aubiefifty

al.com 3-star center Dylan Cardwell commits to Auburn By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 4-5 minutes Oak Hill Academy's Dylan Cardwell #20 is seen before a game against IMG Academy during a high school basketball game at the Hoophall Classic, Sunday, January 20, 2019, in Springfield, MA. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)AP The most highly touted recruiting class in Auburn basketball history just got another boost. Three-star center Dylan Cardwell committed to the Tigers on Thursday afternoon, he announced on Instagram, choosing Bruce Pearl’s program over Georgia, Tennessee, Miami, Maryland and UConn, among others. Cardwell is rated as the No. 150 overall player in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, and the 31st-rated center in the nation. Cardwell becomes the fifth member of the Tigers’ 2020 class, which includes three players who have already signed their letter of intent -- five-star point guard Sharife Cooper, three-star forward Chris Moore and three-star shooting guard Justin Powell -- as well as another committed player who has yet to officially sign in four-star power forward JT Thor. The addition of Cardwell bumped Auburn’s class up a spot to eighth in the 247Sports team rankings, placing the Tigers just behind Arizona’s seventh-ranked class. Pearl’s program remains fifth among SEC teams in the national class rankings, behind top-ranked Kentucky, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 LSU and No. 6 Arkansas. The Tigers’ landing of Cardwell comes after the team missed out on a pair of top-10 five-star prospects last month, as combo guard Jalen Green signed with the NBA G League and big man Greg Brown committed to Texas. Cardwell had been on Auburn’s radar for some time, though he never took an official visit to campus and only received an official offer this week. Still, the versatile 6-foot-10 center had two critical ties to the program, as he is the nephew of Auburn football defensive line coach Rodney Garner and his wife Kim (and was at Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Kick Six in the 2013 Iron Bowl), and he was also teammates with Cooper -- the highest-rated signee in Auburn history -- last season at McEachern High in Powder Springs, Ga. Though Cardwell and Cooper were teammates last season, Cardwell did not appear in any games for McEachern after being ruled ineligible due to state transfer rules following his transfer from Oak Hill Academy, the basketball factory in Virginia where he spent his junior season. The two still saw time together on the court in practice, as well as on the Nike EYBL circuit with Athletes of Tomorrow last summer. At the 2019 Peach Jam, Cardwell averaged 5.2 points, seven rebounds and 2.5 blocks in six games while playing alongside Cooper and current Auburn wing Devan Cambridge. Auburn, which loses five seniors as well as one-and-done star Isaac Okoro (who is expected to keep his name in the NBA Draft), still has one available scholarship to fill out its roster for the 2020-21 season. The addition of the 6-foot-10, 220-pound Cardwell, however, fills a key need for the Tigers following the departure of big men Austin Wiley and Anfernee McLemore, as the team is set to return only one true big man in rising-sophomore Babatunde “Stretch” Akingbola. The 6-foot-10 Akingbola appeared in just 13 games last season and played just 30 total minutes but is expected to be thrust into a larger role next season, while the addition of Cardwell provides Auburn with another lengthy option for the frontcourt rotation. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

what. just to shoot things just to kill them and nothing else? yes

no as long as they are harvesting what they kill.

i made a thread in political smack talk if you are interested. i am interested more in your viewpoints than just arguing. anyway good to see you back. i have not seen you in a while.

i made a thread in the political smack talk if you are interested.

not really. it broke up the band. but i was a kid and learning. hell i never had too many serious dates until i found out a whole lot of women loved singers............but yes it was a huge mistake, one that i never looked back on in sadness.

enlighten me dag. i have friends that will not sit down in my house because they are afraid of getting dog hair on their clothes.........

you need to ask a hunter that question cole.

i have tried to forgive vick but i saw too many pictures and i just do not have it in me yet. maybe one day. he he opened as retreat for ogs or something would go along way with me. and did he not say when he was busted that they were just dogs?

