Bruce Pearl Rotation Management

[BigKari]

Well defined 10 player rotation since the beginning of the year. They’ve played 25 games. Throw out a guess how many games total those 10 players have missed, combined. Average minutes per game span from 14 to 24. Everyone that comes off the bench for them is aggressive. Chad Baker-Mazara plays like he’s mad that two guys on the team outscore him, and not in a bad way. Just to say that he could be a starter and lead the team in scoring and I think he knows it. Lots of love around the country for Rob and Reed coming off the bench, but no one talks about Auburn bringing Baker-Mazara, Cardwell, Holloway, and KD Johnson off the bench. None of them are efficient players at all, but they all play hard and they all have the greenlight, they aren’t confused about their roles.

How do you predict that fares against the chaos that UKs roster management has been this season? At their place? It’s not the talent level I worry about, it’s that Auburn knows who they are. I don’t want to see us get run, but it should not be unreasonable at all to be concerned.

Oh and the answer was zero games missed. Zero.

 

[502 Wildcat]

Auburn is really good. They execute well on both ends of the floor. Pearl has done a great job lately of prioritizing older players that know what to expect before they arrive. And it shows.

We can get hot and beat anybody in a random game, but this is looking to be a total mismatch Saturday. Could get ugly really quickly.

Auburn also has the best home court advantage and atmosphere in the conference. 43-2 at home the past 3 seasons.

 

[ukcatz12]

Auburn also has the best home court advantage and atmosphere in the conference. 43-2 at home the past 3 seasons.

They're up by 30 and the lower bowl is full of students standing and making noise the entire time. We shouldn't be losing as much at home as we are, but man Rupp really does suck when compared to some of the atmospheres we play in on the road.

 

[Bigblueamdyou]

They're up by 30 and the lower bowl is full of students standing and making noise the entire time. We shouldn't be losing as much at home as we are, but man Rupp really does suck when compared to some of the atmospheres we play in on the road.

seats around 10,000 makes a difference

 

[BigKari]

seats around 10,000 makes a difference

The program deserves an on campus 12,000 seat arena, with student sections bearing down on the court. The Rupp experience is just stale. It’s not intimidating anymore at all. Random teams tear it up there, year after year after year. My 3 wishes: New Coach, New Culture, New Arena.

 

[ukcatz12]

seats around 10,000 makes a difference

They also have half the tickets to sell and still give the best seats in the house to students.

 

[RunninRichie]

Pearl has turned into one of the best coaches in the country since around 2018.

 

[NociHTTP]

The program deserves an on campus 12,000 seat arena, with student sections bearing down on the court. The Rupp experience is just stale. It’s not intimidating anymore at all. Random teams tear it up there, year after year after year. My 3 wishes: New Coach, New Culture, New Arena.

It's not intimidating because the coach loves his rockfights. Cal spends all his damn time yelling at referees instead of yelling at his own guys (and keeping them out there after he yells at them). If it was Pearl in place of Cow GUARANTEE you the place would be rocking.

 

[Sejonesy]

They also have half the tickets to sell and still give the best seats in the house to students.

Football school. No one really are cares about basketball. Of course they are giving tickets to students.

 

[Bigblueamdyou]

The program deserves an on campus 12,000 seat arena, with student sections bearing down on the court. The Rupp experience is just stale. It’s not intimidating anymore at all. Random teams tear it up there, year after year after year. My 3 wishes: New Coach, New Culture, New Arena.

you may get 1 of the 3 soon.

 

[RunninRichie]

Football school. No one really are cares about basketball. Of course they are giving tickets to students.

Lol, they care about the team when it's good. Go read auburn forums. 60-100 pages on game threads usually.

 

[Fox2monk]

Well defined 10 player rotation since the beginning of the year. They’ve played 25 games. Throw out a guess how many games total those 10 players have missed, combined. Average minutes per game span from 14 to 24. Everyone that comes off the bench for them is aggressive. Chad Baker-Mazara plays like he’s mad that two guys on the team outscore him, and not in a bad way. Just to say that he could be a starter and lead the team in scoring and I think he knows it. Lots of love around the country for Rob and Reed coming off the bench, but no one talks about Auburn bringing Baker-Mazara, Cardwell, Holloway, and KD Johnson off the bench. None of them are efficient players at all, but they all play hard and they all have the greenlight, they aren’t confused about their roles.

How do you predict that fares against the chaos that UKs roster management has been this season? At their place? It’s not the talent level I worry about, it’s that Auburn knows who they are. I don’t want to see us get run, but it should not be unreasonable at all to be concerned.

