3/10/23 Basketball Articles

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247sports.com

 

Auburn commit Peyton Marshall wins 5A state title

Christian Clemente

2–3 minutes

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While the current Auburn Tigers had a tough Thursday night and fell out of the SEC Tournament with a 76-73 loss to Arkansas, a future Auburn Tiger was busy winning a championship.

Peyton Marshall, Auburn's 2024 center commit, and Kell (Ga.) took down Eagle's Landing Christian Academy 61-53 for the Georgia 5A state title.

Marshall had dominated most of the regular season and postseason run as Kell finished the year 28-2, but Thursday was a little tougher sledding. Marshall found himself in early foul trouble and only played four minutes in the first half. Marshall opened up the second half with a pair of dunks, but again got into foul trouble and had to check out with four fouls. With under four minutes to play, though, Marshall returned and scored five-straight to put Kell up 55-51 with just over two minutes remaining and that was it. He finished the game with nine points and four rebounds.

Listed at 6-foot-11, 310 pounds, Marshall's size has been nearly impossible for other high school teams to contain. It's size that Auburn will welcome in a couple of years, as the junior still has a chance to repeat next year as a senior.

The Peach State native is one of three Auburn commitments in the Class of 2024, which currently ranks as the No. 3 overall class in the country. Marshall has been Auburn's longest commit, pledging to the Tigers back on Dec. 9, 2022.

"The reason I chose Auburn was simple because it felt like the place to be and it felt like I have the best opportunity for me to take my game to the next level and reaching my fullest potential. That's simply why I could see myself there and also the college-feel. It felt like home. The people were nice and welcoming."

Also in Auburn's class are 5-star Composite point guard Tahaad Pettiford and 4-star combo guard Labaron Philon. Marshall is the No. 49 player, No. 6 center and No. 4 player from the state of Georgia for the 2024 class.

">247Sports

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Joseph Goodman: Blood and guts take Auburn to the edge

Published: Mar. 10, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

6–7 minutes

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Auburn went out early in the SEC men’s basketball tournament here in Nashville, but it’s going to be hard to keep Chris Moore off my all-tournament team.

Moore’s DNA is all over this SEC family get-together, and I don’t just mean that figuratively. He bled real blood all over the court against Arkansas, busting his chin open in the first half, and then busting it back open after they stitched his face up and gave him a new jersey.

I’m a sucker for the effort guys. Auburn’s Moore was the effort king on the first full day of the SEC tournament.

Auburn played Arkansas on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena. Great game, but another bitter loss for this almost-good-enough Auburn team.

Auburn was there at the end against Alabama on the big stage last week, and Auburn was there again in the final minutes against Arkansas. So close. The Tigers are right there at the end more often than not thanks to players like Moore. Auburn lost this close one 76-73. Even in a loss, though, Moore turned in an all-everything shift.

RELATED: Bruce Pearl feels ‘so badly’ for Auburn fans

RELATED: Observations from Auburn’s loss

RELATED: Barkley says Brandon Miller got lucky

Maybe that’s the story for Auburn this season. We’ll see. The most important stage remains, the NCAA Tournament, and Auburn feels like a nine seed. On this season, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said, “A lesser-character team would have just quit, and this team hasn’t.”

Seven of Auburn’s 12 losses this season have been by five or fewer points. In the end, maybe all that fight will better prepare the Tigers for the NCAA Tournament. This team has some limitations, though. Against Arkansas, Auburn was out-rebounded 37-19.

“Their athleticism and length bothered us,” Pearl said.

The Auburn-Arkansas matchup was an interesting one for the basketball junkies among us. Auburn was the seven-seed of the tournament, and Arkansas was seeded 10. Auburn (20-12) overachieved this season, and Arkansas (20-12) was the exact opposite. If Auburn has an identity as a team, then it would be toughness. Arkansas’ scouting report would be a collection of highly gifted players who haven’t really figured out how to play well together as a team.

The Hogs are getting there, though. They’ll play two-seed Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Friday.

More talented at key positions, Arkansas pulled ahead of Auburn early at the beginning of the first and second halves. Auburn was down 15 with 14 minutes to go, but the Tigers roared back. It was Moore who teammate Johnson credited with the rally. Moore lit into his buddies on the bench, and then Moore made some breathtaking hustle plays that pushed Auburn to the edge of victory. With blood dripping down his face and all over his jersey, Moore took a charge that helped Auburn make it a one possession game. After the offensive foul by Arkansas’ Anthony Black, Auburn’s Johni Broome cut the Hogs’ lead to 70-67 with 3:32 to go.

The refs kept pausing the game every time Moore would play a few minutes. He was dripping blood all over the parquet.

“He’s a warrior,” said Johnson, who led Auburn with 20 points in 29 minutes off the bench. “Everybody’s not going to get him around the country. It don’t matter if he’s playing or not playing, he’s going to have a way to affect the game.

