Lebo lobby says: One more year!

[Kaos]

One game into the SEC slate, the Lebo lobby is already out with excuse pad in hand.  The standard refrain is that he was handed a raw deal when he took over, he's just now getting the players into place and maybe if Auburn doesn't make a major step like the NCAA NEXT year then maybe it will be time to reconsider the position. 

I can't believe it.  I swear, why does this guy get a fucking pass?  Two years. Two years MAX. If you start a basketball program from scratch with a pair of squirrels at the guard slots, the janitor at center, a one-armed Chinese window washer at one forward and the daughter of the female golf coach at the other forward you should STILL recruit enough and have the program on the rails within two years.  Period.

Why the delay?  THIS year.  No more damn excuses. THIS year.  Or out. Gone.

Seriously, are we going to have to wade through this same kind of crap with Chiz -- another spectacular Jacobs hire -- for five years?

[Saniflush]

Get it done this year or get the fuck out.  I say we go get Roy Williams.

[AUChizad]

I agree. I was a "Next Year" guy last year. And it's next year. I'm being consistent.

[Thrilla]

Does anyone's opinions change if they make the wannabe pseudo-tourney, also known as the NIT?

[Kaos]

Does anyone's opinions change if they make the wannabe pseudo-tourney, also known as the NIT?

Yeah.  I put down the torch and just use the pitchfork. 

[Thrilla]

Yeah.  I put down the torch and just use the pitchfork. 

The Devil's Advocate says: it's still a tourney, which is a major improvement over previous seasons.  An entry to that tourney helps recruiting, confidence, etc.  It provides a springboard into the following season, and possibly a berth into the NCAA tourney of 2010.

[Kaos]

The Devil's Advocate says: it's still a tourney, which is a major improvement over previous seasons.  An entry to that tourney helps recruiting, confidence, etc.  It provides a springboard into the following season, and possibly a berth into the NCAA tourney of 2010.

That's like the nerd saying that if he whacks off to a picture of Jessica Alba that counts as fucking her. 

Sorry. No.  NIT in any of the last three seasons maybe.  Too late for that pedestrian bullshit.

[Tarheel]

Get it done this year or get the fuck out.  I say we go get Roy Williams.

FIRST YOU WANT BUTCH DAVIS NOW YOU WANT ROY WILLIAMS!  DAMN YOU, MAN!

If Coach Williams looses another one the crowd in Chapel Hill might run him out of town anyway and demand Dean Smith come out of retirement! 

There's a lot of folk on the ledge in CH.  I sense a lynch mob gathering on Franklin Street.

[Thrilla]

That's like the nerd saying that if he whacks off to a picture of Jessica Alba that counts as fucking her. 

As long as you close your eyes, it DOES count as fucking her.

Sorry. No.  NIT in any of the last three seasons maybe.  Too late for that pedestrian bullshit.

I think that as long as Coach Lebo shows he CAN improve a team by taking them to the NIT, then he should be given the chance to improve on that improvement (if you will) by trying to go to the NCAA tourney the following year.  However, if he fails to make a tourney the year after the NIT, then his ass is outta there quicker than the fat kid in a dodgeball game.  In fact, if he makes the NIT again, he's still outta there, since there's no improvement shown.  At Auburn, I've learned to celebrate all positive improvements over prior performances, no matter how small they may be.

[Snaggletiger]

I'm in the NCAA or bust camp.  It's his program, his recruits, his philosophy etc.  You barely have to be over .500 to make the NIT and no one really cares about watching an extra game between Auburn and the Sienna Saints.

[Tarheel]

...
Why the delay?  THIS year.  No more damn excuses. THIS year.  Or out. Gone.

Seriously, are we going to have to wade through this same kind of crap with Chiz -- another spectacular Jacobs hire -- for five years?

I do agree with you Kaos with the caveat to be careful what you ask for.

[Kaos]

At Auburn, I've learned to celebrate all positive improvements over prior performances, no matter how small they may be.

NEVER!  That's how we end up with a Jacobs and a fucking Chiz. 

We can't be complacent and accept mediocrity.  We have to fucking DEMAND excellence.  Whoever isn't on the shiny excellent bus can get their ass run over.  Run OVER I tell ya.

[Tarheel]

NEVER!  That's how we end up with a Jacobs and a fucking Chiz. 

We can't be complacent and accept mediocrity.  We have to fucking DEMAND excellence.  Whoever isn't on the shiny excellent bus can get their ass run over.  Run OVER I tell ya.

I like that attitude!

[Thrilla]

I like that attitude!

Yeah, it sounds great, and we can DEMAND excellence all we want, but reality has always had another plan for Auburn basketball.  Just because one celebrates a positive improvement doesn't mean that person enjoys mediocrity!  The program has always taken baby steps to achieve greatness.

I submit Cliff Ellis's tenure as an example.  In his first four years as head coach, they make it to the NIT 3 of those 4 years.

Then, in the 98/99 season, they all click as a unit, and make it to the Sweet 16.  The next year, they make it to the big dance again, but only to the second round.

Follow that up with 1 more NIT appearance in the next two years, followed by another Sweet 16 appearance in 2003, followed by Ellis' Epic Collapse in his last year at Auburn.


Lebo's due, no doubt, and I'm tired of the excuses, but reality has to play a factor here with this basketball program.  If he makes the NIT, they are on the right track.  I won't watch it (even if they are playing the Sienna Saints), but it's a positive move in the right direction.