Oh and the answer was zero games missed. Zero.

I agree 100% I seen that early in the year. I think even guys like Broome were around 25MPG max, but the lowest guys were still around 12-14. That was a couple weeks ago. He brings waves of guys and he basically has 2 well defined teams. It’s smart and keeps their defense up.

 

[Sejonesy]

Man, the Pearl and Auburn love is nauseating in this thread.

 

[RunninRichie]

Man, the Pearl and Auburn love is nauseating in this thread.

Your profile pic is pretty nauseating too.

 

[Sejonesy]

Your profile pic is pretty nauseating too.

Not as nauseating as Bruce Pearl, that’s for sure.

 

[ukcatz12]

Man, the Pearl and Auburn love is nauseating in this thread.

Objectively Pearl is a great coach (And before anyone says "cheater" spare me. Who the hell really cares about inviting Aaron Craft to a cookout?), Auburn is a great team, and their home environment is currently 100x better than Rupp is.

 

[Sejonesy]

Objectively Pearl is a great coach (And before anyone says "cheater" spare me. Who the hell really cares about inviting Aaron Craft to a cookout?), Auburn is a great team, and their home environment is currently 100x better than Rupp is.

“Great” teams don’t lose to App State and to Florida by nearly 30 points.

 

[RunninRichie]

“Great” teams don’t lose to App State and to Florida by nearly 30 points.

What about teams who lose to teams who lost to App state. And lose by nearly 30 points to south carolina?

 

[JonathanW]

I agree 100% I seen that early in the year. I think even guys like Broome were around 25MPG max, but the lowest guys were still around 12-14. That was a couple weeks ago. He brings waves of guys and he basically has 2 well defined teams. It’s smart and keeps their defense up.

You mean like a platoon. Platoons don't have to be 20/20. I've been saying that for years.

As for the OP insinuating that Cal could control players being injured, and the NCAA trying to hose big Z, that is just stupid.

 

[UKwootwoot]

Objectively Pearl is a great coach (And before anyone says "cheater" spare me. Who the hell really cares about inviting Aaron Craft to a cookout?), Auburn is a great team, and their home environment is currently 100x better than Rupp is.

“Great” teams don’t lose to App State and to Florida by nearly 30 points.

The first part is debatable. The second part isn’t. Pearl has turned their arena into unquestionably one of the top 5 home court advantages. Forget who it was, but one of the ESPN prime time announcers tweeted that it’s now on par with 90’s era Cameron Crazies…. We’re in for a dog fight this weekend

 

[ukcatz12]

“Great” teams don’t lose to App State and to Florida by nearly 30 points.

You can play that game with almost every single team in country this year. Great teams don't lose at 12-11 Stanford by 18 (Arizona), or lose to 8-16 West Virginia (Kansas), or lose to 10-15 Georgia Tech (UNC), or lose to Texas A&M by 16 (Tennessee), or lose to a team that lost to 11-18 Chicago St. (Purdue), or lose by 22 to Michigan St. (Baylor), or lose to Kansas while spending most of the game down by 20 points (Houston), or lose by 15 to Providence (Marquette), or lose by 15 to Seton Hall (UConn).

Or maybe it's just a really weird year and great teams play really bad games once or twice a year.

 

[Fox2monk]

You mean like a platoon. Platoons don't have to be 20/20. I've been saying that for years.

As for the OP insinuating that Cal could control players being injured, and the NCAA trying to hose big Z, that is just stupid.

The platoon was awesome. I don’t know if Pearl is rigid in who plays together, but he sure keeps all of them fresh.

I loved the platoon, the other teams couldn’t score because we were always fresh, had plenty of fouls to give, and could go 100% all night on defense.

Cal could easily platoon this team as long as their were always 2 of the 4 guards on the court and as long as the best guys took the majority of the minutes around 25-28 a game on average.

 

[ukcatz12]

Well huh, I just learned there's a @Fox2monk and a @Monk2Fox on this board.

 

[crashtestdummy]

I've watched Bruce coach for years. Bruce Pearl USI and Ray Harper KWU had some great battles back in the day.
IMO. Bruce can coach circles around Cal.

 

[crawfords corner]

Wasn't there talk about Trevon Brazile being a possible 1st round draft pick this season? It might have even been talk of him being a lottery pick. His season sure hasn't going anything like that. 9 points a game. Missed their last 5 games with a knee injury to the one he tore his ACL of in Dec of 22.


Im kind of surprised the wheels have fallen off for them like it has this season. Hate it for the guy, but suck it Arkansas.

