Charles “The Round Mound of Rebound” Barkley is an undersized power forward (6’4”) with some of the strongest legs in the game.  His ability to go up against much bigger players and not only hold his own but to usually dominate them is becoming legendary.  Barkley’s low post moves are equal to anyone’s but it is his desire to be the man at all time that sets him apart from other players.  Sir Charles (I think he made up that moniker) maybe the best rebounder in the country under six foot eight.  Barkley also has a penchant for running his mouth not only on the court but off from it.  Barkley will state his opinion on anything from breakfast cereal to world politics and is what he says is usually so far out there that it is entertaining.  You won’t always agree with Barkley but he will make you laugh.  Some think his game is not good enough for the next level and he is either too short or too selfish for his own good.  The game needs more personalities like Barkley and his game is well suited for the one on one game of the Pros.  I think he will be a huge success and he may surprise some people that think a six four guy (he is lister at 6’6 252 but those numbers are not accurate whatsoever) cannot play power forward in the NBA.  The problem in Auburn was that Barkley had to play way too many minutes at center; the kid was meant to be a power forward.  If the Tigers can ever find someone to play next to Barkley on the post that can complement his game then watch out.  Anyone playing next to Barkley will have to be pretty passive and not want much attention or too many shots and must know the key is his.  He does eat up the scorer’s sheet and the paint but has this propensity to not be the greatest guy to play next to.  And most importantly he loves to talk.  During the game, after the game, in the locker room, at the pizza parlor.  It does not matter.  He will talk until he is blue in the face.  The only thing he likes better than hearing himself talk is Pizza!  But to say the Tigers are not better off having this guy on their team would be ludicrous, they love him there and rightfully so.  He brings that word hope to the equation and with him in tow the Tigers chances of finally getting to the Big Dance have increased almost as much as his waist band after a trip to the Student Union Building’s Buffet. 

Person, on the other hand, does most of his talking on the court.  The Rifleman is as good of long-range shooter as there is anywhere when he gets it going.  He wasn’t given that nickname for nothing though he claims his mother loved the TV show and named him after him so there is some real symmetry here.  The other Chuck is also not afraid to let the other team and the crowd know that he is hot.  His ability to hit clutch shot after shot and then turn around and tell the player who is guarding him that he just beat him is starting to make him infamous.  Person is also 6 foot 8 and can post up smaller players when desired for easy trips to the basket and to the line for free throws.  Person did play often off the bench as the sixth man last year but he does want to start and Smith, who recruited him from down the road in Brantley, will almost assuredly oblige. His game is the perfect complement to the rough and tumble style of Barkley and his under the back board antics. Person was a much better big game performer than Barkley and was absolutely huge in the win over Georgia in the SEC Tourney.  He may not get as much publicity on the national stage as Barkley but he is without question the most complete player on this team and the guy the ball goes to in Crunch time.  The Chuckster may have you believe he is an end of the game guy but he usually throws up a thirty footer that doesn’t hit iron.  Person’s thirty footers go in.  Person may be considered a complimentary player to the STAR that is Barkley but everyone in Auburn knows who the real Comet is. Person is slated to play the three in his second season but can also float to the aptly named shooting guard position but is not quick enough to guard smaller and quicker guys.  This is a problem with the entire team as Smith has brought in the mentality to outscore everyone else but their defense was last in the league.  That has got to change for the Tigers if they want to move up with the big cats in this league. 

Speaking of complimentary players, the Tigers have a gifted supporting cast for their two lead characters.  One of those is about as solid as it comes on and off the court and fits right into between the two Chucks. Junior Forward Mike Mitchell is an inside-outside scorer who takes advantage of any opportunity he gets to put the ball in the basket.  He is kind of missed in the hype around the two stars but may be as effective of scorer as either of them and does not mind being in the shadows. He has gotten used to being the third fiddle and takes advantage of every opportunity to score.  There just isn’t that many basketballs to go around. He led the Tigers in scoring in his rookie year and was a close second behind Person last year.  If there were an award for all underappreciated and underhyped then Mitchell could finally win something.  No matter, his teammates know how important he is though he is not a power forward and Coach Smith had to play him there way too often to get his best talent on the floor.  At times the six seven Mitchell was the tallest guy on the court and though he is underrated (like everything else) at rebounding he has no chance trying to guard the Big Dogs at the post in the SEC. Mitchell is best suited for the small forward spot but so is Person so something has to give here.   He is consistent and will continue to be effective no matter where or who he plays with but he will also forever be the most invisible man this side of Michael Anthony. 

