IN THE CROSSHAIRS

BP Built It & Auburn Comes & Roars

Ken Cross

February 10, 2020 at 11:22 am.

“If you build it, they will come.”

It’s a renowned quote by Kevin Costner who played Iowa corn farmer Ray Kinsella in the 1989 movie, “Field of Dreams.”

It’s also Biblical. Several times God gave those instructions. He directed Noah to build the ark and the animals would come.

It screams of magnetism.

It defines how to do a job that attracts masses whether it refers to baseball players, animals or coach Bruce Pearl’s fashioning of a national power which has brought the denizens into Auburn Arena. There is a love affair in Auburn, Ala. with Pearl and his basketball program that may be unparalleled across the basketball universe or maybe the sports universe.

Saturday’s 91-90 overtime win over No. 18 LSU by the No. 11 Tigers continued to cement the program and the 10-year old arena in the annals of college basketball.

Point guard J’Von McCormick hit a runner in the lane as time ran out and the raucousness of the arena seemed like it was going to literally blow the speakers out of my HD-TV.

“It’s one of the better comebacks of my career because of what was at stake and just how much we were down late to such a good team in a championship-type of game,” said Pearl. “I can’t think of many bigger.”

Auburn was down by eight with under two minutes to play before McCormick caught fire with three triples before Samir Doughty’s layup tied the game at 74-74 and forced overtime.

Doughty and freshman Devan Cambridge strung together three triples in a two-minute span to pace Auburn to an 83-76 lead.

LSU and Skylar Mays’ toughness wouldn’t be outdone. Mays made four free throws and scored on a layup before a turnover in the backcourt allowed LSU to regain the lead on an Emmitt Williams dunk.

This led to McCormick’s game-winner as The Jungle spoke and it spoke loudly.

The win knotted Auburn with LSU and Kentucky in a tie for first in the SEC, but the Tigers have wins over both teams which gives them the tiebreaker for postseason consideration at this point. Both of those wins were signature in “The Jungle” which is an appropriate monicker for Auburn Arena.

Doughty, the senior guard, plays with an emotion and electricity that mirrors Pearl and this arena. When he and backcourt mate McCormick start to percolate, The Jungle speaks and the fervor heightens.

The previous Saturday morning, Pearl and his squad put an exclamation point beside the “build it and they will come” mantra when Auburn Arena hosted ESPN’s College Game Day. The Tigers proceeded to out-tough and out-physical Kentucky, 75-66, before a national TV audience.

In covering tons of college basketball games over the past 25-years, I have not seen a basketball arena where the fans do a better job of bringing the fire of their talented coach. Pearl, who in his sixth season on the Plains, has done some unimaginable things for Auburn fans who remember the years between the Cliff Ellis era and Pearl’s era. It was a tough time for Tigers’ hoops as the talent on the floor most seasons would have had a tough time winning a mid-major conference.

It was fitting that the Tigers defeated Kentucky after College Game Day descended upon Auburn.

“It was a great day at Auburn Arena,” said Pearl. “It took Kentucky and a competitive Auburn basketball program to bring college game day to Auburn Arena. We’re grateful.”

Pearl has taken the Tigers to new heights in the past two years, as Auburn has an SEC regular season championship, its first SEC Tournament title since 1985, and the Tigers’ first ever Final Four appearance.

Now, the fans have made Auburn Arena every bit as big of a happening place as football in Jordan-Hare Stadium which sits across the street on the beautiful campus.

The idea that Auburn was chosen when there are so few dates for college basketball’s noted pre-game emphasizes the enormity of Pearl’s building job. In fact, the Tigers have now become one of the most visible programs in college basketball.

“They probably have eight or nine College Game Days all year long and to think that Auburn would be a destination for College Game Day is something that we have certainly worked for,” Pearl explained. “It takes Kentucky and the SEC and two really good teams that are trying to become very good teams.”

The win over the Wildcats, as well as the double overtime win at Ole Miss and the overtime victory over Arkansas, have shown the improvement of this team in just two weeks.

Alabama ended Auburn’s 15-game winning streak to start the season and then Florida defensively took the Tigers out of the game early in mid-January and they could never revive themselves in the 69-47 loss in Gainesville.

Fast forward two weeks and the Tigers trailed the Rebels by 19 early in the second half. Auburn then dug, clawed and scratched to an 83-82 win.

You want more overtime?

