(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
JF: Hello, friends. We’ll have a full Stretch 4 preview of Auburn vs. Creighton out tomorrow. In the meantime, while we haven’t had a new episode of Friends of the Program in a little bit, one-third of that esteemed program came to me today with something on his orange-and-blue-bleeding heart that he wanted to share with the rest of the Internet.
Fellas, it sure has been a joyous ride to this point.
Coming into this season, there was some hype, but it’s only since grown — which is a testament to the work and preparation you’ve put into this.
You never wavered in the face of being a cornerstone of the sport this season. No team can remain No. 1 for eight consecutive weeks against this quality of competition, in the toughest conference to ever exist top-to-bottom, in a field this deep, without staring that right in the face.
It’s part of who you are. Adversity and pressure are merely opportunities.
You cannot tell the story of this college basketball season without the Auburn Tigers being at the forefront:
- winning the most loaded Maui Invitational in the history of the tournament
- knocking off a fellow No. 1 seed in its backyard in Houston — shoutout to aviation martial arts
- walking into Cameron Indoor to face another fellow No. 1 seed and leaving with valuable lessons learned
- going wire-to-wire to win against your arch-rival, on the road, in the most hyped game this league has ever seen
- doing something that hasn’t been done in almost four decades at Auburn by winning in Rupp Arena — the very venue hosting you this weekend
Running through this schedule? Like this? That takes being special.
Going on the road is a challenge this team has not only accepted, it has openly invited and embraced. There’s a competitive gear this team seems to be able to tap into when there’s another chance to ruin somebody’s night.
Thousands and thousands of Auburn fans have witnessed these road warriors all season, and they’ll be with you the rest of the way.
You see it, you feel it, you feed on it. Villainy looks good on you.
But it can all be gone in one moment. Getting up for games is over. You’re either in or out. There is no more calls for effort. No more pleas for caring. This is it. There shouldn’t be a single possession taken for granted. Not a single bucket allowed uncontested. Not a single loose ball rolling on the floor without a Tiger pouncing on it.
That’s who you can be. That’s who you are.
As Auburn fans, all our lives, we’re told to not buy the hype. But I see what Bruce Pearl has challenged you all with. He knows how great you are and what the ceiling for this team is. And, even if he believed it deep down, he wouldn’t tell you if he didn’t think you could withstand the pressure.
That’s why the schedule was what it was. He knew. You just didn’t know quite yet.
You don’t have to be something you aren’t. Everyone plays a role and if you do that well — sparing no detail — who you are is enough.
(Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers)
Don’t be afraid of expectations. There is no need to play tight. You’ve had fun all season. Lock in and do what you do. Win the game before you even step on the court because of the work you’ve put into executing on both ends of the floor in such a masterful way — just because you can.
End the season with the most efficient offense advanced analytics has ever seen. That’s who you are. Become inevitable.
This team isn’t exactly the typical star-studded cast we’re used to seeing at the top of college basketball’s highest billing. This brand, while recognizable for many reasons, hasn’t often been associated with basketball excellence over the years.
But times have changed, and the expectations of the program would have been an afterthought in years past. Making history isn’t taken for granted within this fanbase.
You helped to not only continue paving the way that was set the forth by those before you — you blazed your own path. You knocked down walls previously unheard of, because there is something within you that sets you apart:
- That overlooked, unathletic kid from Plant City, Florida who doesn’t fit the mold of a Division I legend
- That aspiring kid from the Dominican Republic, not even knowing what his future holds
- That unrated bucket-getter from New Market, Alabama
- That raw project from Augusta, Georgia who “will never be a starter”
- That inefficient volume shooter from a weaker team
- That Division II player from Alabaster, Alabama who “probably won’t translate to the next level”
- That do-it-all toughness of a kid from Arkansas
- That bright-eyed kid from Jersey City who doesn’t know any better
- That emotional kid from Boston trying to find a home close to family
- That 3-star journeyman forward from Hinesville, Georgia
- That 3-star point guard from Nashville
The cliché is to band together and play for the name on the front of the jersey, which this team proudly does and represents well.
But I’d challenge this group, one that’s specifically made up of misfits and players that have always been counted out, to remember where you came from.
Remember that kid. All roads led to here. There is no precedent. You’ve always made your own way. You write your own story.
So while “Auburn” is emblazoned on your uniform and forward facing to the world, go out and play just as much for the name on your back.
We all embrace that. Hold each other accountable, because it’s bigger than you. There are two sides to any coin, just like there are two sides to that jersey.
We see you for who you are. That is family. THAT is Auburn.
War Eagle.
Now go win the whole damn thing. 