you know he was kicked out of molly at that time. they had a huge concert at the orange bowl with bob seger and tons of other big name guys at the time. he was drinking takillya and they claimed he got so bombed he could not sing. he slurred his words { the obnes he could remember }and was stumbling around. later they found out after he went to the doctor he was diabetic and that was what happened. but he was super nice and very charismatic. and he was a big ol boy too. i think he played some football. and at that time he was recording his own cd with his one hit hurry sundown. those were fun times..........peace and blessings to ya 72.....

i met danny jo brown who was the singer of molly hatchet in thomasvill ga which was his hometown. the bar was partners too. he sat in the audience right in front of the satge while i sang two hatchets tunes. i was still learning to be a decent singer back then but he was so gracious and nice.he gave me a few pointers and then he got up after break and and sang some skynyrd with us. he loved takillya and i remember he kept asking what the lyrics were. and i think he boinked the female singer we had who was also my gf at the time. we had it on tape and the gf took them. i do till have hi auto tho.

i adopted three rescues. one was abused to the point i cannot pick her up and she refuses to walk in the bathroom. other than that she is mostly ok and she is spoiled rotten. i had four but one died and i cried like a baby. i buried her close to my sidewalk so i could pass by her everyday. i know this is off topic but we found something in common.

as an aside dag i believe you work in the medical field? stay safe...............

as a fat boy i hate their tight fitting jerseys. i could have bought one with jersey number 24 which was my dads auburn number but i would look like a bird. big ol body and skinny legs............lol

did he use a lot of mfers in person?

i had the first pair of all black keds high tops but they hurt my feet or my right foot doe to some joint pain below my big toe. i was so sad because i was in a weekend band and wore a lot of black. i had to give them away...........

but what if it was true and we could have twice that number? to be honest i have not purchased a pair of nike's in fifteen or twenty years. but i believe the kids thing is right. i mean we always seem to have yearly articles on people getting robbed and murdered for their nike's. i have never heard that about any other sneakers. and i am not taking up for nike but if they gave us an edge in basketball i would take it. but i also admit i do not know the politics behind the nike brand either other than sweatshop stuff which i believe they all do except maybe new balance.NB used to claim they were american made if my memory is correct.

just that pic of you wearing that dress mr japster.....lol

Kobe Hudson officially becomes an Auburn Tiger Wednesday Today 8:26 AM 3-4 minutes After a year and eight months of commitment, Kobe Hudson will finally become an Auburn Tiger on Wednesday. Hudson, a four-star receiver from Troup County High School in Georgia, committed to Auburn in April 2018. Even after he made his decision, Auburn continued its recruiting efforts with him, which allowed him to develop a relationship with head coach Gus Malzahn. The relationship was very important to Hudson, and it helped solidify his commitment to Auburn. “It’s been a long process, just staying together as a family since my ninth grade year, my tenth grade year to when they be recruiting me in these final years,” Hudson said. “So I’m just happy it’s here.” Hudson is the No. 10 recruit out of Georgia and the No. 18 wide receiver in the country. He received offers from 21 other schools, but stayed committed to Auburn. Immediately after Hudson signs Wednesday morning on Signing Day, he will move to Auburn to start participating in bowl practices. He will be able to participate in three bowl practices, and then he will head to the All-American game. He will return to Auburn January 5. Hudson doesn’t know who his roommate will be yet, although he’s heard it might be five-star running back Tank Bigsby. By getting involved early, Hudson hopes to develop more of those relationships that he talked about with both the coaches and players. He was told Auburn wants to get the ball in his hands a lot, and he’s preparing to be able to make an impact on the team quickly. Hudson had to wait until after the season to really focus in on his receiver work. He spent the season at quarterback for Troup County. Although it didn’t give him much practice with route running and ball skills, his time in the pocket gave him another perspective of the game that will be helpful to him as a college receiver. “It helps me a lot to know what coverage the defense is in, like, seeing those zones,” Hudson said. Hudson finished his high school career with 1,424 receiving yards and 5,030 passing yards. He also had 2,401 rushing yards. This past year, while Hudson played quarterback for his high school, he also watched as Auburn’s quarterback developed. Bo Nix’s improvement is an exciting prospect for him. “I'm really looking forward to next year because at the end of the season, Bo started to build the thing,” Hudson said. “He just started getting comfortable, so I know next year when he come in, he'll be able to go.” Hudson took his official visit to Auburn on December 14 and chatted with Nix as he prepared to leave. Hudson was told during the visit that the coaches will try to have Nix throwing to him often. He’s preparing to play every receiver position. “They say they’re just going to try to get the ball in my hands as much as they can,” Hudson said.

the legend is back! thanx for sharing the love with your auburn brothers and sisters..........

