What do we know about Auburn? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

What do we know about Auburn?

This should also be a report card on the scouting of the strengths, weaknesses and match ups of quality opponents in a madness preview.
It really is amazing to know you are getting closer to where you want to be, and all the hard work along the journey during the "you better get us now" years is pretty much over.
The quality teams are here this week, and the togetherness and trust this team has in each other as a whole might be our best factor of winning.
 
Auburn was chartered on February 1, 1856, as East Alabama Male College,[12] a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1872, under the Morrill Act, it became the state's first land-grant university and was renamed as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama.[13] In 1892, it became the first four-year coeducational school in Alabama, and in 1899 was renamed Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) to reflect its changing mission. In 1960, its name was changed to Auburn University to acknowledge the varied academic programs and larger curriculum of a major university.
 
Watching Auburn outa boredom. They aren't good.

They don't run an offense, it's just pick and role or isolation. Occasionally the penetration leads to a kick out, but the results of that were obviously mixed. Jabari Smith is very aggressive, takes bad shots, but he's talented. KD Johnson is their best perimeter scorer. They scored 6 points in the first 10 minutes, against USF.

Not blown away by their defense either. Smith and Cambridge are the only impressive athletes, Kessler moves well for a 7 footer, but he seems raw. Many open jumpers due to bad help and overly aggressive closeouts.

I think this game will say a lot about our team, because a great team would beat the breaks off the team I just watched. The pre season rankings were wrong about them, but we could prove they're right about us.
 
I also watched most of the USF game. Btw Mike O'Donnell the color guy was terrific. Knew both teams cold for a random non-conf game on ESPN+, the players and also the coaching tendencies. Paid attention to the lineups, the flow of the game, knew when to be critical, but also impressed.

Auburn went on a 15-0 run middle of the 2nd half, keyed mostly by their defense letting them get out into transition and semi-transition. That was the difference in the game. South Florida obviously isn't great (they've got one guy on offense), but we're going to need to execute on offense so we don't get bogged down by their D.

Team Fingerprint
High pressure D from their guards. They try to force turnovers and block shots to get out into transition (sound familiar?) They shade PnR screens and funnel into the middle help, where both Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler are competent getting switched onto smaller guys generally without fouling. They'll switch guards onto bigs at times, which we should punish if they do. The guards will then front, so we may have open lobs or dump-off. The Jasper/Kessler PnR defense is very good. They stay home on shooters, so they don't give up a lot of open 3's.

They press on and off, and they use different ones, and also ran a couple different zones including a 1-3-1, so it's a lot to prepare for. They played better D when not pressing against USF. They rotate their guys, play 10 deep, with a high bench min% nationally.

When not in transition, on offense they're pretty good at kicking out for 3's on closeout drives. Have to stay with shooters. They're not generally great shooters, but they do have 9 guys who have attempted 3's on the year. If their wings make 3's, they're hard to beat, but if they don't.... They run a lot of mediocre pick and roll, but Pearl can adjust. They attacked some weaknesses of USF's coverage in the 2nd half.

Scouting Report
Starters:
PG - Wendell Green - 5'11" - Transfer from Eastern Kentucky. Hasn't been distributing that well. Struggling with shot after being solid last year. Grabs and gos on defensive boards and is the key that gets them going with pace. Will get up and under guards on D.
2G - Zep Jasper - 6'1" - Senior glue guy. Passes a little, shoots a little. Keys their pressure defense. Lock-down smaller perimeter defender.
SF - Devan Cambridge - 6'6"- Has started last 2 games. Shoots a lot but has been off. Does almost nothing else on offense except catch lobs. Decent switchable wing on D.
PF - Jabari Smith - Top 10 recruit. 6'10", incredible athlete. Can shoot from 3. Cleans the glass. Blocks shots and disrupts offense. Can switch onto guards and contain them. When he has the ball have to keep him in front of you and make him shoot pull ups or attack his handle, but he's been red hot from 3. Had a couple real nice outlet passes. Color guy compared him to slightly smaller Evan Mobley and I see it.
C - Walker Kessler - 7'1" - Big body, can protect the rim and board. Somewhat invisible on offense (they need to find him more when he's got position). Will occasionally stretch floor but hasn't made any yet. Moves his feet pretty well on D, moves like he played volleyball growing up. He's going to be a problem for our offense, but hopefully won't be an issue getting our guys in foul trouble on the other end.