“He kinda was the main reason we started our energy off. He got on us pretty hard as a team without even the coaches doing it, so he kind of picked us up in a big way. He came up major this game.”

I looked down at the box score before I started writing this column, and was shocked to see that Moore only played nine minutes. It felt like so much more, and I don’t just mean all the blood delays.

Moore is a 6-6 junior forward from West Memphis, Arkansas. The other side of the big river. The tough-as-a-tugboat side apparently. What’s Pearl’s favorite Moore story?

“I think the fact that he bleeds in games more than any player I’ve coached,” Pearl said. “Just blood on the floor, man. He’s just a hard-playing dude. Great kid. Great teammate.

“I’ll tell you what. If you could just get a picture of Chris Moore and say that is Auburn basketball, that represents Auburn basketball, I’d be OK with that.”

Moore says he knows he’s played a good game if he bleeds so much he has to change jerseys. Moore wears No.5 when he starts games, but sometimes he finishes wearing No.41. It’s a neat trick. No.41 is the “blood alternate.” I don’t know if that’s the actual name. I’m just making it up. This is how proper basketball traditions are born. Everyone in The Jungle student section next season at Auburn games should wear No.41s drizzled with blood.

Fake blood, to be clear, but Tiger blood all the same.

“I put that No.41 jersey on, I just make spectacular plays,” Moore said. “It’s crazy.”

No.41 Chris Moore grabbed a steal against Arkansas with under three minutes to play and drew a foul. At that point, Auburn was down 70-68. Moore went to the line and made his first foul shot. He then missed his second, but got his own rebound like he was Teen Wolf or something.

That free throw represented Moore’s only point of the game. That rebound was his only board. That steal was his only rip, too. Greatest triple-single of all-time.

Pearl is one of the best basketball coaches in the country, so it’s not like I can suggest anything he hasn’t already considered. I just have one request, though, going into the NCAA Tournament. Please find No.5 — who is sometimes No.41 — more minutes.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

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Observations from Auburn’s 76-73 SEC Tournament loss against Arkansas

Published: Mar. 09, 2023, 10:33 p.m.

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Allen Flanigan knocked down a mid-range jumper with 41 seconds left to give Auburn a 73-72 lead. Flanigan’s shot gave the Tigers their first lead in the 76-73 loss against Arkansas in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Auburn led under 30 seconds before Nick Smith hit a two-pointer with 16 seconds left to put the Razorbacks ahead 74-73. K.D. Johnson, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half, had a chance to put the Tigers back ahead.

Tigers’ head coach Bruce Pearl felt the sequence that ended with a Wendell Green turnover that led to Johni Broome fouling Davonte Davis, who hit both free throws to give Arkansas a 76-73 lead, was controversial. Green drove to the basket and was met by two Razorbacks.

Read More Auburn Basketball: Rewinding Auburn’s 76-73 SEC Tournament loss against Arkansas

Bruce Pearl feels ‘so badly’ for Auburn fans after SEC tourney loss

Auburn forward Chris Moore leaves SEC tournament versus Arkansas with injury

“We made two really good runs in both halves, including taking the lead late,” Pearl said. “Like the kids said, all we really needed was that stop at the end. I thought we got fouled at the end also.”

Auburn ends its season with a 20-12 record and 10-9 in SEC action. Pearl’s squad will travel back to the Plains on Friday morning. He said the team would practice on Saturday and await Sunday’s decision from the NCAA selection committee.

“We talked to the guys about where we’d be potentially seeded, what it would look like,” Pearl said. “Find out where we’re going Sunday. We talked about we were going to be somewhere between 8, 9, and 10, would be my guess. What the first game would look like, and what could the second game look like against the one and the two.”

Auburn finished the season with a 4-9 record in its final 13 games after starting with a 16-3 record. There’s a lot to process from another tough loss for the Tigers’ here are a few observations.

Comeback crew

Auburn trailed by 15 points with a little over 14 minutes left. They didn’t score their first made basket in the first half until nearly six minutes into the game on a three by Green. Auburn made furious runs in both halves, but the poor shooting was too much to overcome.

“I think they were just beating us on the ball screen, our ball screen defense, just out-rebounding us,” Green said. “They beat us at the beginning of the first half, the beginning of the second half. I think that’s kind of where we lost the game.”

Flanigan scored 13 points in the second half, including the shot that gave the Tigers a one-point advantage. His shot was one that he often works on in practice.

“I used my quick burst to get downhill off the screen by Johni,” Flanigan said. “I was able to explode then hold myself back to let their big go by to get an open look.”

Rebounding woes

Auburn got outrebounded 37-19 in the loss. Arkansas shot 3-11 from three compared to 5-16 by Auburn. However, the advantage of getting 13 offensive rebounds to Auburn’s six led to the Razorbacks outscoring Auburn 18-6 on second-chance points.

