Count me as another Gator who really likes Pearl. While I agree the thing mentioned was shady, it was a long time ago and pressure can make people do things they should not. IMO Pearl is a great coach and also has a sense of humor about himself and others. Quite a contrast to say, Rick Barnes. Or the Sainted Coach K.
I too was at that game. 1985, as I recall. Kerwin's pass to John L Williams set up the winning TD, a 14-10 victory. About 4-5 years ago, I was at a party of a friend who had a friend named Steve Wallace attend, former Auburn OT and Joe Montana's LT at the 49ers. He told me that Alonzo Johnson who went against Wallace head to head in that game, was the hardest player he ever had to block, including the NFL.
The defense pounded Bo everytime he got the ball, he didn’t want anymore. Alonzo was a good cornerstone of that defense.
You can tell how much of chance Gator fans think they have in this upcoming game when there are only two threads on the game and one is talking about 80s football.
Yeah, I've seen close to two games worth of Auburn basketball. I think this is a bad matchup for us. But we also can beat anyone..
Why? I'm not doubting it, but wonder your thoughts. FL has beaten Auburn a few times in recent years when Aub was considered the better team.
I worry about our front court keeping their front court in check. I'm pretty sure theirs will keep ours in check. We can (and will have to) win the back court, but I also still believe we go as WR goes quite often. His match up with that long wing of theirs also worries me.
I have the exact same concerns. Condon tends to struggle against guys bigger than him and Chinyelu can't seem to stay out of foul trouble. Cardwell is actually the guy that worries me the most. Broome will get his but if Cardwell goes off, we are doomed. And yes, Richard keeping up with the 6'-7" Baker-Mazar is a tough ask. The only way I see us pulling off the upset is I think the following has to happen: - Cardwell gets in foul trouble (it's at Auburn, doubt this happens) - Chinyelu stays out of foul trouble (he's always in foul trouble) - We shoot over 45% from 3 (we haven't hit 40% once in a road game) - We hit over 80% from the free throw line (we are second to last in FT percentage in SEC play) Maybe we have a bit of an advantage at the guard position due to experience, but I think their frontcourt is going to get too many easy baskets and there is no way we get a friendly whistle at Auburn, so I don't see this one being particularly close. I might give us a puncher's chance at home, but not much of one on the road. Won't stop me from watching and hoping for a better outcome, though. The only thing that could possibly be in our favor is the media is starting to talk about Auburn as one of the all time greatest teams ever, so maybe that goes to their head, but I doubt Pearl lets it and they will be geeked to take down the Gators.
Good news is, the Gators have one of the best frontcourts Awbrin has faced. We need Condo to finish on the bunnies and get a dozen points and 9 boards. Chins needs 8 and 8, Haugh needs 8 and 8, and Alexis needs 5 and 4. On top of that, all three starting guards need to shoot well and make their free throws. On top of that, we need Awbrin to make a bunch of mistakes.
Bruce Pearl has the fans behind him, the team individuals believe in him and he coaches hard all game making needed changes. I don’t know about recruiting, it has been shady his whole career. The ex Auburn star taking the fall could give clarity on his role and if Bruce knew what when Auburn got caught paying a player $80 Grand, what his involvement was. Teams that buy players like Cam Newton, they circle the wagons on investigations, lsu, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia among some of the worse. Tv commentators don’t speak about it, no one from the NCAA investigates anything outside their office, so cheaters live to soldier on, to UF dismay. As for showboat Johnnie Broome, a I agree with the complete analysis. Auburn is big, tough, good scoring inside and out, we don’t stand a chance, but I will be screaming at the tv!