In Fayetteville, the “Cardiac Tigers,” as assistant coach Mike Burgomaster tweeted, trailed Arkansas 63-52 with 7:39 to play. It was more McCormick as he led Auburn with 10 of its 17 points in the clutch.

This brought the Tigers into a 69-69 tie with the tough Razorbacks. The hard-charging Tigers got to the rim and nailed eight of nine free throws in overtime to pull out a 79-76 win.

The two wins this past week were reminiscent of the previous Saturday as every time Kentucky challenged, the Tigers had the answer.

Kentucky stretched its lead to as many as six twice in the second half. Trailing 32-26 with 2:43 to play before intermission, the Tigers started to get to the line and cash in.

When Danjel Purifoy nailed a triple with 17 seconds remaining, the Tigers took a 34-32 lead and even though Tyrese Maxey hit a three to end the half, Auburn had used that last part of the half to get comfortably settled, so that they could battle Kentucky and eventually pull away in the second half.

The Jungle spoke with a fervor as it once again became an imposing force on the Wildcats.

Then, in the clutch with the game on the line, the last three triples by the Tigers were evidence of an Auburn team growing up once again in the face of competition. All of those baskets came inside of seven minutes and either drew the Tigers even or gave them the lead.

With that The Jungle roared and it roared loudly.

Isaac Okoro netted two and Danjel Purifoy had one of his three treys. Okoro’s triple on the right wing gave the Tigers a 68-62 lead with 2:36 to play. It followed Purifoy’s offering some 23 second earlier that gave the Tigers a 62-60 lead and they would not trail again.

Pearl had commented that the Tigers needed to take a step in going from “good to very good” and the win over Kentucky made that statement.

They only shot 35.1 percent from the floor, but their dogged mentality in getting to the rim saw them make 33 of 44 free throw attempts and have an edge on the boards that saw them out-rebound Kentucky, 42-28. A huge key was 17 Tigers points off of 17 offensive rebounds.

“The point that I have been making is because the schedule hasn’t presented yet, Kentucky is the best team we have played (to Feb.1) and I thought we stepped up and responded,” Pearl said. “We took a step from good to very good and now the question is can we build on it.”

GOLDEN VOICE: Pearl was very proud of his daughter Jacqui who did a beautiful job in singing the national anthem before the Kentucky game. He noted that she had only one voice lesson and had done the national anthem for his games since she was 11-years old when he was at Southern Indiana.

Once she finished, she gave the coach and his son and assistant coach Steven hugs while dishing out high-fives for the Tigers. This provided a nice touch and was a stellar part of the day’s activities.

Her singing lesson was an hour long with a young lady from Indiana,” Pearl said. “She was a great singer and for 50 minutes she talked to my daughter about how she should hold a microphone, how she should walk onto the court, how she should stand, what it means to sing the anthem, what it’s all about. It wasn’t a performance. It was an honor to honor our country and deliver our national anthem and she nailed it and I am very proud of her.”

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: The win over Kentucky was my first game in Auburn Arena and I asked myself, “Where have I been?”

The reverence and respect that I have for the 59-year-old coach starts with being able to relate to him and his journey.

I finally met Pearl in his first year at Tennessee although I saw his Southern Indiana team win the Division-II national championship before he led the Milwaukee Panthers to the Sweet 16 in his fourth season in 2005.

Then, I got to know him through those years with the Volunteers and we connected on social media while he was an analyst at ESPN.

When Pearl took the job at Auburn, my prediction was that given the state of the program, he needed five years and he would win big. That fifth year was last season when the Tigers made it to the Final Four.

However, he beat me to the draw as he won the SEC regular season title in his fourth season, and Auburn won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2003.

Pearl’s infectious enthusiasm spoke the environment at Auburn Arena into existence.

He built that environment from Day One as he knew he needed to attract the students and fans in order to fashion something special. That, in turn, would foster a presence in a great fan base which would be needed with all of the Xs and Os and talented players on the Tigers’ roster.

He built it and they now come, alright – to the tune of sellout, standing-room-only crowds and a fervor among the students.

Pearl values students on the Auburn campus as “Breakfast with Bruce” is a ritual on early game days. “BP” gives out biscuits, bagels or donuts while the students wait in line before the doors open for them to allow them into the arena.

The Jungle is then only too happy to respond with a decibel level that equals the top venues in all of sports.

The laws of this jungle are always in effect as the number one law is constant as it implores students and fans to bring electricity, energy and enthusiasm.

The rest is history now as The Jungle roars and it roars loudly.

 

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