The Tigers have a point guard that fits perfectly with his teammates and Smith’s style.  Floor General Eddie Johnson is cat quick and has become adept at driving the court and getting the ball to the great scorers on this team.  Fast Eddie is not afraid to mix it up and uses his best asset, speed, to his advantage on both ends of the court. He is by far the best defensive player of the starters and has shown he has no problem guarding other quick guards in this top tier league.  Johnson went AWOL after a crazy trip to Georgia and Florida near the end of the year and it cost the Tigers immensely but the kid is really talented.  Apparently Johnson who had played really well in two heartbreaking defeats to the Bulldogs and the Gators on the road decided to go out and blow off some steam.  Well this included a two day runner of Cocaine and stupidity and a miss of the plane back to Alabama.   He is as quick to the basket as there is and either finished or gets to the foul line.  He can hit open jumpers and is a good passer though he should get even more assists with his ability to drive though he still average over 5 a game. Johnson did miss a few games due to some off the court issues near the end of the year and the Tigers floundered losing three in a row and ending their chance of getting an NIT bid.  He came back for the SEC tourney and was huge against Georgia in that big win but was AWOL against Kentucky as he scored only 4 points and played only 12 minutes against the mighty Wildcats.  There is hope in Auburn that Fast Eddie will be back to full speed cause to be honest if he is not back and playing well the Tigers will not get anywhere near the post season. 

The fifth starter is Senior Rex Frederick.  Frederick started most of the games on the post but at six five is a bit undersized to battle with the beef of the SEC.  Frederick is not much of an offensive player but can really board.  When asked to self-evaluate his game Frederick responded that he ‘hates to lose, loves to play defense and is very competitive.  How goes is he defensively?  He won the SEC DPOY in the first year it was awarded two years ago but oh how this league has changed.  The players keep getting bigger and better and this upcoming year there is a slew of seven foot wunderkids pushing 300 bills including the precocious one from San Antonio.  He comes into the year as the only Senior starter and a borderline legend in Auburn and he will start once again in the post for Smith. Frederick will do all he can to compete again this year but he may just be too small for the new SEC. 

The bench for the Tigers is a revolving door of centers and wings depending on who Smith wanted to go with for the night.  The best of the lot is shooting guard John Mengelt who started most of the games at the two last season.  The junior bomber compliments Person well just as Mitchell and Barkley have similar games.  Mengelt can flat heat it up and the fans love him.  He scored 41 on a cold night in Alabama when the Tigers hosted their hated rival, the Crimson Tide, in a classic game that made sure he will never buy a beer ever again in Auburn Alabama. He has said he will not mind coming off the bench as it fits his hot and cold game but he does not want to be forgetten either as tends to happen when you take that role.  Somehow that slide down from sixth to 7th to 8th man keeps sliding.  This tough as nails two guard will not let that happen. When Johnson missed those games Mengelt got the starts at point.  Mengelt is not a point guard by any stretch of the imagination but he did bring his swagger and toughness and his unbelievable desire to win to the game.  If there was a Pete Rose for basketball then Mengelt would be that guy.  He plays the game the right way and he is as beloved as any player ever to wear the Tiger uniform.  Sophomore Chris Morris is a great athlete who can flat score but is also a forward.  He did get some minutes at the post but is better suited for the wings and can really elevate.  He has great range and would be a star on another team but is stuck behind Person and Mitchell here.  The great thing about this kid is he accepted his role and flourished coming off the bench.  He is much more of a gamer and a team player then one might think.  Senior Henry Hart missed all of last year but will be back fighting for his old job back on the perimeter.  Hart led this team to their only SEC championship but this was in the days of segregation and the Tigers turned down the invite to the Big Dance as they did not want playing against integrated schools. Oh, how the times have changed.  Hart is a heck of a guard who teamed with Fredrick to win 30 games in a row over the course of two years.  The team that broke this streak was the Kentucky Wildcats who, though they were not integrated, did not mind accepting bids to the Big Dance.  Hart has a tough row to hoe if he is going to play let along start with Johnson, Mengelt and Person in town.  He will be on the team but like many things in this city the times (and players) have passed him by.  But I wouldn’t count him completely out as Frederick has said he is the best guard he has played with and that includes Fast Eddie.  Senior Lee Defore, junior Stan Pietkiewicz and Henry Harris and sophomores Frank Ford and especially Gerald White are all in the mix for playing time.  White was a high scorer when he went to high school in the Augusta Georgia which also happens to be the hometown of Pat Dye.  Dye helped recruit the kid but Smith wants him to be a point guard and he was superb in his transition on the JV team.  He played some with the Johnson issues but might have another year of seasoning or at least wait until the Fast One goes off the path again.  The other four are in a long line on the wings but they can all play. 