How Bruce Pearl landed Auburn’s 1st top-10 recruiting class Updated Nov 20, 2019;Posted Nov 20, 2019 8-9 minutes Auburn Basketball Bruce Pearl remembers the first time he encountered Sharife Cooper, though he can’t quite remember where. It was either at McEachern High in Powder Springs, Ga., or at some tournament the diminutive point guard was participating in. This was back before Cooper was deemed a five-star prospect and regarded as one of the top players in the 2020 class, and before he evolved into the player he is today. “He was itty bitty, but he was slippery,” Pearl said. “And I looked at him right away and said, ‘There’s the next Jared Harper.’” Fast forward four years, and Cooper was among three early signees — along with shooting guard Justin Powell and power forward Chris Moore — Auburn officially announced this week, as Pearl constructed the first top-10 recruiting class in program history. With room for two more potential signees, likely a pair of frontcourt players, how did Pearl manage to accomplish something no other Auburn coach had done before him as he continues to revitalize the long-dormant program? It would be easy to point to Auburn’s recent on-court success, with the Tigers winning an SEC title in each of the last two years and coming fresh off their first Final Four appearance in program history. Pearl conceded that those things help, but being able to put together a class of this caliber goes deeper than that. Landing this top-10 class was years in the making for Pearl and his coaching staff. “The common denominator with this group — and I think with our success over the last couple of years in recruiting — has been that we got there early,” Pearl said. “It became real fashionable to recruit Sharife Cooper two years ago. But it wasn’t four years ago when he was very undersized.” Indeed, Auburn was in on Cooper well before the five-star point guard became the nation’s No. 19 overall prospect and the No. 2 point guard in the class, and before he sprouted into a 6-foot, 160-pounder who is the reigning USA Today National Player of the Year. Although Pearl has been recruiting Cooper for years, it was assistants Ira Bowman and Steven Pearl who were the lead recruiters for the blue-chip guard who has a chance to become Auburn’s first McDonald’s All-American under Pearl and just the third in program history. The Tigers were the first program to offer Cooper a scholarship back in August 2016. According to 247Sports’ timeline on Cooper, he didn’t receive another offer until FSU extended one in April 2017. Cooper was a longtime Auburn lean, and he finally pulled the trigger with a commitment on Sept. 27 before signing his letter of intent overnight Saturday to officially become the highest-rated signee in program history. “I remember the family just being very appreciative of the fact that I saw it, too,” Pearl said, referring to Cooper’s potential. “You know, there was no talking me into it. And they stayed really loyal.” That was a theme throughout this signing class and was certainly the case with Powell, a three-star shooting guard out of North Oldham High in Goshen, Ky. Powell is rated as the No. 153 player in the nation and the country’s 36th-best shooting guard — as well as the No. 2 player in his state — according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Like Cooper, Auburn was one of the first to make inroads with Powell, who first received an offer from Xavier in August 2017 before Pearl extended one less than a month later. Pearl first discovered Powell in a small gym in South Carolina, back when the two-guard was a relative unknown freshman. “Justin Powell talks about the fact that I chased him and (five-star UNC signee) Walker Kessler around a bunch of remote gyms when they were freshmen and sophomores, and we were one of the very first to offer Justin, and he appreciated that,” Pearl said. “He and his family remembered that.” Powell committed to Auburn in June, becoming the first commit of the 2020 class for Pearl. The 6-foot-5 deadeye shooter chose the Tigers over the likes of Tennessee, Xavier and Vanderbilt, among others, and Pearl credited his son, Steven Pearl, with getting the job done as Powell’s primary recruiter throughout the process. Moore was the most recent edition to Auburn’s class, committing on Saturday afternoon before signing shortly thereafter, but he’s another player whom Pearl and his staff recruited for several years. According to Pearl, Auburn was Moore’s first official