How Bright Is The Future?

[wesfau2]

How'd she become queen anyway?  I didn't vote for her.

The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering silmite
held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine
providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your
king!

[jmar]

The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering silmite
held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine
providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your
king!

That clears everything up for me.
War Damn Arthur!

[Buzz Killington]

The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering silmite
held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine
providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your
king!

Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony

[jmar]

Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony

There goes that goddamned Buzz again, always showing off. 
You need to stop!

[Buzz Killington]

There goes that goddamned Buzz again, always showing off.
You need to stop!

Help!  Help!  I'm being repressed!

[jmar]

Help!  Help!  I'm being repressed!

Now, now it's only an inquisition. 
You need only speak the truth.

[wesfau2]

Help!  Help!  I'm being repressed!

Now we see the violence inherent in the system!!!

[Godfather]

Now we see the violence inherent in the system!!!

I don’t think some watery tart throwing out swords is any basis of government 

[jmar]

This year, we lose Horace Spencer, Bryce Brown and Malik Dunbar to graduation.  Oh yeah, and Cole Blackstock.  I fully expect Jared Harper and Chuma Let's Have a Kiki to test the waters.  The great, or maybe the sensible thing about the NCAA in round hoops is they can do just that.  Test the waters and see what their value is, then come back if it doesn't look like a big payday is in the near future.

Harper has the talent, no doubt.  Obviously, it's size that matters.  Certainly, a 6 footer can make it in the NBA but there's only a handful that stick around and have any real impact.  Okeke may be a different story.  He has the size, skillz and has definitely shown he can knock it down from long range.  The very selfish part of me hopes he's told he's not ready.  Needs more work on his game.  I have a feeling that won't be the case.

However, what if everyone returns?  This will be a junior/senior dominated team with all the experience you could ever want.  And after this Friday and consecutive dates with blue-bloods, Kansas and UNC, that experience level will only skyrocket.  Who knows after Friday? Losing Bryce will hurt.  He's that pure shooter that can almost take over a game and forces defenses to respect the perimeter.  I think he'll have a place in the NBA, possibly in that 6th man role.

We have 5 recruits signed, 3 of which are 4-star guys.  #17 ranked class in the nation.  Pretty solid.  Some size ranging from 6'5" to 6'8", but isn't that Pearl's M.O.?  Allen Flanigan may be the steal of the class.  If most of these guys return and they're able to work all these freshmen into the mix, this bunch looks to be on solid ground for quite a while.

We return McLemore, Spencer and Purifoy. Truly think Wiley isn't ready and Okeke hangs with the program while mending. 
We likely return Doughty, Dunbar and McCormick in the backcourt.

That's quite a nucleus of returning veterans even if Harper moves on.
And if for some reason Jared chooses to stay, he can often slide over to the 2 guard as he did in the tournament while J'Von took the point.

[GH2001]

We return McLemore, Spencer and Purifoy. Truly think Wiley isn't ready and Okeke hangs with the program while mending.
We likely return Doughty, Dunbar and McCormick in the backcourt.

That's quite a nucleus of returning veterans even if Harper moves on.
And if for some reason Jared chooses to stay, he can often slide over to the 2 guard as he did in the tournament while J'Von took the point.

we lose spencer

[Kaos]

we lose spencer

why?

[War Eagle!!!]

we lose spencer

And Dunbar.

Jmar...you replied directly to a post with all the seniors.

I think Okeke stays because he got hurt. Hopefully he will be healthy for a late season run next year.

Harper leaving hurts, but mcCormick played really well down the stretch. As did Samir.

It will be tough. Final Fours are hard to get to. As we have seen the last two years, it is about playing well at the right time. The middle of the year this year, people were down on the team. And then everything clicked and they truly looked unbeatable. SHould have won a natty. Last year, they looked unbeatable early but faded late and made an early exit out of SEC and big show. Team chemistry has as much to do with how far you go as talent does, and Pearl understands that.