The one thing missing from the Tigers was diversity. No not that type of diversity.  They had plenty of diverse personalities. They just did not have diverse skills. The biggest problem was that the Tigers had no big men. Well, let me rephrase that, there is plenty of width on this team, just not a lot of height.  There are so many big butts on this team that they would make a great offensive line for Pat Dye on the gridiron. As stated above Barkley played way too much center for a six five guy.  How goofy is this in Auburn?  Well, local sportswriters have dubbed this team Sir Charles and 7 Dwarfs as the top 8 players coming back are all 6’8 and under and the 6’8 guy is Person who is a wing.  Coach Smith is trying to get some taller bodies in and has recruited three potential centers for the upcoming year.  Sophomore Jeff Moore got some starts at center when Fredrick missed a couple of games and played well.  He has skills and tough but is only six seven.  He can board and takes some pressure off Barkley underneath but is nowhere near the athlete of the Great One.  This lefty brings something to the team with his ability to step out and hit mid-range jumpers but he is not exactly the rim protector this team needs.  The Tigers do have a bunch of these bulky power forward types that are Barkley clones but who realistically have no chance of playing with The Round Mound around.  The Tigers need a shot blocker who can make a jump shot and board and defend on the post but there are not a lot of Waaltons or Laimbeers bouncing around Alabama.  Still, the second-year trio of Mike Jones, Bobby Cattage and Darrell Lockhart dominated on the JV and will push for time.  Lockhart and Cattage have some real size (both are 6’9 and 240 plus) but are developmental projects.  Jones has as much talent as anyone up front even Barkley but he does not like to go to class and missed way too many games last year due to grades.  He brings another talented big butted post player to the fray but this team needs one of the big new kids to step up and become this team’s goalie. 

The Auburn Tigers could score with just about anybody this year even in the difficult SEC.  Their biggest problem was stopping the other team.  AS good as offensive weapons as the Barkley and Person and Johnson and Mitchell are, they are not exactly all-world defenders.  Combine this with no real center on the roster and the boys from Auburn had to score 90 plue points a night to have a chance especially against the good teams they were playing on a regular basis.  This dependency on offense wore the team down through the season and an AWOL point guard and some selfish basketball led to not having what it takes to make a late season run.  All of their key players, including Barkley and Person, are returning so there is hope for next season.  One thing is for sure, no matter which direction this team goes the fans from Auburn will be entertained by the antics of their two showmen at all times.  Now if they could have just landed that big kid from San Antone these Tigers might be getting the same kind of national attention from the pollsters as those Bayou Bengals.  Still, these Tigers will bite and if they can find anything near a true presence in the key defensively they could move up the SEC totem pole rather quickly.