Rednilla

I saw that. Fairly impressive, I would say!

I'm not so sure it doesn't affect the family of players more than the players themselves, but given that Allen's dad is an assistant of Pearl's, they all know the drill. I can think of two examples of players' parents getting involved on the message boards and it backfiring on them, but I'm hopeful that they just avoid it altogether.

I'm actually feeling better about this game than I was even yesterday. But it's gonna be a tough one!

On the SportsCenter that aired right before Basketball College GameDay, Suni Lee's toe touch move (that had never been done in college before) made the top spot in the Top 10. #EverythingSchool

It's going to be tough for the Wildcats to win at Arkansas without their biggest guard threats, and it looks like they may well be without Tyty and Wheeler again. Maybe they'll lose and we'll ALSO knock off the Vols, guaranteeing a regular season SEC championship. Sure would be nice...

What makes you say that? I mean, just a gut feeling, or do you know something we don't?

It's better for us if they are bench guys, sure, because that means we've got quality players coming off the bench, but I maintain my belief that there aren't more than 10-15 4s in the country who are better than Jaylin Williams. He just happens to play with one of them. I would be flat out shocked if he isn't starting next season, regardless of whom Bruce brings in.

I'd say it's pretty clear that Allen's offensive woes are, at this point, psychological. That can be tough to overcome. I was encouraged by the game Wednesday, however. He kinda sorta reminded me of a baseball player who has been in a slump and starts to hit the ball on the nose, just right at people, so he doesn't get the production maybe he should have. If he can have a game where it all comes together for him to get his head right, then we become a DANGEROUS matchup for anyone who plays us, because Jabari has started to assert himself more on the offensive end. Add Allen's shooting potential to the mix and we get that much harder to guard.

Yeah, if he could just find his stroke from beyond the arc, we'd be good, because that's all we need from him on offense, and he's already providing the defense. He has it within him, he's just got to find it in a hurry if he's going to be the player we need him to be.

I do what I can...

Which is why the ball probably should have gone to KD in that situation to let him make the drive. But it's all part of the game, and they defended us well the whole way through.

Arkansas is still pretty close to the TX/Oklahoma area. Auburn is just about as far as one can go from that area and still be in the SEC. Yes, I realize UF, UGA, and USCe are farther, but proportionally not by much.

I wouldn't be surprised if we come out flat again tonight, with the big showdown in Knoxville this weekend. I also wouldn't be surprised if we're hitting on all cylinders, but I find that less likely early on.

I don't know, I go back and forth about who is the MVP this year, at least overall. Walker is most certainly the *defensive* MVP, but Jabari is most certainly the *offensive* MVP, and I think he might be a little better defensively than Kess is offensively. It's really close though. There's a reason we're likely to see our first draft with multiple lottery picks from Auburn, and it ain't cause either one of them has been slacking.

He's a junior this year. I'm unsure if basketball players get a Covid year or not, so if they do, he's got two years eligibility left. If not, then he's only got one more.

No, but hypothetically, Jaylin can play the 4 and Jabari slide down to the 3. Jabari is smooth enough to do it. I think we might be better with Devan starting at this point, but that might frustrate Allen even more... then again, it might snap him out of it and make him start thinking about being a role player instead of being the man. And we're DEFINITELY better with Allen fitting in as the 3 and D guy he needs to focus on being.

Be careful betting your account. We just *might* decide to hold you to it if DC makes a team. Seriously though, you feel that strongly that he can't improve his offensive game enough in two years to even get a real look from a team?

I think he might get at least a cup of coffee with the NBA, but you're right that he's going to have to get a lot better to have a real shot at it.

Are the basketball players not getting a Covid redshirt year like the football players did?

This is a good point. I don't think he would look elsewhere, because he, also, seems to genuinely love playing for Bruce at Auburn, and he's getting minutes, but contrary to what I've seen some others say, I think he can be a legit SEC starter next season, as opposed to being forced to find next year's starting center in the portal.

Nostradamus, is that you?

Yes, you can ask a question. No, I do not know who Auburn Granny is, but if she legitimately exists, that is awesome.

I think there's an outside shot if we get him a significant NIL deal and Bruce sells him on developing his perimeter game, because he does seem to like to shoot the 3 (and he hasn't been all that good at it to this point in his career), and if he were able to develop an outside shot, I would imagine that he jumps from late lottery to top 5, but you're more than likely correct.

If that happens, the whole having big guards thing isn't nearly as impactful. Of course, he's NOT going to get back to last year's Flan unless Zep or Wendell go down for a few games in a row, because he won't be running the point like he did half of last season, but I'm going with the spirit of what you're saying, which is that he's able to find his groove on THIS year's team. With regard to that big guards thing, I admit that I'd still like to see Allen slide to the 2, Jabari to the 3, and put Jaylin at power forward, because I cannot believe that there are more than a dozen or so 4s in college basketball that he isn't better than, he just happens to play with one of them. But again, it would take Allen finding his groove to make that a viable option. Plus, the way Bruce plays, it's really better to have a Jaylin Williams coming off the bench, since we can afford to have him coming off the bench (and he's humble enough to accept that role after starting all last year), because he's not *really* a bench player.

You know, I'm somewhat glad Walker changed his mind at the last minute and went to UNC last year. Because if he comes to Auburn, he plays 25-30 minutes a game, puts up highlight after highlight with Coop, and might well have decided to turn pro. Plus, since UNC wanted him to be the traditional back-to-the-basket big man, he grew in a way he might not have on the Plains, so even if he hadn't gone pro after his freshman season, he still expanded his game differently than he probably would have at Auburn. Also, Jabari is getting closer to figuring out exactly how good he can be. And I'll say it again: if he figures it all the way out, the only team that will beat Auburn come Tournament time is Auburn. We aren't as strong from behind the arch as we've been in the past, but I'm hoping that at least part of that is what the commentators told us tonight that Bruce said about playing so tight defensively but sometimes sloppy on offense... and even as poor as we've shot the 3 ball in conference play, we've got a few guys who can hit clutch shots from deep when we need them to, including one who is 6'10 and able to shoot over perimeter players with ease. Anything can, and usually does, happen come time for the NCAAs, but another thing I've said before that I believe with all my heart: If *ever* there was an Auburn basketball team that could win it all, this is the one. We have every ingredient we need to make a serious title run.