[Snaggletiger]

And Dunbar.

Jmar...you replied directly to a post with all the seniors.

I think Okeke stays because he got hurt. Hopefully he will be healthy for a late season run next year.

Harper leaving hurts, but mcCormick played really well down the stretch. As did Samir.

It will be tough. Final Fours are hard to get to. As we have seen the last two years, it is about playing well at the right time. The middle of the year this year, people were down on the team. And then everything clicked and they truly looked unbeatable. SHould have won a natty. Last year, they looked unbeatable early but faded late and made an early exit out of SEC and big show. Team chemistry has as much to do with how far you go as talent does, and Pearl understands that.

Hammer, meet nail.  If the tourney were played in the middle of the season, Tennessee might have run away with it.  Have no clue what clicked for Auburn late in the year.  Maybe they all said, "Fuck it, let's just ball and see what happens." and that's all it took. (And believe me, I know about balling) 

[Godfather]

And Dunbar.

Jmar...you replied directly to a post with all the seniors.

I think Okeke stays because he got hurt. Hopefully he will be healthy for a late season run next year.

Harper leaving hurts, but mcCormick played really well down the stretch. As did Samir.

It will be tough. Final Fours are hard to get to. As we have seen the last two years, it is about playing well at the right time. The middle of the year this year, people were down on the team. And then everything clicked and they truly looked unbeatable. SHould have won a natty. Last year, they looked unbeatable early but faded late and made an early exit out of SEC and big show. Team chemistry has as much to do with how far you go as talent does, and Pearl understands that.

We also were deep.  That's what hurt us last year, we were just plum tired.  This year our bench scored way more than most opposing teams benches.  
Will we make it to Final Four next year, probably not, but Pearl has this team headed in the right direction.  To think where we were 4 years ago.  

I think we lose Okeke but Wiley and Purifoy stay.  I think you will see the Purifoy of old return next year and we have some new studs coming in as well.

4 star ranked #37 player in US,  Isaac Okoro is a man-beast.  4* Tyrell Jones, 4* Jaylin Williams and 3* Babatunde Akingbola

[Godfather]

We also were deep.  That's what hurt us last year, we were just plum tired.  This year our bench scored way more than most opposing teams benches. 
Will we make it to Final Four next year, probably not, but Pearl has this team headed in the right direction.  To think where we were 4 years ago. 

I think we lose Okeke but Wiley and Purifoy stay.  I think you will see the Purifoy of old return next year and we have some new studs coming in as well.

4 star ranked #37 player in US,  Isaac Okoro is a man-beast.  4* Tyrell Jones, 4* Jaylin Williams and 3* Babatunde Akingbola

I also believe that getting to the Final Four this year will also help us tremendously with recruiting and get to the point where we are reloading not recruiting.

[Snaggletiger]

[jmar]

Yeah I missed Dunbar. He might have been our steadiest overall from the bench with his versatility.

Hope GF is right about Purifoy. When he started at Auburn he was one of the few bright spots we had to look forward to. Maybe sitting out so long, coming back heavy, alternating at power forward and playing second fiddle to Chuma dulled his spirits. We had shot makers and he would have to be refitted if he stuck around. 

[CCTAU]

Yeah I missed Dunbar. He might have been our steadiest overall from the bench with his versatility.

Hope GF is right about Purifoy. When he started at Auburn he was one of the few bright spots we had to look forward to. Maybe sitting out so long, coming back heavy, alternating at power forward and playing second fiddle to Chuma dulled his spirits. We had shot makers and he would have to be refitted if he stuck around.

I'll say this about Purifoy in the UVA game. (i have been one of his biggest critics) Had they let him go one on one with his man and take it to the basket each time, he would have had a great game. He is pretty agile for a big man. But he struggled to find a team role this season. 1-on-1, he is still talented. Hopefully he will get that confidence back next season and drive to the basket more. Once Chuma started driving hard, his game blew up.