Rotation:
KD Johnson - Stocky guard. Offensive punch now off the bench. Has made a couple 3s in each game this year. Menace on D and draws a bunch of fouls on O. Will get downhill and finish strong (but not sure he can dunk).
Jaylin Williams - Bench big wing, but they play him at center in some smaller, switchable lineups. He can attack closeouts and pass a bit. Score in a few different ways. Nice bench piece.
Chris Moore - Didn't play much against USF. He's the 4th wing in the rotation. Good size, can draw fouls.
Dylan Cardwell - Bench big. Doesn't get a ton of minutes, but might against us. Wider than I remembered him to be. Can hit the offensive boards and block shots.

Reserves:
Lior Berman - High energy. Scrappy. You get it. Never shoots, but keeps the ball moving.

Injured:
Allen Flanigan

Interesting Stats
  • 10th least opponent assists per field goal. Don't give up a lot of 3's and PnR switches encourages hero ball.
  • 13th least non-steal turnovers committed rate, 153rd steal turnover rate. They don't throw the ball out of bounds, charge, or travel, but do cough up steals.
  • 1st best opponent FT%. They either have gotten extremely lucky or only foul opponent bigs by design.
  • 8th best block rate. Smith and Kessler are really big and long.
  • 17/37 - 46%. The 3pt% of KD Johnson, Jabari Smith, and Zep Jasper.
  • 6/46 - 14%. The 3pt% of everyone else on their roster.
 
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Weaknesses to exploit:
  • We're going to have a big height advantage at the 2. Even Gaffney will have a couple inches. Playing Martin there could be good to allow us to crash the glass. Could even post him up. Hawkins will be able to shoot over his man.
  • Our D should force them into plenty of tough, contested late shot clock 3's. Have to then get out in transition.
  • We might be able to matchup Kessler off the court by playing all wings and Akok to stretch the floor.
  • We might be able to get into a track meet and just out-athlete them. Their wings are average athletes and ours are exceptional.
  • Their bigs have rebounded well defensively, but they haven't played the brawn of Whaley/Sanogo. It'll be interesting if we can push them around on the glass or not.
Strengths to avoid:
  • They can guard 1v1 in the post, so we're not going to have a lot of kickout 3's. Will be a real test for Sanogo against either Kessler or Smith. A lot of length and good timing.
  • I don't love this matchup for Cole. Tough, quick guards and long bigs in the paint.
  • Guards can't play sloppy with the ball.
 
Last edited:
Hey Adrien! said:
What I've learned this year: Walker Kessler isn't having as big of an impact that I expected (4.3p, 5.7r).

Their lineups include:
  • Two small guards none of which played at Auburn last year
    • KD Johnson 6'0 204, Georgia transfer (15 ppg)
    • Wendell Green 5'11 175, EKU transfer (11.3 ppg)
    • Zep Jasper 6'1 185, Charleston transfer (6.7 ppg)
  • A good sized wing who averages around 6 ppg
    • Devan Cambridge 6'6 215
    • Chris Moore 6'6 240
  • Two bigs
    • Walker Kessler, 7'1 245 (plays about half of the game at the 5)
    • Jabari Smith, 6'10 220 (plays about half of the game at the 4 and about 8 minutes a game at the 5).
    • Jaylin Williams 6'8 230 (plays about half the game at the 4)
    • Dylan Cardwell 6'11 250 (backup 5)
Jabari Smith as had an insane start to the season: 13.3p, 8.7r, 1.7a, 2.3s, 1.3b, 2.3 3PM (46.7%) about 1/2 of his shots from 3. Should be a top-five pick next draft.

Based on the fact that Allan Flanagan is out (14.3 ppg last year) and five of their nine rotation players are new, were are playing a Auburn team that will probably be better come March.
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Is this the same Dylan Cardwell? 19 Page official visit thread and he was never here.
 