 

[Mike-D]

Man, the Pearl and Auburn love is nauseating in this thread.

So is your constant defense of Cal. Pearl is a good coach, and he's old like Cal, but at least he's still good at his profession.

 

[CatPatrick13]

Pearl has turned into one of the best coaches in the country since around 2018.

Mos def.... was always a very good X and o coach...

 

[TNCatfanforever]

The program deserves an on campus 12,000 seat arena, with student sections bearing down on the court. The Rupp experience is just stale. It’s not intimidating anymore at all. Random teams tear it up there, year after year after year. My 3 wishes: New Coach, New Culture, New Arena.

No new arena, no new coach, and Cal already changed the culture in a bad way….

 

[K_TIME]

Pearl is a top five defensive coach in college and has been for a while. And guys this Is at auburn…not even a top tier sec bball program

His teams defend with athleticism, they play their behinds off. They foul like crazy and refs call only so many of them ( which is good strategy)

offensive end…it isn’t always so pretty A lot of one on one stuff…three point shots at end of clock (and bad shots as well) etc. But they compensate for creating offense from their defense And they crash boards to create possession

I don’t see this Uk team faring well wjth the physicality that auburn brings. Plus we simply don’t play hard (Edwards Dilly Mitchell….dint have high motor to me)

 

[nickhorvathsuxazz]

It's not intimidating because the coach loves his rockfights. Cal spends all his damn time yelling at referees instead of yelling at his own guys (and keeping them out there after he yells at them). If it was Pearl in place of Cow GUARANTEE you the place would be rocking.

Big reason refs hate him...spends more time trying to micromanage the officials than coaching his team

 

[jrm693]

It's not intimidating because the coach loves his rockfights. Cal spends all his damn time yelling at referees instead of yelling at his own guys (and keeping them out there after he yells at them). If it was Pearl in place of Cow GUARANTEE you the place would be rocking.

He shouldn't have to yell at his players during the game, he should coach them in practice so they know their role, I watched Lyon Co play the other night they had a 13 point lead thru 4th quarter then Bowling Green caught up and passed them, their coach(Lyon Co) never got up except to dispute one call, his boys kept doing what they were trained to do and won the game. What has amazed me for the past several seasons is our guys seem to regress as season goes on, they often look like a bunch of grade school boys learning how to play...Cals teams used to get better.

 

[Padsfs07]

Auburn has had zero injuries this year.

They’ve played 25 games and have had 10 players play in all 25.

 

[Eight_Banners]

Mos def.... was always a very good X and o coach...

Pearl has turned into one of the best coaches in the country since around 2018.

What about 2020-2021?

Auburn went 13-14, 7-11 in the SEC

What about 2022-2023?

Auburn went 21-13, lost in the 2nd round as a 9-seed?


Yeah, he "outcoached" Cal in both of those seasons, but not by much. I actually like Pearl, and if he were fifteen years younger, I'd love for him to be considered as UK's coach in the event Cal retired. We wouldn't be getting much, if any, of an upgrade though.

 

[RunninRichie]

What about 2020-2021?

Auburn went 13-14, 7-11 in the SEC

What about 2022-2023?

Auburn went 21-13, lost in the 2nd round as a 9-seed?


Yeah, he "outcoached" Cal in both of those seasons, but not by much. I actually like Pearl, and if he were fifteen years younger, I'd love for him to be considered as UK's coach in the event Cal retired. We wouldn't be getting much, if any, of an upgrade though.

He's at auburn.

 

[ACTSEAN]

They're up by 30 and the lower bowl is full of students standing and making noise the entire time. We shouldn't be losing as much at home as we are, but man Rupp really does suck when compared to some of the atmospheres we play in on the road.

I have been there, it is insane how loud it gets

 

[JFCats22]

Objectively Pearl is a great coach (And before anyone says "cheater" spare me. Who the hell really cares about inviting Aaron Craft to a cookout?), Auburn is a great team, and their home environment is currently 100x better than Rupp is.

Nobody that has been to only one Final Four and one Elite Eight in 20+ years of coaching is a “great coach”.

 

[Eight_Banners]

He's at auburn.

Yeah, but if the argument he is one of the best coaches since 2018, that's a seven-year window. In that seven-year window he's had a losing season, and an 11-loss season, so who are we comparing him to?

