Auburn basketball has already sent a message just three games into the season. Auburn’s recent 88-66 win over No. 25 Washington was one of the biggest margins of victory against a ranked opponent in program history.
“It’s like the Fourth of July. What a college basketball environment” — that’s what Washington coach Mike Hopkins had said about the atmosphere of Auburn Arena last Friday night. A friend of mine in attendance said that when Austin Wiley checked in for the first time for Anfernee McLemore that the standing ovation he received was so loud that he was sure the floor was shaking.
It’s no secret that Auburn basketball is good. Ranked No. 9 in the AP Top 25, this is a team that is a force to be reckoned with. With the bulk of their starting five returning, the Tigers are eager to see both Wiley and Danjel Purifoy return this season after serving year-long suspensions. We are not here to talk about those suspensions or the NCAA investigations. We are not here to point fingers or admonish.
We’re here because we need to talk about our endearment to this program.
If you have ever been looked down upon, treated unfairly, or told that you were “not good enough” then you can relate to this basketball team. Before the start of the 2017-2018 season, Auburn basketball was projected to finish last in the SEC. When Wiley and Purifoy were suspended, the team was left for dead by sports analysts, coaches and media.
Death was not an option. The team played with chips on its shoulders and accomplished Herculean tasks by taking down teams that dwarfed them in size. Jared Harper (5-foot-11) routinely found himself in David vs. Goliath situations by battling players like first round NBA draft pick Collin Sexton.
When the team lost McLemore for the remainder of the season to a gruesome leg injury, their issue with depth became even more of a glaring problem, but the team pressed forward. Despite all of the adversity the team faced, it finished 26-8 overall, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and clinched a tie for the SEC regular-season championship.
Auburn accomplished all of this, and after all of this, they still were not considered “good enough.”
When SEC accolades were given, no Auburn man made it to the first-team All-SEC list, Bruce Pearl was not the Coach of the Year and no Auburn man was named Player of the Year. As our players were scorned, the feeling of anger and sadness struck a chord with the entire fan base and the chips on our players’ shoulders only grew larger.
“Unfinished business” is a motto that frequents the mouths of players nowadays. The ground shaking, “Fourth of July” college basketball environment that is the Auburn Arena are the staggering voices of thousands telling doubters to recognize that this team will no longer be disrespected and the foundation that these men play for is strong and supportive.
We love them because they represent Auburn, but most of all we love them because we can identify with them. We will forever be The Jungle that screams “WAR EAGLE!”