Anthony Black had six rebounds and 19 points for Arkansas. His tenacity in crashing the boards was a problem for Auburn.

Black is a terrific player. I think giving him credit for crashing, but our guys didn’t do a good enough job of putting a body on him,” Pearl said. “I don’t recall us getting a foul checking him out. That wasn’t an issue. We should have been more physical keeping him off the boards.”

Emotional rollercoaster

Auburn’s chances to win ended when Green’s three went off the front of the rim. Johnson brought the ball up the court with hopes of getting a quick layup. Arkansas defended the play well, and Pearl called a timeout with less than four seconds left.

Just try to get me downhill, and make a play. Kind of slipped on the end. They just called a timeout, draw up a play, and just didn’t go in. I live with that night and day. He’s still my teammate, you know, so, that’s all good.”

Within 20 seconds, Auburn went from overcoming a 15-point deficit to a crushing defeat.

I feel so badly about our fans, the fact that we’re not going to get to play in front of them again for another couple of days. I feel badly about that. A lot of families are here, and went through a lot of expense to get here. We’re disappointed that we let them down.”

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

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al.com

 

Charles Barkley: Alabama’s Brandon Miller ‘lucky’ he was not charged, should have received ‘time out’

Published: Mar. 09, 2023, 6:30 a.m.

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In mid-January, Charles Barkley declared Alabama the best basketball team in the nation. “And that’s painful for me to say,” the Auburn legend confessed at the time, speaking on “The Next Round” podcast.

Now, though, he wonders.

Now, in the wake of the tragic killing of 23-year-old Jamea Jonea Harris, mother to a five-year-old boy, just days before his remarks. Now, in the wake of the subsequent capital murder charges against a former Tide player, and the cloud that still lingers over the program due to its questionable handling of subsequent events—especially the peripheral involvement of star player Brandon Miller.

He wonders if the Tide team that has struggled of late and slipped from its place atop the national rankings can reclaim the stride he saw in January and make a run at the national title.

“I don’t think they can get it back,” Barkley told AL.com.

Former Tide player Darius Miles, 21, was one of two suspects, along with 20-year-old Michael “Buzz” Davis, charged with capital murder in the January 15 early Sunday morning shooting on the Tuscaloosa strip. Records indicate Davis fired the shots that killed Harris, while Miles supplied the gun.

Davis is said to have acted after Harris, who was with her boyfriend, refused his advances.

Access complete coverage here.

“You wake up one morning and you’re having a good life, then a woman gets killed and you’re probably going to jail for the rest of your life,” the NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst said. “One bad decision and lives are lost.”

During a hearing in February, police testified that Miller brought the gun (owned by Miles) to the scene of the killing after being asked to do so by Miles.

Miller, the Tide’s top scorer, was not charged with a crime. “There’s nothing we could charge him with,” said deputy D.A. Paula Whitley.

In a statement, Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge said: “Brandon never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur.”

Alabama law states someone can be found guilty of being an accessory to a crime only if they assist another “with the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense.”

Tide player Jaden Bradley was also at the scene and was not charged.

What transpired next, though, was a calamity of ill-chosen, unempathetic words and actions that, to many, appeared tone-deaf relative to the tragedy and its impact on Harris’ family and loved ones.

Head coach Nate Oats uttered what he later admitted were “unfortunate” remarks” - that Miller “was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” while failing to acknowledge Harris.

“In no way did I intend to downplay the seriousness of this situation or the tragedy of that night,” Oats later said. “My prayers continue to go out to Jamea Harris’s family.”

RELATED: Johnson: Why is Alabama still playing with blood-stained basketball?

Alabama officials “collectively” decided Miller should play and not sit out any games. In an appearance on ESPN prior to the Tide’s February 22 game on the road against South Carolina, AD Greg Byrne said that Miller and Bradley were not considered suspects and were cooperative with investigators weighed heavy in the decision. After the appearance, the university issued a statement saying Miller would remain an “active member of the team.”

He’s played in every game since the shooting and on Tuesday was named first-team All-America by The Sports News and SEC Player of the Year.

Barkley believes Alabama made the wrong call regarding Miller. “He should have been given a time out to learn decisions have consequences,” he said. “He’s lucky Alabama is behind the times. In forty-nine other states, he probably would have been charged with a crime.”

Despite being taunted by Gamecock fans, Miller scored a career-high 41 points in the Tide’s narrow 78-76 win. He’s subsequently averaged 20 points per game—though Barkley’s senses the weight of the last few weeks in impacting Miller.

“He came out and had a monster game [against South Carolina], but he hasn’t played well since then,” Barkley said. “I think the pressure is getting to him. Everybody’s talking about [the killing] and he’s got to hear it. The pressure’s only going to get worse. a**hole fans will be on him.

Alabama opens its postseason Friday as the No. 1 in the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

“They went from my favorite to,” Barkley said, “I don’t know.”

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