Here are his seasons:
2018: 26-8 - Lost in 2nd round
2019: 30-10 - Final Four
2020: 25-6 - Finished 2nd to Kentucky in SEC, no tournament
2021: 13-14 - tenth in the SEC
2022: 28-6 - lost in the 2nd round (he did win Reg. Seas. SEC)
2023: 21-13 - lost in the 2nd round


His SEC finishes have been, from 2018: 1, 4, 2, 10, 1, 7

For comparison's sake:

Cal: 4, 2, 1, 8, 2, 3
Oats: 9, 1, 5, 1, currently 1st
Barnes: 1, 2, 8, 4, 2, 4,
Williams: 6, 13, 5, 2,
Musselman: 10, 2, 4, 9


Arguing Pearl is one of the best in the SEC would be fair. It looks like Barnes and Oats are the league standard at this point. Cal and Pearl are second. Buzz Williams is actually doing a pretty good job at A & M. Musselman, the gem of this board a couple years ago, is showing he was a flash in the pan.

 

[CatPatrick13]

What about 2020-2021?

Auburn went 13-14, 7-11 in the SEC

What about 2022-2023?

Auburn went 21-13, lost in the 2nd round as a 9-seed?


Yeah, he "outcoached" Cal in both of those seasons, but not by much. I actually like Pearl, and if he were fifteen years younger, I'd love for him to be considered as UK's coach in the event Cal retired. We wouldn't be getting much, if any, of an upgrade though.

I said he was a good floor coach... if you disagree thats cool....

 

[CatsFanIL]

Well defined 10 player rotation since the beginning of the year. They’ve played 25 games. Throw out a guess how many games total those 10 players have missed, combined. Average minutes per game span from 14 to 24. Everyone that comes off the bench for them is aggressive. Chad Baker-Mazara plays like he’s mad that two guys on the team outscore him, and not in a bad way. Just to say that he could be a starter and lead the team in scoring and I think he knows it. Lots of love around the country for Rob and Reed coming off the bench, but no one talks about Auburn bringing Baker-Mazara, Cardwell, Holloway, and KD Johnson off the bench. None of them are efficient players at all, but they all play hard and they all have the greenlight, they aren’t confused about their roles.

How do you predict that fares against the chaos that UKs roster management has been this season? At their place? It’s not the talent level I worry about, it’s that Auburn knows who they are. I don’t want to see us get run, but it should not be unreasonable at all to be concerned.

Oh and the answer was zero games missed. Zero.

I get your point. BUT...
Auburn lost to Florida by 15 points. RuppRafters would've imploded.
Mississippi St beat Auburn. RuppRafters would've imploded.
APPALAICHIN STATE beat Auburn. Can you even imagine RuppRafters?
And you're telling me Auburn lost those games with a completely healthy roster?!?!?

Now, back to your point. Pearl's teams always play HARD. Honestly, I don't diss the man at all. I respect how hard his teams play, how confident they play, and the size of the chip on their shoulder that they play with. Here's what worries me, other than the rowdy environment: when Kentucky and Tennessee got in that little scuffle during the game, the Tennessee players LOVED it. They RELISHED that moment. The Kentucky players started to back off, started to separate and walk away. Auburn players have the mindset of the Tenn players, if not even more chippy...

 

[RunninRichie]

Yeah, but if the argument he is one of the best coaches since 2018, that's a seven-year window. In that seven-year window he's had a losing season, and an 11-loss season, so who are we comparing him to?

Here are his seasons:
2018: 26-8 - Lost in 2nd round
2019: 30-10 - Final Four
2020: 25-6 - Finished 2nd to Kentucky in SEC, no tournament
2021: 13-14 - tenth in the SEC
2022: 28-6 - lost in the 2nd round (he did win Reg. Seas. SEC)
2023: 21-13 - lost in the 2nd round


His SEC finishes have been, from 2018: 1, 4, 2, 10, 1, 7

For comparison's sake:

Cal: 4, 2, 1, 8, 2, 3
Oats: 9, 1, 5, 1, currently 1st
Barnes: 1, 2, 8, 4, 2, 4,
Williams: 6, 13, 5, 2,
Musselman: 10, 2, 4, 9


Arguing Pearl is one of the best in the SEC would be fair. It looks like Barnes and Oats are the league standard at this point. Cal and Pearl are second. Buzz Williams is actually doing a pretty good job at A & M. Musselman, the gem of this board a couple years ago, is showing he was a flash in the pan.

My argument was he was one of the best coaches in the SEC and nationally. Dude is doing crazy things at Auburn. Again, compare his records to Auburn's historcial achievements. A 2nd round exit is trash for UK. But not for a lowly program like AU. Auburn before him was a flash in the pan with Charles Barkley. That was auburn basketball.