Kolumbo said:
Auburn was chartered on February 1, 1856, as East Alabama Male College,[12] a private liberal arts school affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In 1872, under the Morrill Act, it became the state's first land-grant university and was renamed as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama.[13] In 1892, it became the first four-year coeducational school in Alabama, and in 1899 was renamed Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) to reflect its changing mission. In 1960, its name was changed to Auburn University to acknowledge the varied academic programs and larger curriculum of a major university.
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I was at the Auburn campus to see the UConn bball game there a few years ago. Cool, cold, dreary day. If someone dropped you out of a helicopter in the middle of campus it would not have looked out of place from UConn's campus. Rolling hills, hardwood trees, dormant grass, etc
 
Add one thing to the report. Whatever some people think of him, Bruce Pearl is a heck of a in game basketball coach. Hurley will have to show he can coach a game at that level. (Hurley has already proved his ability to recruit and prepare teams for the season as far as I’m concerned. In game coaching we still have to see.)
 
businesslawyer said:
Add one thing to the report. Whatever some people think of him, Bruce Pearl is a heck of a in game basketball coach. Hurley will have to show he can coach a game at that level. (Hurley has already proved his ability to recruit and prepare teams for the season as far as I’m concerned. In game coaching we still have to see.)
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Two words: Luke Murray
 
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TheChamps990411 said:
Nobody gets up for USF. EVERYBODY gets up for Uconn. I expect a good game but we pull away late unless we go cold from the field all game.
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They've played like that all year. They're agressive. But with our experience and overall better talent, I want to see us win comfortably. By about 10-12. I'll take any win. But I hope we show that there is a gap
 
Well, even us casual fans have noticed the lack of running a weave at the top of the key for the first half of a possession. Lots more screening along the baseline to help Sanogo get free from a double and shooters open on the baseline or wing. Not as many 3's from the top of the key.
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
I mean you just have no idea at all what kind of impact Murray has in game, but besides that good post.
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Where is that weave?
Going Out Wave GIF by Graduation
 
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AntG168 said:
Except you can see the progression in play calling since he's been here
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I would say it is more just an increase in talent over time and guys having defined roles that they understand. I would love for Murray to be an Xs and Os wiz, but to draw that conclusion after those four games seems very premature to say the least.
 
How the refs call the game will strongly influence the outcome. Can we keep our Bigs on the floor ?? Will they be allowed to "play"?

We'll be fine with our D/Boards -esp. secondary rebounders like TM/AJ.

Time for this team to have tougher challenges with better comp. Expecting no less than 2 W's on this trip.. Hawk continues to show why he deserves PT
 
auror said:
Interesting Stats
  • 10th least opponent assists per field goal. Don't give up a lot of 3's and PnR switches encourages hero ball.
Expand ...
auror said:
  • I don't love this matchup for Cole. Tough, quick guards and long bigs in the paint.
Expand ...

So more burn for Hawkins ?
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
I would say it is more just an increase in talent over time and guys having defined roles that they understand. I would love for Murray to be an Xs and Os wiz, but to draw that conclusion after those four games seems very premature to say the least.
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It doesn't have to be based on this 4 game sample, he has a long assistant coaching history and came here with the reputation of being a good in game coach who could help Hurley with our offense.
 
navery12 said:
It doesn't have to be based on this 4 game sample, he has a long assistant coaching history and came here with the reputation of being a good in game coach who could help Hurley with our offense.
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Would love for that to be true. But I thought his reputation was all based on recruiting.

Him being this offensive guru is something I believe the Yard has fabricated?
 
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Giddyup5 said:
Would love for that to be true. But I thought his reputation was all based on recruiting.

Him being this offensive guru is something I believe the Yard has fabricated?
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I thought it was talked about in one of the articles after he was hired but I could just be thinking of conversations here I guess
 
Giddyup5 said:
Would love for that to be true. But I thought his reputation was all based on recruiting.

Him being this offensive guru is something I believe the Yard has fabricated?
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Dan Hurley has been quoted as saying that in addition to his strong recruiting capabilities--Murray's X and O knowledge is excellent and a reason why he was excited to get him on board at UConn.. Went on to say --for these reasons and others-- He considers him an attractive HC candidate sometime in the future.

Let's see how the O performs against tougher opponents and better athletes.
 
Hungryhusky99 said:
I would say it is more just an increase in talent over time and guys having defined roles that they understand. I would love for Murray to be an Xs and Os wiz, but to draw that conclusion after those four games seems very premature to say the least.
Expand ...

Some people just don’t want to even consider this. But, Luke is very good. That’s why Dan has hired him three times.
 
To mitigate Auburn's big, use the big to big double team with Akok fronting and Whaley or Sanogo behind. Use Akok's length to make the pass in to post more difficult and strength of other two to keep them stationary.
 
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