visit a couple years ago, and his family “fell in love” with the college and town, using it “sort of as that barometer” to compare all other visits to. Assistant coach Wes Flanigan was most vital to landing Moore, a 6-foot-7, 220-pund power forward out of West Memphis, Ark., who chose the Tigers over Memphis and his home-stat program Arkansas. Flanigan, a former head coach at Arkansas-Little Rock, had a longstanding relationship with Moore and his family, and he was the primary recruiter for the underrated power forward who Pearl described as a “matchup nightmare” — and who many believe will end up rated higher than a three-star when the dust settles on the 2020 cycle. “Wes Flanigan recruited Chris Moore since — I don’t know,” Pearl said. What Pearl does know, however, is that the relationships he and his staff established several years ago ultimately paid off, as the Tigers were able to land what should be the most highly regarded recruiting class in program history — at least in the 247Sports era, which dates back to 1999 — even if the class isn’t finished just yet, with two spots remaining for potential frontcourt players. “While everybody wants to look at the Final Four or the league championships the last couple years and say that’s the reason, well, it really isn’t,” Pearl said. “It’s just good ol’ fashioned hard work, getting in early, grinding and doing your job. That’s what I want to give my assistant coaches credit for. Does it help the fact that we’ve had more success the last couple years with the actual signing of the documents? Yes, it probably does; it probably finishes the job. And for that, I’m grateful to everybody — all our former players and staff and fanbase for helping us, but we’ve had top-25 programs five out of the last six years…. They’ve all probably been between 20 and 25. “It’s just the area that we kind of hunt. We feel like we can get players in the top-100, 125 players in the country, and then every now and then pick off a Sharife Cooper, pick off a Mustapha Heron, pick off an Austin Wiley.” So far, that has worked out well for Pearl, who has built a quality program on the Plains in his six seasons and is responsible for signing five of the six highest-rated prospects in program history: Cooper, former five-star Mustapha Heron, current guard/forward Isaac Okoro, Wiley and former star and first-round NBA Draft pick Chuma Okeke. “It talks a little bit about the journey, but I’m just telling you, Auburn is easy to recruit to,” Pearl said. “And we recruit to Auburn. We recruit to Auburn family, we recruit to community, the excellence in the university. You know we’re a nursing school? We’re an engineering school. We’re a business school. We’re a vet school. We’re a football school. We’re an equestrian school. We’re a baseball school. We’re a golf school. And we’re a decent men’s basketball school. “And the proof is just in the pudding. We’ve just got to do a good job of identifying them early.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

give me a shout. i used to collect mantle stuff until it got too pricey so now i am interested in auburn stuff. whats your favorite auburn piece?

coach ray if you continue with your wonderful articles i will treat you to a mata's greek pizza. over the years they have been voted best pizza in alabama. we can meet or i could send you a gift card so you keep your privacy. your insights are some of the best i have ever read. you make it easy to understand and they entertain the hell out of me. you are one of my favorite things on here. if you leave the bad guys win.i hope in a few days and things return to normal you come back to us. picture aufam as the little boy at the end of the movie begging shane to stay. see? you laughed or wondered what i am smoking. come back and let the idiots eat fish heads......

the debbie downers are so bad on here they actually got a write up on al.com. some have hoped gus would die so he would be gone. some hoped we would get busted by the ncaa to get gone. one cat even threw mrs gus under the bus as well. if you hang around long enough you will find out..........

momma trust me when i say there are goobers on here that will smear anyone to make gus look bad. most of the folks on here know you are a class act and raised worm to be the same. you and worm are much loved and respected by those on here with those who have no agenda. let em eat fish heads and drown in their own hate. they do not rep the mostly great people on here.