to have to change after losing Frankie and Ty."

[Snaggletiger]

WTF????  Can this program catch even a tiny break? 

[djsimp]

I just felt someone kick me in the nuts.

[The Prowler]

Good news....Varez Ward (Texas guard that'll be transferring close to home) should be added to the roster soon.  Ward started in the first three games last year, but got injured and sat the rest of the season.  (Texas' only signee still on the roster from '08, 3*).

He's from Montgomery, Ala.  He transfered to North Carolina in for his Senior season.  He de-committed from Cincinnati right before signing day and considered offers from Kansas State, Arkansas, Marquette, Florida State, Auburn and UTEP (Coach Barbee) before choosing the Longhorns.  If everything goes according to planned, he'll be able to step right in and start right off the bat.