Tony Barbee has only been on the job for a few months, but Auburn's new basketball coach thinks he's put his stamp on the program in that short time.
"Anytime a new coach takes over there's always a transition," Barbee said during a Monday teleconference. "You've got to make sure it's a fit both ways, for the player and for myself and my staff, my system and how we're going to do things. So I'm pleased with how the current team is shaping up."
Barbee, who got his first head coaching gig at UTEP on the eve of the season, has had substantially more time at Auburn after being hired in March.
That extra time allowed him to make inroads on the recruiting trail. Forwards Josh Langford and Luke Cothron and point guard Chris Denson all signed in the late recruiting period. The other three players in the recruiting class signed under Jeff Lebo's watch.
Of the signees, Langford, Denson and small forward Allen Payne have already enrolled, according to AuburnUndercover.com. Forwards Adrian Forbes, Shawn Kemp Jr. and Cothron hope to be enrolled in August.
Several other Lebo signees have gone elsewhere, including forward Heath Houston, who recently signed with VCU.
Barbee acknowledged he'll be working with a young group next year, one that includes only two juniors. Of those two, guard Frankie Sullivan is the only player who got significant minutes last year.
"We're starting over," Barbee said. "But it's exciting to start over in a way, because you get a chance to mold a younger group of players who haven't been set in their ways of going through a system for several years.
"It's going to be like molding clay. And every day is a different challenge. ... It'll be fun and a little apprehensive at the same time."
Here a few other things he had to say:
- Barbee sounded very excited to get Cothron on the court. "I think Luke brings a different level of talent that this program hasn't seen in a long time. One of those 6-8, 6-9 hybrid forwards that can score from different angles of the perimeter. He can go out to the 3-point line, is great around the basket. He's got great feet and great hands and has a knack for rebounding. So there's no question he'll bring a lot to the team as a freshman."
- He didn't pay much attention to all the conference expansion talk, which was mostly driven by football. "As coaches, that's outside of our responsibilities," he said. "I'm kind of glad it is." He said he's a traditionalist and is satisfied with the current order.
- On improving Auburn's defense: "My philosophy has always been based around defense. That's where we started from Day 1 when I got the job in the limited time we had with the team individual work-wise was molding the team about how we're going to be on defense. Your offense is going to come and go, but defensively you can be consistent with that every night."
- He said Auburn will have to lean on defense, especially considering how "offensively-challenged" the team might be next year.
- Auburn shot a lot of 3-pointers last year. Barbee doesn't mind. "I don't think it matters how many you shoot, you better make some of them." He thinks because of the team's lack of size, it might have to rely on 3-point shooting.
- He's very high on Sullivan, who used to go to camps Barbee would help out with as an assistant coach at Memphis. "He's one of those guys that you want your entire team to play like, with reckless abandon, a toughness that he's not going to back down no matter who he plays against."
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